Potencial dos subprodutos do fruto de baru (Dipteryx alata Vogel): características químicas, tecnológicas, potencial prebiótico e desenvolvimento de produtos alimentícios plant-based

Abstract

Global changes, such as industrial advances and economic crises, challenge the food system to find new nutritional sources. Baru, a native fruit of the Cerrado, stands out for its high nutritional and technofunctional value, offering new food ingredients and promoting sustainability by reducing waste. Vegetable proteins, such as those from baru, are valued for their nutritional and functional properties, making them viable alternatives for innovative and healthy products. They also contribute to the creation of affordable foods with good technological properties. This study aims to evaluate the physicochemical, bioactive, and technological properties of the entire baru chain, including the epicarp, mesocarp, endocarp, almond, and baru flour. The goal is to explore these raw materials as potential sources of nutrients and bioactive compounds. Additionally, baru oil will be studied for use as a fat source in 10 formulations of vegetable analogues, with different concentrations of baru by-products, to evaluate its nutritional properties. A nutritional table for the vegetable burger will be developed based on the labeling information of the ingredients used in the formulation process, and the cooking yield, diameter and thickness reduction, and color will be evaluated for product characterization. The results indicated that baru bran had a high protein content (33.09 g/100 g), the lowest atherogenic and thrombogenic indices (0.09 and 0.10, respectively), and the highest antioxidant capacity in the DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP tests. Furthermore, baru bran had high levels of potassium (14.05 g/100 g), magnesium (2.20 g/100 g), and iron (61.80 mg/100 g). The mesocarp stood out for its higher total phenolic content (157.48 mg GAE/100 g) and greater water solubility (63.90 g/g). Baru almond flour showed the best results for water absorption capacity (3.62 g/g), oil absorption capacity (3.28 g/g), emulsifying activity (71.94%), emulsion stability (87.69%), and foaming capacity (8.17%). In terms of prebiotic activity, the endocarp fermented by Lactobacillus acidophilus (0.76 log CFU/mL) and the mesocarp fermented by Bifidobacterium animalis (0.62 log CFU/mL) showed the best results. For the development of the analogues, the results from the nutritional table indicated that F6 (40% FTB + 40% FPIME) presented protein content (12.87 g/80 g), dietary fiber (13.79 g/80 g), and low fat content (5.44 g/80 g). Formulation F4 had a lower cooking loss of 7.36%, a diameter reduction of 0.78%, and a thickness reduction of 0.87%. Regarding the color analysis, formulations F3, F5, F6, F7, F8, and F10, which contain a higher content of baru by-products, presented a values ranging from 9.11 to 9.33, indicating that these vegetable burgers tend to have a more reddish-brown color.