Development and characterization of an optimized novel drink from three varieties of sprouted quinoa

Sprouted products are a food alternative that contribute to improving human nutrition. Quinoa has a large amount of natural antioxidants. The dry and hard grains when they undergo a germination process change to tender and slightly acidic sprouts that contain amino acids, minerals, vitamins, enzymes that help digestion and antioxidants. Furthermore, sprouted quinoa has a high protein content and a low concentration of saponins. Previous studies have shown that sprouted quinoa has shown an increase in protein, calcium and ascorbic acid content. Quinoa sprouts improve the organoleptic characteristics of quinoa grains; few studies have used sprouted quinoa in the preparation of beverages. The objective of this study was to prepare a beverage based on sprouted quinoa using a simplex lattice mix design to determine the optimal formula. Three varieties of sprouted quinoa were used: white (Salcedo INIA), red (INIA-415 Pasankalla), and black (INIA 420-Negra Collana). The quinoa was incubated at 30°C in the dark for 48 hours at a relative humidity of 98%. Ten treatments with different proportions of the three types of sprouted quinoa were used. The antioxidant capacity and consumer satisfaction of the ten treatments were evaluated. The ABTS method was used to measure the antioxidant capacity of each treatment. The optimal drink mix was composed of 81.67% sprouted black quinoa, 18.33% sprouted white quinoa, and 0% sprouted red quinoa. Furthermore, the consumer acceptability results were similar across all treatments (p>0.05). A nutritional analysis revealed significant differences (p<0.05) between the optimized drink and the control treatment. The microbiological analysis demonstrated that the formulated drink met the required sanitary norms for aerobic mesophiles, coliforms, molds, yeasts, and absence of Salmonella. The quinoa beverage made from three varieties of germinated quinoa represents a novel alternative to the current drinkable products marketed in Peru due to its nutritional content, antioxidants, and ease of preparation. Key words: Sprouts, Chenopodium quinoa, ABTS, Design-expert, Mixture design, antioxidant capacity, acceptability