Kappaphycus alvarezii flours as an ingredient for seaweed-enriched, rice-based, snacks: raw algae pretreatment and physical properties of the dough and snacks

In this work, the addition of pretreated Kappaphycus alvarezii flour to a rice-based snack formulation was proposed as an alternative to producing algae-enriched snacks adding value to this seaweed and improving the quality of the snacks. Dried algae were submitted to multiple washing cycles to allow the reduction of the natural salt concentration of the algae. After, algae were dried and milled to obtain flour. The flour was added in different concentrations (0%, 2%, 5%, and 10%) in the model formulation of rice-based dough. Rice-K. alvarezii snacks were produced by baking at 220 degrees C. The proximate composition of the raw and pretreated algae was determined, as well as the colour, texture, and microstructure of dough and snacks. The pretreatment efficiently allowed for a reduction of 78% of the initial content of sodium and an 85% reduction of potassium. The concentration of 5% and 10% of algae addition presented higher values of hardness and consistency of the dough and lower adhesiveness. At higher concentrations, the seaweed flour acts as a processing aid during the preparation steps of the snacks but does not influence the hardness of the final snacks. The pretreated K. alvarezii flour is an alternative for increasing the quality of rice-based snacks while preserving the algae's potential health benefits.