The Use of Upcycled Defatted Sunflower Seed Flour as a Functional Ingredient in Biscuits

Abstract

Defatted sunflower seed flour (DSSF) is an upcycled by-product of sunflower oil extraction, rich in protein, fibre and antioxidants. This study assessed the instrumental and sensory quality of biscuits enriched with DSSF at 18% and 36% w/w as a replacement for wheat flour. Measurements included colour, texture, total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity. Sensory analysis was carried out with Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA). The inclusion of DSSF significantly increased the protein content of the biscuits, as well as the TPC and antioxidant capacity of the biscuits. The resulting products were significantly darker, less red and less yellow with increasing DSSF levels, while hardness (measured instrumentally) increased. Sensory results agreed with colour measurements, concluding that DSSF biscuits were more “Brown” than the control, and with texture measurements where biscuits with 36% DSSF had a significantly firmer bite. In addition, DSSF biscuits at 36% inclusion had higher QDA scores for “Off-note” and the lowest scores for “Crumbly” and “Crumb aeration”. DSSF biscuits at 18% inclusion were similar to the control in most parameters and should be considered for further developments. These results show the potential of the upcycled DSSF by-product as a novel, sustainable and healthy food ingredient.

Potential of a Sunflower Seed By-Product as Animal Fat Replacer in Healthier Frankfurters

“…During the process of new product development, the colour of foods with SUN could be altered to obtain no noticeable colour difference for consumers. Colour alterations have been reported in other studies where pork back fat in frankfurters was replaced by chia seeds [14] and pineapple fibre [15] as well as in other studies using SUN in baked goods [8,9].…”

“…The SUN, donated by the company Planetarians (Palo Alto, CA, USA), was used as an animal fat replacer. This ingredient has been reported to have 38% protein, 1.8% fat and 4.6% moisture, as well as high total phenolic content [8].…”

“…As expected, samples formulated with all pork backfat (F/AF) had the lowest (P < 0.05) moisture content, because they were formulated with the lowest water content (Table 1). It was observed that with the SUN addition, protein content significantly increased (Table 2) with increasing SUN addition, due to the protein content of this ingredient [8]. As a consequence of the use of SUN extract as an animal fat replacer, two fat levels were observed, ~19% in samples elaborated with all animal fat (F/AF) and nearer to 12% in frankfurters reformulated with SUN (F/2SUN and F/4SUN) ( Table 2).…”

“…Sunflower meal has been upcycled into a versatile food-grade defatted sunflower seed powder (SUN) [7] with many potential food applications. Grasso et al [8] showed that SUN has valuable technological properties, such as high water holding capacity. Total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity and nutritional improvements with the use of SUN in biscuits and muffins have recently been reported [8,9].…”

“…Grasso et al [8] showed that SUN has valuable technological properties, such as high water holding capacity. Total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity and nutritional improvements with the use of SUN in biscuits and muffins have recently been reported [8,9]. Nevertheless, the application of SUN in food from animal origin remains to be explored.…”