## 3 Results and Discussion
### Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity  
Phenolic compounds have been studied in products containing nuts and herbs due to their ability to act as antioxidants, and their additional potential health benefits [42; 43; 44]. The inclusion of different ingredients in pesto sauce can change the content and profile of phenolic compounds in the final product. Table 5 displays the content of phenolic compounds and the antioxidant capacity in the pesto sauce formulated with different ingredients. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline
**Pesto Sauces** & **L*** & **a*** & **b*** & **h\({}^{\circ}\)** & **C*** & \(\Delta\)E** \\ \hline B/CN & 30.2 \(\pm\) 0.7 a & 0.1 \(\pm\) 0.1 a & 22.5 \(\pm\) 0.5 a & 89.5 \(\pm\) 0,2 d & 22.5 \(\pm\) 0.5 a & - \\ B/BA & 28.7 \(\pm\) 0.4 ab & \(-\)1.4 \(\pm\) 0.1 b & 22.8 \(\pm\) 0.7 a & 93.5 \(\pm\) 0.2 c & 22.9 \(\pm\) 0.7 a & 2.4 \(\pm\) 0.1 b \\ BM/CN & 27.2 \(\pm\) 1.2 ab & \(-\)3.0 \(\pm\) 0.6 c & 22.3 \(\pm\) 3.1 a & 97.7 \(\pm\) 0.7 b & 22.5 \(\pm\) 3.1 a & 5.4 \(\pm\) 0.1 a \\ BM/BA & 26.3 \(\pm\) 1.3 b & \(-\)4.1 \(\pm\) 0.5 c & 19.8 \(\pm\) 0.5 a & 101.6 \(\pm\) 1.6 a & 20.2 \(\pm\) 0.4 a & 6.4 \(\pm\) 0.5 a \\ \hline \end{tabular} Different letters indicate statistical differences within the column by [PERSON]’s test. Significance level \(p<0.05\). 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 4: Mean values \(\pm\) standard deviation for the chromatic coordinates L* (luminosity), a* (chromaticity), and b* (chromaticity), as well as for the values of saturation index (C*), hue angle (h\({}^{\circ}\)), and color variation parameter (\(\Delta\)E). The pesto sauce formulations B/CN, BM/CN, and BM/BA exhibited higher levels of total phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacities determined by the ABTS and FRAP methods (\(p<0.05\)) compared to the B/BA formulation. Specifically, the pesto sauce incorporating moringa leaves and baru almonds (BM/BA) demonstrated an approximately 57% increase in total phenolic compounds compared to the formulation with basil and baru almonds (B/BA). Although the literature reports high TPC values in moringa (245 mg GAE/g) ([PERSON] et al., 2016), in contrast to basil (3 a 17 mg GAE/g) ([PERSON] et al., 2016), and relatively low TPC in baru almonds (5 mg GAE/g) ([PERSON] et al., 2016) and cashew nuts (1 mg GAE/g) ([PERSON] et al., 2016), our results revealed an unexpected pattern. The combination of basil leaves and baru almonds resulted in the lowest TPC concentration and antioxidant activity. This result may be attributed to an antagonistic interaction between basil and baru, probably involving specific interactions that led to the degradation or reduced extractability of phenolic compounds. Similar results for total phenolic compounds were found in a study of pesto sauce prepared from basil grown in soil (159.31 mg/100 g) ([PERSON] et al., 2016). On the other hand, in the study of pesto made from faba beans seeds, higher values for total phenolic compounds (298 mg GAE/100 g) were reported ([PERSON] et al., 2016). It is important to emphasize that the total phenolic compounds are influenced by various factors, such as cultivar type, growing conditions, processing, and extraction methods ([PERSON] et al., 2016). Concerning condensed tannins, the BM/BA sample exhibited the highest value among all pesto sauce. The obtained value (113.28 mg EC/100 g) indicates that nearly 70% of total phenolic compounds comprise condensed tannins. These compounds confer antioxidant capacity and find applications across diverse industries, such as pharmaceutical, medical, and food ([PERSON] et al., 2016).