The Effect of Aromatic Plant Extracts Encapsulated in Alginate on the Bioactivity, Textural Characteristics and Shelf Life of Yogurt
Liliana Popescu,
Daniela Cojocari,
Aliona Ghendov-Mosanu,
Ildiko Lung,
Maria-Loredana Soran,
Ocsana Opriş,
Irina Kacso,
Alexandra Ciorîţă,
Greta Balan,
Adela Pintea,
Rodica Sturza
Affiliations
Liliana Popescu
Faculty of Food Technology, Technical University of Moldova, 9/9 Studentilor St., MD-2045 Chisinau, Moldova
Daniela Cojocari
Department of Preventive Medicine, “Nicolae Testemitanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 165 Stefan cel Mare Bd., MD-2004 Chisinau, Moldova
Aliona Ghendov-Mosanu
Faculty of Food Technology, Technical University of Moldova, 9/9 Studentilor St., MD-2045 Chisinau, Moldova
Ildiko Lung
Department of Physics of Nanostructured Systems, National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Maria-Loredana Soran
Department of Physics of Nanostructured Systems, National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Ocsana Opriş
Department of Physics of Nanostructured Systems, National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Irina Kacso
Department of Physics of Nanostructured Systems, National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Alexandra Ciorîţă
Department of Physics of Nanostructured Systems, National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Greta Balan
Department of Preventive Medicine, “Nicolae Testemitanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 165 Stefan cel Mare Bd., MD-2004 Chisinau, Moldova
Adela Pintea
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 3–5 Calea Manastus St., 400374 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Rodica Sturza
Faculty of Food Technology, Technical University of Moldova, 9/9 Studentilor St., MD-2045 Chisinau, Moldova
The article investigated the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of extracts from two aromatic plants—Satureja hortensis L. (SE) and Rosmarinus officinalis L. (RE), encapsulated in alginate, on—yogurt properties. The encapsulation efficiency was controlled by FTIR and SEM analysis. In both extracts, the individual polyphenol content was determined by HPLC–DAD–ESI-MS. The total polyphenol content and the antioxidant activity were spectrophotometrically quantified. The antimicrobial properties of SE and RE against gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Geobacillus stearothermophilus), gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Salmonella abony) and yeasts (Candida albicans) were analyzed in vitro. The encapsulated extracts were used to prepare the functional concentrated yogurt. It was established that the addition of 0.30–0.45% microencapsulated plant extracts caused the inhibition of the post-fermentation process, the improvement of the textural parameters of the yogurt during storage, thus the shelf life of the yogurt increased by seven days, compared to the yogurt simple. Mutual information analysis was applied to establish the correlation between the concentration of the encapsulated extracts on the sensory, physical-chemical, and textural characteristics of the yogurt.
