Germinated Quinoa, Black Mashua, and Passion Fruit Peel Flours as Bioactive Ingredients in Gummies

Plant ingredients rich in bioactive compounds offer opportunities to develop foods with distinctive functional and technological properties. Germinated quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), black mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum), and passion fruit peel (Passiflora edulis) are promising matrices because of their bioactive composition and potential applications in food formulation. Germination can alter quinoa phenolic composition and antioxidant capacity, whereas black mashua provides phenolic compounds and passion fruit peel combines physicochemical functionality with bioactive constituents. This study aimed to assess whether incorporating these flours individually or together could produce gummies with distinct characteristics while maintaining a constant total plant flour fraction. Four gummy formulations were evaluated. In Q-25, M-25, and P-25, a 25% flour fraction consisted exclusively of germinated quinoa, black mashua, or passion fruit peel flour, respectively. In QMP-25, this fraction comprised equal proportions of the three flours (8.33% each). All remaining ingredients and proportions were constant, allowing evaluation of flour type and combination on physicochemical, textural, phenolic, and antioxidant properties. Total phenolic contents were 8.95, 33.52, 12.12, and 4.26 μmol QE/100g in Q-25, M-25, P-25, and QMP-25, respectively. FRAP and ORAC values were, respectively, 8.50 and 7168.55 μmol/100g for Q-25; 73.80 and 9079.32 μmol/100g for M-25; 17.05 and 4916.77 μmol/100g for P-25; and 38.79 and 30755.00 μmol/100g for QMP-25. QMP-25 exhibited the highest ORAC value, potentially reflecting the combined contribution of bioactive compounds [1,2,3]. M-25 showed the highest phenolic content and FRAP value, consistent with the reported phenolic profile of mashua [2]. The pH ranged from 4.03 to 4.63, while titratable acidity ranged from 0.80 to 1.20, reflecting the acidic character of the formulations [4,5]. Q-25 gummies were opaque yellow (L=28.44, a=6.97, b=10.84), M-25 were deep purple (L=21.96, a=1.74, b=−1.54), and P-25 were bright yellow (L=47.18, a=8.51, b=30.0). QMP-25 gummies were light purple. Q-25 and P-25 showed hardness values of 13.35N and 11.48N and cohesiveness values of 0.70 and 0.78, respectively. M-25 exhibited lower hardness (2.15N) and higher cohesiveness (0.83). Differences between formulations and antioxidant assays indicate that flour selection and combination influence gummy properties differently [6]. The highest ORAC response in QMP-25 did not coincide with the highest phenolic content or FRAP response, highlighting the importance of complementary antioxidant assays. Previous studies similarly support evaluating bioactive and technological properties together when developing gummies enriched with plant ingredients [6,7]. Overall, these ingredients enabled gummies with differentiated bioactive, color, and texture profiles. Their incorporation offers opportunities to explore Andean raw materials and valorize agro-industrial by-products, although further research is needed to establish sensory acceptance and bioactive stability during storage.

Funding: This research was funded by CONCYTEC and PROCIENCIA under Grant E033-2023-01-BM Phase 2, Contract No. PE501084298-2023-PROCIENCIA, and Grant E077-2023-01-BM, Contract No. PE501094188-2024-PROCIENCIA. Thanks to CNPq for the research scholarship provided to M.S. (312759/2025-8).