Piñón flour (Araucaria araucana (Mol.) K. Koch). Obtaining and evaluating nutritional and sensory quality

Abstract

Introduction: Araucaria araucana is a tree originary from the Andes Mountains whose seed is known as piñón. This seed has a high energetic value and provides a large amount of carbohydrates and fiber, which allows various forms of use in food products that have not yet been explored; thus, wasting its gastronomic potential. Nowadays, the research trend leans towards the search for alternative raw materials for the elaboration of new value-added products. Objective: to evaluate nutritional and sensory aspects of piñón flour, as well as its antioxidant capacity, applied to gluten-free piñón cookies.
Materials and methods: chemical composition, total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity by DPPH• assay were determined. Gluten-free cookies were formulated, and nutritional composition and acceptability of attributes color, flavor, aroma, texture and appearance through the 9-point hedonic scale in 157 untrained judges were analyzed.
Results: the piñón flour had a majority content of carbohydrates (75%), followed by protein (6.5%) and total fat (5.7%). The presence of DPPH• radical scavenging capacity was observed (IC50 2342.72 μg/mL), probably associated with the total phenolic content found (0.65 mg GAE/g deslipidized
flour). Texture was the best evaluated attribute (7,01 points),  followed by color, flavor and appearance, which obtained similar average scores. Cookie aroma received the lowest average score (5,85 points). The evaluated cookies were overall accepted by more than 80% of the judges.
Conclusion: the piñón flour is a carbohydrate-rich food, with moderate content of polyphenols and antioxidant capacity, of good sensory acceptability. Its consumption could allow to optimize the local resources and potentially boost the regional market.