DEVELOPMENT AND CARACTERIZATION OF WATER-SOLUBLE VEGETABLE EXTRACTS BASED ON BARU NUT AND CASHEW NUT

Chestnut-based plant extracts are a viable alternative for replacing cow’s milk, as the most delicate species have high nutritional attributes. The objective is to elaborate and characterize the water-soluble vegetable extracts based on baru nuts (EHB) and cashews (EHC). The extracts were prepared in the proportion of 1:6 (almond: water), with addition of iota carrageenan (0.2%), salt (0.1%), sucrose (3%), inulin (0.5%) and sorbate of potassium (0.03%). Chestnuts and extracts were characterized as: pH, titratable total acidity, protein, lipids, ash, moisture, carbohydrates, phenolic compounds (PC) and DPPH radical sequestration capacity. The extracts were analysed by sensory analysis (CAAE: 95746418.2.0000.5564). Analyses were performed after 7 days of storage, and the results (mean ± confidence interval) with 95% confidence. Both chestnuts and extracts presented high amounts of lipids and proteins. The presence of PC and antioxidant potential were also identified, but with low values when compared to those found in the literature. The best results in both analyses were obtained by baru nuts (34.83 mg AG/100 g and 391 mg g.g DPPH-1, respectively) and EHB (19.61mg AG/100g and 804g.g DPPH-1, respectively). The results obtained in the sensory analysis of what EHB and EHC were not well accepted by the judges and the attributes taste, appearance and colour did not obtain significant difference between EHC and EHB, presenting intermediate scores between 5-6, "I liked and did not dislike" and "I liked it slightly", with an acceptability index for mean attributes of 62.6% for EHC and 66.7% for EHB, which were below the index acceptability of 70%. The intention to buy the two did not show any significant difference between them, standing in the range between 2-3 "possibly not buy" and "maybe can buy / maybe did not buy." Thus, the use of plant extracts may be an alternative for the vegan public.