FORMULATION AND NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF ASHWAGANDHA AND FINGER MILLET COOKIES FOR EFFECT OF GLYCEMIC INDEX AND HEALTHY AGEING

Abstract

The rising prevalence of unhealthy biological ageing and lifestyle-related metabolic disorders, particularly impaired glycemic control, is a major public health concern. Functional foods enriched with medicinal herbs and traditional grains, offer a sustainable approach to improve metabolic health. An experimental study was conducted on developing herbal cookies, fortified with Ashwagandha and finger millet, as a potential low-glycemic, anti-aging dietary intervention, in which four cookie formulations (T0–T3) were developed. The control sample (T0) consisted of 100% wheat flour, while the treatment groups (T1–T3) incorporated varying proportions of wheat flour (60–70%), finger millet flour (26–34%), and Ashwagandha root powder (4–6%), along with standardized quantities of other ingredients. Proximate analysis was conducted in accordance with the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) standards. Sensory evaluation was performed using a 9-point hedonic scale Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS, and differences among treatments were evaluated through one-way ANOVA at a significance level of p < 0.05. Among all treatments, T1 showed the highest overall acceptability (7.1). Nutritional analysis indicated progressive improvement with increasing fortification: moisture (3.82%–4.68%), ash (1.21%–2.29%), protein (8.42%– 10.41%), and crude fibre (0.62%–2.58%) increased significantly. Conversely, carbohydrates decreased (67.18%–60.86%) and energy values slightly declined (471.2–459.1 kcal/100g) while fat content remained relatively stable. Statistically, overall acceptability and all sensory attributes showed non-significant differences (p > 0.05) indicating good acceptability across treatments, while most proximate parameters were significantly to highly significantly affected (p ≤ 0.05), except protein (p = 0.22) which remained non-significant. These findings support the concept that moderate fortification is more effective than excessive inclusion and it is an economical, culturally acceptable, and functional dietary option for managing metabolic health and promoting healthy ageing.