Comparison of cashew nuts, pistachios, and hazelnuts according to nutritional, biological, and physiological values when justifying the development of new product types

Abstract

Empirical studies of the chemical composition of nuts and systematization of the obtained data on cashew nuts, hazelnuts, and pistachios were carried out in order to develop new types of products. It has been shown that the fat fractions of cashew nuts, hazelnuts, and pistachios are comparable to oilseeds used for the extraction of vegetable oil. Cashew kernels have an SFA:MUFA:PUFA ratio of 1:3:1, pistachio kernels — 1:4.3:2.5, and hazelnut kernels — 1:10:1.8. PUFAs are represented by ω-6 fatty acids; there are no ω-3 fatty acids and trans isomers. In terms of protein content, nut kernels (cashews — 18 g, hazelnuts — about 16g, pistachios — 20 g) are not inferior to complete protein sources. The comparison of amino acid scores with the amino acid composition of the reference protein (FAO) has shown that the pistachio nut mass corresponds to a complete protein in amino acid composition, while cashews and hazelnuts have one limiting amino acid — lysine. The carbohydrate part of nuts is represented by dietary fi ber, starch, and sugars. A distinctive feature of pistachio nuts is their higher carbohydrate content (27.5 g), as well as the presence of maltose. Hazelnuts, pistachios, and cashews are high in dietary fiber. Introducing nuts into the diet of healthy people has demonstrated that each nut promotes the development of diff erent phyla of the microbiome.