Dairy products contain lipids rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and their esters are easily oxidized by molecular oxygen over time. Deleterious changes in dairy products caused by lipid oxidation include not only loss of flavour or development of off-flavours, but also loss of colour, nutrient value, and the accumulation of compounds, which may be detrimental to the health of consumers. One of the most effective ways of retarding lipid oxidation in dairy products is to incorporate antioxidants. Sometimes synthetic phenolic antioxidant, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are used to delay this oxidation. Supplementation dairy products with natural antioxidants (polyphenolic compounds) are better using than synthetic antioxidant and could be potentially. The use of rosemary as natural antioxidant in dairy products can reduce the rate of lipid oxidation and hydrolysis besides may be beneficial in increasing the shelf life of these products. This supplementation will move these products into the functional food area under new category as healthy dairy products. This literature review covers the research that has focused on rosemary as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that can inhibit the lipid oxidation and have health benefits by preventing carcinogens from binding to DNA, fight and stop pain. In this review, we survey the previous studies that were conducted on the application of rosemary extract as an antioxidant to extend the shelf life and to minimize nutritional losses of dairy product.

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