Sustainable production and characterization of almond butter added oat-flaxseed food bar rich in bioactive content

• Food bars are functional food formulations with health promoting potential • Successful enrichment of oat-based food bar with almond butter and flaxseed • Bars with 70% almond butter exhibited highest phenolic and antioxidant potential • Antioxidants rich food bar presented lower microbial counts during storage Value added food bars rich in bioactive and antioxidant content developed by diverse amalgamations of agro-industrial products offer numerous health benefits that extend beyond basic nutritional value. The objective of this research was to develop and evaluate flaxseed food bars with 70% (T 1 ), 60% (T 2 ) and 50% almond butter (T 3 ). The study also aimed to explore their physicochemical, microbial, sensory as well as antioxidant attributes throughout a 60-day storage. Results revealed a notable improvement in the total phenolic (TP) content and antioxidant activity of the food bar (T1). TP content reached a peak value of 38.69±0.72 mg GAE/100 g (T 1 ) while the lowest value (36.29±0.68 mgGAE/100g) was recorded in T 3 . Similarly, DPPH radical scavenging activity peaked at 79.37±0.72 molAAE/100g in T 1 , and was lowest (76.97±0.75 molAAE/100g) in T 3 . T 1 also showed significantly high ( p≤0.05 ) fiber content (6.56±0.06%). Yeast and mold count varied from a minimum of 1.43±0.09 CFU/g (T 1 ) to a peak of 1.99±0.12 CFU/g (T 3 ) and similarly, total plate count ranged from 2.28±0.12 CFU/g (T 1 ) to 2.92±0.09 CFU/g (T 3 ). Oat-flaxseed bars with 70% almond butter (T 1 ) emerged as a preferred option for the consumers based on the significantly high ( p≤0.05 ) color, texture, mouthfeel, and overall acceptability results.