Chia seed (Salvia hispanica L.) as a functional ingredient: nutritional composition, processing technologies, food applications, and industrial challenges

Silvera-Otañe G.P.; Díaz-Llocclla M.; Asto-Rodriguez E.; Rodriguez Dominguez A.; Cano Otañe M.A.; Salvador-Reyes R. · European Food Research and Technology (2026) · DOI: 10.1007/s00217-026-05287-2

Resumen

Chia seeds (Salvia hispanica L.) have emerged as one of the most promising plant-based functional ingredients owing to their high contents of α-linolenic acid, dietary fiber, protein, and antioxidant compounds. This narrative review critically evaluates the nutritional composition, techno-functional properties, processing technologies, and food applications of chia seeds and their main derivatives, including mucilage, oil, and protein-rich fractions. Conventional and emerging processing technologies, such as cold pressing, supercritical fluid extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, pulsed electric fields, subcritical water hydrolysis, and atmospheric cold plasma, are compared in terms of extraction efficiency, bioactive compound preservation, and functional performance. Chia-derived ingredients exhibit excellent hydration, emulsifying, stabilizing, and gel-forming properties, enabling their successful incorporation into bakery products, dairy foods, beverages, meat analogs, and gluten-free formulations as fat replacers, egg replacers, and clean-label hydrocolloids. Nevertheless, industrial implementation remains constrained by oxidative instability of α-linolenic acid, variability in ingredient functionality, sensory limitations, and processing contaminants’ formation under severe thermal conditions. Overall, the review highlights that the future development of chia-based ingredients depends on matrix-specific process optimization, improved stabilization strategies, standardized characterization protocols, and validation under industrial and sensory conditions to fully exploit their potential in sustainable next-generation food systems. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2026.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de Huancavelica; Universidad Tecnológica del Perú; Universidad Nacional del Santa; Universidad Privada del Norte