Nutritional and sensory properties of plant-based milk produced from Sacha inchi seeds (Plukenetia volubilis L.)

Abstract

This work evaluated the nutritional properties as well as sensory properties of the milk produced from roasted seeds and defatted rods, a by-product of the process of cold press oil extraction of Sacha inchi. The protein content of the raw seed decreased to 55.34%. Fat and calorie contents of the defatted nut milk were less than for roasted nut milk. However, the protein and sodium quantity in both fat and non-fat nut milk were found to be at similar levels of approximately 4% per serving size. Nevertheless, Thai FDA has restricted the quantity of defatted rods in food supplements to only 1.5 g per day. Hence, the final product and the sensory aspect of this study focused on only the plant-based roasted Sacha inchi product. The preference test for the roasted Sacha inchi milk, including original, matcha green tea, and cocoa flavor was assessed. The result showed that the cocoa flavor exhibited the highest score. Additionally, the microbial studies, such as the aerobic plate count, and the number of toxic bacteria, and aflatoxins were designated as less than the regulation limit in milk. As a result, the plant-based dairy produced from Sacha inchi was safe and good for the customer's health.