## 3 Results and Discussion
### Compression Resistance  
The textural characteristics of products are crucial for fulfilling the acceptance of the consumers. During mastication, the brain processes the food's physical features and evaluates its texture. The sensation of food texture is important in influencing consumers' liking and preference for a food product [58].  
Analyzing the values from the chart in Figure 3, it can be observed that the evolution of the values required for the crushing force of carob pasta is similar.  
The differences were observed for the maximum values of crushing force, with the highest value being recorded for the sample with the lowest amount of carob powder added--P2 CP with 2% of carob powder. The lowest value of the crushing force was recorded for the sample containing 6% carob powder--P6 CP--compared to the control sample, where the crushing force was lower.  
Regarding the pasta with 6% added carob powder, the elastoplastic curve remains constant for a longer period of time and the deformation of the carob pasta reaches 2.12 mm. After exceeding the flow area, the distinctive curves develop a new ascending tendency, the gradient being approximately identical.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Compound**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Ion Mode**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Polyphenolic Compounds (\(\upmu\)g d.s.)**} \\ \cline{3-6}  & & **PM** & **P2 CP** & **P4 CP** & **P6 CP** \\ \hline Gallic acid & 169 & nd & nd & 6.97 \(\pm\) 0.07 a  & 31.44 \(\pm\) 0.18 b  \\ Protocatechuic acid & 153 & nd & nd & 19.93 \(\pm\) 0.16 a  & 51.14 \(\pm\) 0.08 b  \\ Caffeic acid & 179 & nd & nd & 0.86 \(\pm\) 0.05 a  & 8.56 \(\pm\) 0.11 b  \\ Epicatechin & 289 & nd & nd & 17.15 \(\pm\) 0.13 a  & 24.31 \(\pm\) 0.17 b  \\ p-Coumaric acid & 163 & nd & nd & 0.30 \(\pm\) 0.03 a  & 0.30 \(\pm\) 0.09 a  \\ Ferulic acid & 193 & nd & nd & nd & 0.23 \(\pm\) 0.13 a  \\ Rutin & 609 & nd & nd & 1.07 \(\pm\) 0.06 a  & 1.41 \(\pm\) 0.16 b  \\ Rosmarinic acid & 359 & nd & nd & nd & 22.42 \(\pm\) 0.32 a  \\ Resveratrol & 227 & nd & nd & nd & 0.85 \(\pm\) 0.07 a  \\ Quercetin & 301 & nd & 0.54 \(\pm\) 0.02 a  & 11.49 \(\pm\) 0.11 b  & 243.66 \(\pm\) 0.25 c  \\ Kaempfer & 285 & nd & nd & 63.76 \(\pm\) 0.17 a  & 231.51 \(\pm\) 0.32 b  \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* nd—not detected; PM: control sample; P2 CP: sample with 2% (\(w/w\)) carob powder; P4 CP: sample with 4% (\(w/w\)) carob powder; P6 CP: sample with 6% (\(w/w\)) carob powder. Values followed by different letters differ significantly by ANOVA test (\(p<0.05\)).  
\end{table}
Table 4: Polyphenolic compounds identified in the dry pasta samples.  
Some researchers [58] used seedless carob flour for obtaining pastry filling and observed that the major content of carob flour added to the samples' composition resulted in an increase in consistency and firmness, a fact that can be compared to the results of the crushing test from the current study, where the greatest deformation of samples was observed for the highest addition of carob powder--2.12 mm for samples with 6% carob powder addition. Additionally, a linear decrease in pasta cutting force was observed as the proportion of carob fiber increased. The same findings regarding the decreasing of crushing resistance from 1315.32 N in control to 1084.53 N in P6 CP were observed in our study and can be attributed to the increase in the fiber content in the sample by 6% carob. The fiber content increased from 2.00 to 2.12% (Table 3) with the addition of carob powder in the pasta manufacturing recipe.  
Research conducted by [PERSON] et al. [27] showed that the cutting force required for carob flour pasta decreased while the content of carob flour in samples increased. In line with the current research, it can be stated that the high fiber content contributes to a weaker structure of the products due to the addition of fiber in the starch structure.