Desenvolvimento e avaliação físico-química de pão e biscoitos elaborados com substituição parcial de farinha de trigo por farinha de ora-pro-nóbis (Pereskia aculeata Miller)

Abstract

Ora-pro-nóbis (Pereskia aculeata) is a non-conventional food plant which has been widely recognized in popular and scientific community in recent years, considering its leaves have significant amounts of protein, fiber and minerals. Due to its nutritional characteristics, ora-pro-nóbis’s leaves are being consumed in stews and salads, in order to increase protein sources in diets. Another way to consume the Pereskia aculeate leaves is as flour and researches have been conducted using this flour as a partial substitute for commonly used flours in daily consumption foods, such as cookies, breads and cakes, with the purpose of improving their nutritional properties. The aim of this study was the production of ora-pro-nobis flour and its use in cookies and bread, as partial substitute in different proportions, of the wheat flour, in order to compare the centesimal composition and to verify a possible protein increase in relation to the standards. In the cookies’ elaboration were used proportions of 15% and 30% of the ora-pro-nóbis flour as a substitute for wheat flour, while 20% was used in the bread. The results allowed us to conclude that there was an increase in relation to proteins and minerals in the elaborated products, especially the cookies with 15% of Pereskia aculeate flour, contributing with nutritional quality information and use of this plant in foods.