Development of baked crispy snack of eggplant leaves fortified with protein from insects

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop the baked crispy edible eggplant leaves fortified with protein from insects. The effects of 3 ingredient ratios including edible eggplant leaves (Solanum melongena L.; 30–50%), crickets (Acheta domestica; 30–50%) and a binder (Tapioca flour; 20–40%) on the qualities of baked crispy edible eggplant leave product were studied. A mixture design was applied to examine the amount of edible eggplant leaves, crickets and the binder on the overall preference of baked crispy edible eggplant leaves. The results showed that the appropriate ratio for the production of baked crispy edible eggplant leaves was the mixture of edible eggplant leaves, cricket and binder at 50.00:30.00:20.00 ratio, respectively. This ratio gave the highest overall preference with the value of 7.70. The final product, baked crispy edible eggplant leaves showed the greenish color with L* a* b* value of 22.82, –3.21 and 11.53, respectively. The protein, fat, ash, moisture, fiber, and carbohydrate content in the product were 16.24, 7.13, 4.07, 5.89, 6.79, and 59.88 g/100g, respectively. The antioxidant activity measured by DPPH radical scavenging assay was 64.82%.