Calorific and characteristics of seaweed Gracilaria sp. flour-based boba pearls in Indonesia

The tapioca-based boba pearls typically contain high sugar and calorific value that can induce health risks. Seaweed Gracilaria sp. flour is considered an alternative to tapioca flour because it contains gelling polysaccharides with high fiber, low lipid and calorific value, as well as various bioactive compounds with beneficial health effects. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate calorific value and other quality parameters of boba pearls formulated from local Indonesian seaweed Gracilaria sp. flour. The samples were prepared by substituting tapioca flour with 5 (F5), 10 (F10), and 15% w/w (F15) of seaweed flour and then compared to the control and commercial boba pearls. The parameters assessed were calorific value, proximate composition, pH, microbial concentration, and sensory quality. The results showed that the F15 boba pearls had the lowest calorific value of 2.17 kcal g − 1 with 1.75% DW of total protein, 0.39% DW of total lipid, 0.80% DW of ash, 97.06% DW of total carbohydrate and 45.51% FW of moisture content. The pH and microbial concentration of the F15 boba pearls were 5 and 6.9 × 10 4 CFU mL − 1 , respectively, while the overall sensory acceptance rate was 6 (like slightly) from the maximum of 9 (like extremely).