Exploring the Nutritional Potential of Microalgae in the Formulation of Bakery Products.

Microalgae have positioned themselves as an innovative and sustainable source of bioactive compounds and high nutritional value. The selection of a suitable food carrier is important to ease its consumption, and to preserve bioactivity through food processing. The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of different microalgae in baked products. Crackers and grissini were produced following a specific formulation, with percentages ranging from 1.5 to 3.5% of flour substituted with , , and dry biomass in the formulas. Physico-chemical, nutritional, and sensorial characterization was carried out. The incorporation of microalgae led to increased nutritional values, including antioxidant capacity (AOX), total phenolic content (TPC) and protein content with an amino acids' identification and quantification. Grissini with at 3.5% and crackers with at 1.5% levels, showed a higher overall acceptance within the panelists. For amino acid content, crackers were shown to be rich in alanine, aspartate, and tryptophan, while grissini stood out for being particularly rich in isoleucine, leucine, lysine, and valine. Thus, and could be a sustainable ingredient to formulate baked goods with an enhanced nutrimental matrix without altering their acceptability to consumers.