Development, quality assessment and nutritive valorization of Spirulina platensis in yogurt spread

Abstract

Dairy products are an excellent source of lactose, water-soluble vitamins, proteins and minerals. They are not considered a key source of bioactive compounds, despite their positive nutritional benefits. The main objective of this study was to develop yogurt spread fortified with Spirulina platensis (SP) and to valorize its impact on the physicochemical properties, shelf life, and quality assessment of the yogurt spread during storage yogurt spread at 0, 14, and 28 d. SP is threadlike blue-green cyanobacteria or microalgae containing polyphenols, phytochemicals like flavonoids and carotenoids which act as antioxidants. Yogurt was developed by using low-fat milk fortified with SP by 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5% respectively to assess the shelf life of spread. The acquired data was inspected by using two-factor factorial designs (two-way analysis of variance) and LSD (Least significant difference) test was used for relative comparison of treatments. Physicochemical characteristics in yogurt spread were 75.6% moisture, 0.68% ash, 4.20 pH, 1.16% acidity, and 0.24mg of iron. Sensory evaluation of yogurt spread was done at different storage periods (0, 14, and 28 d). The current study revealed that SP can be fortified in yogurt spread for utilization of its bioactive substance’s benefits which in return can boost human health.

Development of Functional Dairy Spread

“…The increase in ash percentage in the functional spread compared to the control could be attributed to the addition of mineral content from the spices. Similar results were confirmed by Nazir et al [20] in their study on the preparation of yoghurt spread fortified with spirulina powder. They observed that yoghurt spread with 2.5% added spirulina exhibited a higher ash content of 0.69% compared to 0.65% in the yogurt spread without spirulina.…”

“…This might be due to an increase in the total solids content from the spices in the spread. Nazir et al [20] observed that yoghurt spread with added Spirulina (2.5%) exhibited a lower moisture content compared to yoghurt spread without added Spirulina, measuring 74.60% and 77.59%, respectively.…”