Algae protein enriched nutritious snacks and their sensory evaluation

Author(s): Kshipra Gautam, Ashish Waghmare, Niraja Soni, Aniket A Teredesai, Manish R Shukla, Santanu Dasgupta

Protein is an important component of human nutrition. Algal protein is a novel protein supplement, which has amino acid composition like that of soy protein which is a commonly used plant protein source. In this paper, purified protein from a green alga, Picochlorum sp., is incorporated in popular snacks such as, tortilla chips, energy bar and khakhara, as a protein supplement. The algal protein used in the snacks is 80-85% pure containing ~32% of essential amino acids. The algal protein is added at 5% concentration and improves the total protein in the tortilla chips, energy bar and khakhara, by 44%, 40% and 34%, respectively. The carbohydrate content is reduced in the algae protein integrated tortilla chips, khakhara and energy bar by 4.6%, 6.4% and 6.9%, respectively. The sensory evaluation of the test and control samples against the essential attributes for the three snack items showed a good acceptability of the algal protein- incorporated tortilla chips, khakhara and energy bar. Hence, this will be helpful in catering to protein deficiency problems and adds to the options for consumers interested in vegan protein sources.