Cereal Bars from Lanna Black Rice Enriched with Perilla Seeds

Abstract

This research aims to study the sensory, physical, chemical, and microbiological characteristics of cereal bars made from Lanna black rice enriched with Perilla seed, which are traditional ingredients from Northern Thailand. The study compared cereal bars with 0% and 10% Perilla seed supplementation. The results showed that the cereal bars with 10% Perilla seed received the highest scores in all sensory attributes, including color, crispness, aroma, flavor, and overall liking, with no statistically significant difference compared to the control (p>0.05). The 10% Perilla seed supplementation resulted in a decrease in lightness (L*), redness (a*), and yellowness (b*). The moisture content was 7.76±1.13, which contributed to an extended shelf life, as the low moisture content inhibited microbial growth. Additionally, the fat content increased to 22.67±0.34, which included omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids beneficial to health. Microbiological analysis showed that the total microorganism and yeast counts were below 10 CFU/g, ensuring product safety for consumption. Sensory evaluation by 200 panelists revealed that the highest score was for crispness (7.81±1.02), followed by aroma (7.80±1.53) and color (7.78±1.16). The overall liking score was 7.40±1.74. This study highlights the potential of using local Northern Thai ingredients, such as Lanna black rice and Perilla seed, to develop a commercially viable product that is both nutritionally valuable and contributes to the preservation of Thai culinary culture on an international level.