Food Products with High Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities and Their Sensory Appreciation

Abstract

(1) Background: The demand for healthy and nutritious food is growing worldwide. Fermented dairy products are highly valued by consumers for their health benefits. Kefir is a fermented dairy product that brings many benefits to the consumer due to its antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, antihypertensive and antimicrobial properties. Extracts from various plants in the form of volatile oils have a beneficial efct on consumer health. their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were demonstrated. (2) Methods: In the present study, the main purpose was to obtain a fermented dairy product with a high nutritional value; therefore, kefir, enriched with three types of volatile oils, namely, volatile mint oil, volatile fennel oil and volatile lavender oil, was made. The kefir samples obtained were sensory and texturally analyzed. The beneficial effect on health must also be studied in terms of the acceptability of these products by consumers from a sensory point of view. A non-numerical method based on several multi-personal approval criteria was used to interpret the results obtained in the sensory analysis. In the textural analysis, the consistency, cohesiveness and firmness of the kefir samples were analyzed. (3) Results: The samples enriched with volatile oils obtained superior results compared to the control sample in both conducted examinations. Kefir samples with volatile oils retained their sensory and textural characteristics for a longer time during storage. (4) Conclusions: The volatile oils added to kefir positively influenced the sensory and textural characteristics of the finished product.

Natural Polymers as Carriers for Encapsulation of Volatile Oils: Applications and Perspectives in Food Products

“…Interest in this topic was continued in 2022 and 2023, investigating the effect of peppermint, fennel, and lavender oil on cow’s milk kefir. Figure 2 shows the process of obtaining and encapsulating the volatile oil used by Tita et al [ 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 ].…”

“…This resulted in an innovative dairy product with high nutritional value and health benefits for the consumer. Figure 3 shows samples of yoghurt and kefir with encapsulated volatile oil obtained by Tita et al [ 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 ].…”

“…Interest in this topic was continued in 2022 and 2023, investigating the effect of peppermint, fennel, and lavender oil on cow's milk kefir. Figure 2 shows the process of obtaining and encapsulating the volatile oil used by Tita et al [82][83][84][85]. Sensory and textural properties [82], antioxidant capacity [83], the antimicrobial capacity of Geotrichum candidum, Penicillium expansum, Aspergillus niger, and Escherichia coli, and chemical composition using enzymatic methods [84] were highlighted.…”

Studies on the Manufacturing of Food Products Using Unconventional Raw Materials

“…Tit , a et al [3] used three types of volatile oils, namely, volatile mint oil, volatile fennel oil, and volatile lavender oil to improve the quality of a kefir-type acid dairy product. In both conducted examinations, the finished product enhanced with volatile oils outperformed the control sample.…”

“…All of these aspects demonstrated that the investigated items are accepted from a sensory point of view in addition to the positive effects they have on the health of the consumer. The investigated product follows current trends because it incorporates bioactive components that are advantageous for the consumer's health [3,4]. Another study sought to evaluate the antibacterial activity of volatile oils and the changes in the chemical composition of kefir enhanced with encapsulated volatile oils by enzymatic techniques.…”