## 3 Results and Discussion
### Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity
However, despite the recognized functional benefits associated with condensed tannins, there is a challenge related to their concentration in foods given their inherent ability to precipitate proteins and induce an astringent flavor, which may pose a sensory disadvantage ([PERSON] et al., 2016). The antioxidant capacity refers to the ability of compounds to act as proton and electron donors to stabilize free radicals. The ABTS and FRAP methods, involving electron transfer reactions, are frequently employed to quantify this parameter ([PERSON] et al., 2016). Antioxidant capacity values obtained by these methods ranged from 167.67 mg TEAC/100 g (B/BA) to 304.94 mg TEAC/100 g (B/CN) for ABTS and from 75.63 mg TEAC/100 g (B/BA) to 133.25 mg TEAC/100 g (BM/BA) for FRAP. Formulations with higher phenolic compounds concentrations, i.e., B/CN, BM/CN, and BM/BA, exhibited increased antioxidant capacity determined by both ABTS and FRAP methods. The presence of highly reducing functional groups, such as phenolic groups in phenolic compounds, enables them to donate electrons or hydrogen when in contact with an oxidizing agent, resulting in the formation of oxidized \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Pesto Sauces** & **TPCs (mg GAE/100 g)** & \begin{tabular}{c} **Condensed Tannins** \\ **(mg CE/100 g)** \\ \end{tabular} & \
\begin{tabular}{c} **ABTS (mg Trolox** \\ **Equivalent/100 g)** \\ \end{tabular} &
\begin{tabular}{c} **FRAP (mg Trolox** \\ **Equivalent/100 g)** \\ \end{tabular} \\ \hline B/CN & 151.8 \(\pm\) 4.5 & 50.7 \(\pm\) 2.8 & 304.9 \(\pm\) 14.1 & 128.6 \(\pm\) 9.4 & 128.6 \(\pm\) 9.4 & 133.2 \\ B/BA & 93.1 \(\pm\) 2.8 & 43.8 \(\pm\) 0.8 & 167.7 \(\pm\) 13.9 & 175.6 \(\pm\) 8.4 & 1 \\ BM/CN & 150.8 \(\pm\) 11.6 & 86.1 \(\pm\) 6.0 & 289.4 \(\pm\) 13.2 & 112.7 \(\pm\) 3.9 & 112.7 \(\pm\) 3.9 & 113.2 \\ BM/BA & 162.7 \(\pm\) 7.4 & 113.3 \(\pm\) 1.4 & 287.4 \(\pm\) 5.2 & 128.4 \(\pm\) 5.2 & 133.3 \(\pm\) 8.4 & 113.3 \(\pm\) 8.4 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* Different letters indicate statistical difference within the column. Significance level \(p<0.05\), by [PERSON]’s test 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 5: Mean total phenolic compounds (TPCs) (expressed in mg of gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 g sample), condensed tannins (expressed in mg of catechin equivalents per gram of sample (CE)/100 g sample), and antioxidant capacity determined by the ABTS and FRAP methods for pesto sauce samples. products of bioactive compounds [52]. In this context, the antioxidant capacity of the ingredients used can be attributed to the presence of various phenolic compounds identified in each of them. Basil, for instance, contains phenolic acids such as cafartic, caffeic, ferulic, chicoric, and rosmarinic acids [53; 54]. In morringa leaves chlorogenic and gallic acids are the main phenolic acids, along with flavonoids such as catechin, kaempfer, rutin, naringenin, luteolin, and myricetin [7]. In cashew nuts the predominant compounds are (+)-catechin and gallic acid, whereas in baru almonds p-couamaric, isoferulic, ellagic, and gallic acids have been identified, along with their derivatives including gallic acid esters and gallotannins [20; 47]. Positive correlations were observed between phenolic compounds content in B/CN (0.97, \(p\) < 0.05) and BM/CN (0.69, \(p\) < 0.05) samples and FRAP values. However, the BM/BA sample showed a negative correlation (\(-\)0.75, \(p\) < 0.05), indicating the presence of other bioactive compounds influencing the result. Notably, BM/CN and BM/BA samples demonstrated similar concentrations of bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity as the traditional sample (B/CN).