Cushuro (Nostoc sphaericum) polysaccharide was used to co-microencapsulate sacha inchi oil, natural antioxidant extracts from the oleoresin of charapita chili peppers (Capsicum frutescens L.) and grape orujo (Vitis vinifera L.). Encapsulation efficiency, moisture, particle size, morphology, oxidative stability, shelf-life, solubility, essential fatty acid profile, sterol content and antioxidant capacity were evaluated. The formulations with grape orujo extract showed higher oxidative stability (4908 ± 184 h), antioxidant capacity (4835.33 ± 40.02 µg Trolox/g ms), higher phenolic contents (960.11 ± 53.59 µg AGE/g ms) and a smaller particle size (7.55 µm) than the other formulations, as well as good solubility and a low moisture content. Therefore, grape orujo extracts can be used as natural antioxidants. The fatty acid composition (ω-3) remained quite stable in all the formulations carried out, which also occurred for sterols and tocopherols. In combination with gum arabic, grape orujo extract offered oxidative protection to sacha inchi oil during the first week of storage.

The trend in protein consumption is towards plant-based foods, for this reason a powdered beverage with a balanced profile of essential amino acids was developed, combining two different sources of protein, cushuro (Nostoc commune) and quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa). The cushuro is an ancient Andean cyanobacteria that grows over 3000 and 4000 m above sea level, and quinoa is an important Andean seed, and they are part of the basic diet of the Andean Peruvian population. The cushuro obtained from the region of Ancash-Peru was dried (60 °C, 18 h) and the flour was dissolved in 0.1 N HCl at 90 °C for 20 min to obtain a protein concentrate with 6.79% moisture, 0.16% fat, 71.03% protein, and good balance of essential amino acids. Quinoa flour presented 8.52% moisture, 4.84% fat, 12.90% protein, and essential amino acids such as phenylalanine, and lysine. Quinoa flour (65.45%), cushuro concentrated protein (4.76%), cocoa (17.85%), panela (11.90%), and stevia (0.05%), were mixed to obtain the powdered beverage. The results showed that powdered beverage presented an adequate balance of amino acids according to FAO/WHO, with 14.36% proteins, 72.53% carbohydrate, 5.19% fat, 716.6 mg/kg potassium, 319.8 mg/kg phosphorus, 139.2 mg/kg magnesium, 82.69 mg/100 g vitamin C, 1.49 µg/100 g vitamin B12, heavy metals below the detection evel (<0.050 mg/kg). The powdered beverage complied with the Peruvian legislation of the Healthy Law No. 30021 and with the microbiological requirements.

In Peru, 5 of every 10 children suffer from malnutrition, which increases the risk of developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at the early stages of their life. Sacha inchi (Plukenetia huayllabamana) cake is the by-product of the oil extraction process of the Amazon Peruvian seed and has high protein (56%) and fiber (5.9%) content. Tarwi (Lupinus mutabilis Sweet) is a Peruvian legume characterized by its high protein content (>50%) and high levels of tyrosine and tryptophan amino acids. Thus, the purpose of this research was to develop high-protein cookies enriched with defatted sacha inchi cake (DSIC) and defatted tarwi (DT) as an alternative snack to combat child malnutrition. Five types of cookies were developed, along with one control sample, containing corn flour (50% w/w), rice flour (20% w/w), and varying the content of quinoa flour, DSIC flour and DT flour (0, 10%, 30% w/w). The addition of DSIC and DT increased the content in protein from 12.13% to 20.30%, fat from 6.76% to 10.42%, and ash from 1.51% to 1.89% compared to the control sample. In contrast, the moisture content decreased from 10.21% to 10.78% and carbohydrates from 59.73% to 67.48%. Moreover, all cookies had high in vitro digestibility (70.91% to 74.17%) and relatively high antioxidant activity (346 to 469 μg GAE/g cookie) and phenolic content (1286 to 1755 μg trolox/g cookie). Sensory analysis showed that cookies enriched with DT were more appealing to the panelists than those enriched with DSIC and the control sample. Hence, these cookies could serve as a gluten-free nutritional food alternative to combat child malnutrition.

The giant squid (Dosidicus gigas) is a marine product from the Pacific Ocean. Its by-products can be used to obtain bioactive products such as collagen, proteins, and others. This work aimed to develop cookies enriched with Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and native collagen from pota nape high in protein content, minerals, and antioxidants. Four formulations (4, 8, 12 and 16% collagen) were developed and compared with the control sample. The results showed higher protein (11.7 ± 0.3–20.8 ± 0.4%) content, lower moisture (4.7 ± 0.1–5.6 ± 0.2%), higher ash (3.0 ± 0.1–3.83 ± 0.09%), lower fat (15.29 ± 0.05–15.8 ± 0.1), and lower carbohydrate (53.89 ± 1.05–65.39 ± 0.82%) content than the control sample. Also, the cookies showed a significant content of polyphenols (618 ± 24–934 ± 23 µg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g), antioxidant activity (8182 ± 59–8369 ± 73 µg trolox/g) and in vitro digestibility (70.8 ± 0.1–73.6 ± 0.5%) than the control sample. The cookies also had a high mineral content: calcium (3893 ± 19 mg/kg), potassium (3222 ± 16 mg/kg), and magnesium (2108 ± 11 mg/kg). In addition, the cookies presented an adequate balance of amino acids, principally of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, glycine, threonine, arginine, alanine, proline, valine, phenylalanine, and leucine. The cookies complied with the Peruvian legislation of the Healthy Law about the promotion of healthy eating for children and adolescents and with the microbiological requirements. Finally, the cookies showed a sensory acceptance of 77.8% and a shelf life of 184 days determined by the Rancimat method. The native collagen from pota nape could be used with quinoa flour to develop functional foods to help reduce child malnutrition.