Dados do Trabalho

Título

UNEXPECTED FLAVORS: DEVELOPMENT OF CRACKERS WITH NON-CONVENTIONAL FOOD PLANT AS CALCIUM SOURCE USING EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Introdução

Alternative sources of calcium are important to meet the needs of different population groups who choose not to consume, cannot consume, or have limited access to dairy products. For this purpose, Non-conventional Food Plants (NCFP) have shown promising results. However, these plants are typically consumed at lunch and dinner, which may lead to competition in iron absorption. Thus, the present study aimed to determine which NCFP could be a good source of calcium and develop a cracker incorporating the plant in its formulation.

Material e Métodos

The following NCFP were studied: Amaranthus viridis, Anredera cordifolia, Lactuca canadensis, Pereskia aculeata, Portulaca oleracea, Stachys byzantine. Flour was produced from the dried leaves of the NCFP, and proximate composition, calcium and phytate content determined. The crackers formulations were defined using the Plackett-Burman (PB) design, followed by Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD), and the acceptance score (ranging from 1 to 9) was the response variable (p≤1%).

Resultados e Discussão

The flours presented low moisture (0.29 ± 0.21 to 0.99 ± 0.23 g/100 g). A. viridis had the highest protein content (46.21 ± 1.23 g/100 g), followed by S. byzantina (31.50 ± 1.17 g/100 g). All samples had a high calcium content, above 1000 mg/100 g of flour. Considering the calcium to phytate ratio, P. aculeata was selected for the crackers preparation. In PB design, the significant variables were vegetable flour and coconut oil, ingredients that varied in CCRD. In CCRD, the proposed model was significant but did not have a satisfactory R value (12.60%).

Conclusão

This may have been due to the lack of discrimination between the samples, where 8 of the 10 samples had average scores between 5 and 6. However, it should be noted that in the second design, the average scores increased (PB = 4.1 and CCRD = 5.6), indicating that, overall, acceptance was better. In conclusion, P. aculeata stood out in terms of higher calcium and lower phytate content, being a potential calcium source, providing an alternative to complement the nutritional needs of the population. Moreover, the plants can be incorporated into other preparations, beyond traditional salads and braised preparations, expanding the use of these foods.