<![CDATA[Abstract. Romadhoni IF, Iriyani D, Ismawati R, Raharja KT. 2026. Compositional protein and lipid quality indices in Salak (Salacca zalacca) snack bars fortified with Moringa oleifera. Asian J Agric 10 (1): g100165. https://doi.org/10.13057/asianjagric/g100165. This study evaluated whether graded incorporation of Moringa oleifera Leaf Powder (MOLP) induces coordinated remodeling of protein and lipid composition in salak (Salacca zalacca) flour-based snack bars. A completely randomized design was used with five fortification levels (0-8% w/w MOLP substitution in salak flour), each replicated in three independent batches (n = 3). Indispensable amino acid composition of the snack bars was quantified using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) after acid hydrolysis and pre-column derivatization. Amino acid adequacy was evaluated relative to the FAO/WHO/UNU adult reference pattern through Amino Acid Scoring (AAS). Fatty acid composition was determined by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID), and lipid distribution was interpreted using composite indices including the Atherogenic Index (AI), Thrombogenic Index (TI), and the n-6/n-3 ratio. MOLP fortification produced a clear dose-dependent increase in the density of indispensable amino acids. Lysine increased from 36.13 to 58.71 mg g⁻¹ protein, correcting the intrinsic lysine limitation of the fruit-derived matrix, whereas sulfur amino acids remained limiting across treatments. Fatty acid redistribution resulted in moderate increases in polyunsaturated fatty acids (up to 36.05% of total fatty acids). Composite lipid indices remained within balanced compositional ranges, with AI decreasing to 0.95, TI reaching 0.62, and the n-6/n-3 ratio maintained at 1.32 despite a constant palm oil source. These findings demonstrate that moderate MOLP inclusion (6-8%) can simultaneously modify indispensable amino acid adequacy and lipid compositional indices in a fruit-based snack matrix. Because digestibility and bioavailability were not assessed, the results represent compositional indicators rather than physiological metrics of protein quality.]]>
