## 3 Results and Discussion
### Color Analysis  
Color analysis is important to evaluate how the alternative ingredients, such as moringa leaves and baru almonds, used in the pesto sauce formulation influence its colorimetric parameters. The inclusion of moringa leaves and baru almonds in the formulations significantly altered the chromatic properties of the pesto sauces (Table 4). All samples \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Component (\% _w/w_)**} \\ \hline
**Pesto Ingredients** & **Moisture** & **Carbohydrate** & **Protein** & **Lipid** & **Ash** \\ \hline Basil leaves & 88.4 \(\pm\) 0.4 a & 6.3 \(\pm\) 0.1 b & 3.4 \(\pm\) 0.4 b & 0.5 \(\pm\) 0.1 b & 1.4 \(\pm\) 0.1 b \\ Moringa leaves & 70.0 \(\pm\) 0.2 b & 12.9 \(\pm\) 0.3 a & 10.3 \(\pm\) 0.7 a & 3.2 \(\pm\) 0.1 a & 2.6 \(\pm\) 0.1 a \\ Cashew nuts & 3.1 \(\pm\) 0.0 b & 25.3 \(\pm\) 0.1 b & 20.3 \(\pm\) 0.7 b & 49.1 \(\pm\) 0.7 a & 2.2 \(\pm\) 0.0 b \\ Baru almonds & 6.4 \(\pm\) 0.3 a & 26.1 \(\pm\) 0.3 a & 26.5 \(\pm\) 2.3 a & 38.3 \(\pm\) 0.0 b & 2.7 \(\pm\) 0.0 a \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* Different lowercase letters indicate statistical differences between leaves and different uppercase letters indicate differences between cashew nuts and almonds by Tukey’s test. Significance level \(p<0.05\). Coefficient of variation \(<10\).  
\end{table} 
Table 2: Proximate composition of basil and moringa leaves, cashew nuts, and baru almonds. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Component (\% _w/w_)**} \\ \hline
**Pesto Sauces** & **Moisture** & **Carbohydrate** & **Protein** & **Lipid** & **Ash** \\ \hline B/CN & 22.7 \(\pm\) 0.0 b & 6.9\(\pm\) 0.3 b & 7.9 \(\pm\) 0.4 b & 60.1\(\pm\) 0.3 a & 2.4 \(\pm\) 0.0 b \\ B/BA & 25.0 \(\pm\) 0.5 a & 7.7 \(\pm\) 0.6 ab & 8.7 \(\pm\) 0.3 ab & 55.9 \(\pm\) 0.6 b & 2.7 \(\pm\) 0.1 a \\ BM/CN & 21.9 \(\pm\) 0.6 b & 7.4 \(\pm\) 0.3 ab & 8.0 \(\pm\) 0.3 b & 60.2 \(\pm\) 0.3 a & 2.5 \(\pm\) 0.1 b \\ BM/BA & 22.6 \(\pm\) 0.2 b & 8.7 \(\pm\) 0.3 a & 9.0 \(\pm\) 0.2 a & 56.9 \(\pm\) 0.3 b & 2.8 \(\pm\) 0.0 a \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* Different letters indicate statistical differences within the column by [PERSON]’s test. Significance level \(p<0.05\). Coefficient of variation \(<10\). B/CN, the traditional Brazilian version featuring basil and cashew nuts; B/BA, a formulation substituting cashew nuts with baru almonds; BM/CN, replacing 50% of the basil with moringa leaves, plus cashew nuts; BM/BA, replacing 50% of the basil with moringa leaves, plus baru almonds.  
\end{table} 
Table 3: Proximate composition of pesto sauce formulations. exhibited L* values below 50, indicating a dark appearance [38], with the BM/BA formulation showing the lowest lightness value (\(p<0.05\)). This reduction may be attributed to the high chlorophyll content of moringa leaves, a pattern previously observed in other foods enriched with this ingredient, such as gluten-free bread [39]. In addition to darkening the product, this characteristic may contribute to a more intense and visually appealing color. The hue angle (h\({}^{\circ}\)) values obtained for the pesto sauce samples were around 90\({}^{\circ}\), indicating a hue close to yellow tending toward green. All formulations differed significantly from each other (\(p<0.05\)), demonstrating that the variables under study imparted a distinct color to each pesto sauce within the visible spectrum. The hue angle variability among the formulations was notably influenced by the inclusion of moringa leaves and baru almonds. Specifically, the sample combining moringa leaves and baru almonds (BM/BA) showed a more pronounced green hue compared to the other samples, followed by the formulation in which 50% of the basil leaves were replaced by moringa leaves, with the cashew nuts preserved (BM/CN). This can be attributed not only to the higher chlorophyll content in moringa leaves but also to their lower degradation during processing compared to basil chlorophyll [40].