From solid dispersion to the simultaneous extraction of lipids and proteins: a bio-guided strategy to improve the nutritional and biological properties of almond milk

Almond milk is a popular dairy alternative, but it is low in nutrients. To enhance its nutrient density, unroasted, light, and dark roasted almonds were ground to different particle sizes (flour, butter, paste) and subjected to aqueous (AEP) and enzyme-assisted extraction processes (EAEP). Dark roasting increased oil extractability from flour to 79%, while reducing particle size to butter and paste further increased oil extractability up to 96%. Roasting enhanced protein extractability from flour (62% dark) but reduced it from butter and paste (81 to 71% for AEP). EAEP increased protein extractability up to 92% for butter and paste. Microscopy revealed that roasting increased oil body bursting, cellular disruption, and protein aggregation. Butter produced milks with higher nutrient density (1.51-1.91% protein and 4.61-5.42% oil), reduced energy requirements, and high i n vitro protein digestibility (84-88.1%). Proteolysis and roasting reduced the α-helix content and increased unordered structures of dark roasted milk proteins. Surface hydrophobicity was reduced for unroasted and light roasted EAEP milks but increased for dark roasted milk. EAEP milk proteins exhibited higher absolute zeta potential values than AEP milk proteins. These findings underscore the potential of AEP and EAEP as alternative methods for producing almond milks with enhanced nutritional content.