Effect of the addition of peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth.) by-product flour on the technofunctional, structural properties, carotenoid composition and provitamin A activity of extruded cassava snacks

Peach palm ( Bactris gasipaes Kunth.) processing generates significant amounts of peel waste rich in dietary fiber and carotenoids. Incorporating this by-product into extruded snacks represents an opportunity to develop nutritionally enriched functional foods while supporting circular bioeconomy strategies. Peach palm peel flour (PPF) was incorporated at 2.5% and 7.5% into two cassava-based matrices, raw cassava flour (RCF) and toasted cassava flour (TCF), and processed by thermoplastic extrusion. Structural, techno-functional, and carotenoid properties were evaluated, including expansion, hardness, color, circularity, porosity, diameter, SEM microstructure, HPLC-DAD carotenoid composition and provitamin A activity. PPF significantly increased fiber content in RCF-based snacks (6.58 to 11.1 g/100 g; ≈68.7%) and TCF-based snacks (7.0 to 10.0 g/100 g; ≈42.9%), and enhanced color intensity (C*) by up to 148% and 74%, respectively (p < 0.05). PPF addition reduced expansion by up to 19% and hardness by approximately 15% in RCF snacks, while extrudate diameter decreased from 11.2 to 9.8 mm (RCF) and from 11.6 to 10.1 mm (TCF) at 7.5% PPF (p < 0.05). Circularity and porosity were not significantly affected (p > 0.05). SEM analysis revealed partially gelatinized starch structures in both matrices. HPLC-DAD identified 15 carotenoids in PPF, with β-carotene as the major compound (335 µg/g). Carotenoid content increased from 0.01 to 32.9 µg/g in RCF snacks and from 0.03 to 48.4 µg/g in TCF snacks, raising provitamin A activity to up to 2.40 µg RAE/g (p < 0.05). PPF is a promising clean-label ingredient for nutritionally enriched extruded cassava snacks, enhancing fiber and provitamin A content while preserving acceptable structural properties.