Antioxidant Effect and Sensory Evaluation of Yogurt Supplemented with Hydroponic Ginseng Root Extract

Abstract

Hydroponic ginseng (HG) is cultivated using only nutrients and water under constant environmental conditions and is more beneficial than soil-cultured ginseng (SG). This study aimed to determine the physicochemical properties, antioxidant activity, and sensory properties of HG-supplemented yogurt to develop high-value yogurt. HG (0.1%, 0.5%, and 1.0%) was added to yogurt formulations and fermented with a 0.1% starter. Antioxidant activities were determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), 2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt, reducing power, and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays. Semi-trained panelists performed a quantitative descriptive analysis for sensory evaluation. The number of starter cells increased more rapidly in ginseng extract-fortified yogurt than in the control group, shortening fermentation time. Regarding antioxidant assays, all HG extract-fortified yogurts showed higher antioxidant activity than the control group. In particular, the HG (0.5%) group showed better results than the SG group in the DPPH and reducing power assays, although the difference was not significant. The sensory scores of color, flavor, texture, taste, and overall acceptance of 0.5% HG-supplemented yogurt did not differ significantly from those of non-supplemented yogurt (control). This suggests that HG can be used in high-value dairy products as a supplement with bioactive properties for health in the food industry.

Co-Fermentation by Lactobacillus brevis B7 Improves the Antioxidant and Immunomodulatory Activities of Hydroponic Ginseng-Fortified Yogurt

“…The lowest titratable acidity was observed in C yogurt, while the highest result was observed in HG and LHG yogurts. These reverse correlations between pH and titratable acidity were also observed in a previous study [15].…”

“…In this case, hydroponic ginseng supplementation was less appreciated compared to non-ginseng-supplemented C and LB yogurt. In a previous study, hydroponic ginseng was prepared under the same conditions, and sensory tests were carried out in a similar manner [15]. Even though the scores for HG yogurt presented in Table 3 are numerically similar to those in previous studies, the results were significantly different compared with those of the non-ginseng-supplemented yogurts.…”

“…These increased solid contents could be attributed to the supplementation of HG extract. When compared to a previous study [15], The ranges of fat, protein, lactose, and total solid contents of control and hydroponic ginseng-added yogurts were 3.32-3.43%, 4.15-4.72%, 7.28-7.33%, and 14.71-15.42%, respectively. According to these results, it was considered that the prepared yogurt was consistently made, with similar quality.…”

“…Four kinds of antioxidant assays were performed to estimate the antioxidant activities of the yogurts, as described by Lee et al [15]. The antioxidant activities of the yogurts were measured using the yogurt supernatants mentioned above.…”

“…To evaluate the acceptance of ginseng-supplemented probiotic yogurts, a sensory evaluation test was performed by 32 trained panelists aged from 21 to 40 years; the test was approved by the Institutional Review Board (approval number: IRB-SMU-C-4-004). Sensory characteristics, including color, texture, flavor, taste, and overall acceptance, were evaluated according to quantitative descriptive analysis [15]. The preference for each parameter was scored using a 7-point descriptive scale (1 = exceedingly unpreferable, 7 = exceedingly preferable).…”