Risk–Benefit Assessment of Pajuro (Erythrina edulis) Seed Coat and Seed Kernel Flours as Novel Food Ingredients

Pajuro (Erythrina edulis) is an underutilized Andean legume with potential for novel food formulations. This study evaluated the risks and benefits of pajuro seed coat and seed kernel flours under theoretical cookie formulation scenarios. Nutritional components and potentially toxic elements were evaluated, and dietary exposure was estimated probabilistically for four age groups using Monte Carlo simulation. Wheat flour replacement with either pajuro flour was modeled using a uniform probability distribution ranging from 5% to 10% of the wheat flour fraction. The highest individual benefit quotients (BQ) were associated with dietary fiber in seed coat flour and potassium in seed kernel flour among children aged 1–6 years. In contrast, hazard quotients (HQ) remained low, with the highest mean values observed for Zn in seed coat flour (0.00590) and Cu in seed kernel flour (0.00586). Aggregate total hazard quotients (THQ), interpreted as screening-level composite indices rather than direct estimates of cumulative health risk, remained below 1 across all age groups, ranging from 0.06 to 0.15 for the seed coat and from 0.08 to 0.16 for the seed kernel. The upper tail of the total benefit quotient (TBQ) reached 0.97 and 0.86 for seed coat and seed kernel, respectively, in children aged 1–6 years. These findings suggest a favorable quantitative risk–benefit profile under the modeled scenarios; however, experimental validation is needed before practical food applications can be established.