Omega-3 rich foods: Durum wheat spaghetti fortified with Portulaca oleracea

Portulaca oleracea is an annual succulent herb (purslane) with high antioxidant properties and high content ofessential ?-3 and ?-6 fatty acids, ascorbic acid, ?-tocopherol and ?-carotene. In the present study, sensorial andchemical analyses of uncooked and cooked durum wheat pasta fortified with purslane from three differentSicilian areas and at three different concentrations (5, 10 and 15%) were estimated. The sensorial analysisshowed that the scores of the overall acceptance decreased considerably in pasta with 15% purslane, whileconsumers appreciated pasta samples with 10% purslane. Chemical analysis highlighted that the addition ofpurslane gave pasta samples the potential to be a functional food, due ?-linonenic fatty acid concentration,antioxidant activity and total phenols content. The influence of the origin of purslane used to enrich pasta wasevident: the "Cassibile" purslane supplemented spaghetti showed the highest content of linoleic and ?-linolenicacids and the highest antioxidant activity.