Characterization of newly developed protein soy-based burger formulations incorporated with dried unconventional food plants

The growing demand for sustainable and nutritious plant-based foods has driven the development of innovative alternatives to traditional meat products. This work describes the characterization of soy-based vegan burgers enriched with unconventional food plants (UFP) from Pereskia aculeata (PA), Xanthosoma sagittifolium (XS), Stachys byzantina (SB) and three Musa acuminata varieties (MAD, MAP and MAC). UFP incorporation significantly influenced the nutritional composition, with protein contents ranging from 14.2 g/100 g dw (SB) to 18.5 g/100 g dw (MAD), and dietary fiber from 19 g/100 g dw (C, control) to 29 g/100 g dw (PA). Antioxidant activity also varied, with EC50 values in the DPPH assay between 99 μg/mL (SB) and 165 μg/mL (C), while FRAP values ranged from 117 μM TE/g (SB) to 157 μM TE/g (C). In the CAA assay, PA, XS and SB showed EC50 values of 156, 162 and 99 μg/mL, respectively, compared with values >2000 μg/mL for the control. The textural properties differed as well, with hardness values from 746 N (C) to 1379 N (XS) and cooking yield between 69 % (PA) and 84 % (MAP). Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed distinctive compositional and bioactive profiles among the formulations, underscoring the potential of these burgers as functional foods.