Sensory Evaluation and Quantitative Analysis of Mineral and Heavy Metal Content of Protein Supplement Incorporated With Herbal Extract

Abstract

Calories-dense products promote weight gain through its healthy ingredients. The incorporation of herbs increased the product's benefit with antioxidant, anti-cancer and anti-aging properties. In this study, the comparison between herbal and non-herbal (commercial products) protein supplements were determined. The sensory evaluation of the protein supplements were done via 9-point hedonic scale. The mineral contents and undesirable toxic metals in the the product were also analysed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The score of hedonic scale indicated that the sweetness and bitterness of the herbal protein supplement were significantly different compared to the commercial products. All samples showed differences in the mineral contents where the herbal protein supplement contributed the highest content of magnesium (Mg) 3643.7 µg/kg, sodium (Na) 8192.3µg/kg and ferum (Fe) 180.7 µg/kg. The ICP-MS analysis result showed traces of heavy metals (cadmium, arsenic, plumbum, mercury) were 1.10 µg/kg, 0.03 µg/kg, 3.00 µg/kg and 5.07 µg/kg, respectively. These results confirmed that the concentrations of heavy metals in the product has not exceeded the maximum standard limit of regulation in Malaysia for Cd (0.3 mg/kg), As (5 mg/kg), Pb (10 mg/kg), and Hg (0.5 mg/kg). Hence, the results might be useful to define the new formulations of these highly consumed protein supplement with health benefits for atheletes.Keywords: protein supplement, mineral content, heavy metal content, hedonic scale Abstrak Produk-produk padat kalori menggalakkan penambahan berat melalui ramuan-ramuan sihatnya. Penambahan herba meningkatkan kebaikan produk seperti ciri-ciri antioksida, anti-kanser dan anti-penuaan. Di dalam kajian ini, perbandingan di antara makanan tambahan protein berherba dan tidak berherba (produk komersil) telah diperolehi. Ujian rasa terhadap makan tambahan protin ini telah dilakukan melalui 9-titik skala hedonik. Kandungan mineral dan logam toksik yang tidak dikehendaki di dalam produk turut dianalisa menggunakan Spektrometri Jisim-Plasma Ganding Secara Aruhan (ICP-MS). Skor skala hedonik menujukkan kemanisan dan kepahitan makanan tambahan berprotin berbeza secara ketara berbanding produk-produk komersil. Semua sampel menunjukkan perbezaan di dalam kandungan mineral, di mana makanan tambahan protin berherba menyumbang kandungan tertinggi untuk magnesium (Mg) 3643.7 µg/kg, sodium (Na) 8192.3 µg/kg dan ferum (Fe) 180.7 µg/kg. Analisa keputusan ICP-MS menunjukkan kandungan logam berat (kadmium, arsenik, plumbum, merkuri) adalah 1.10 µg/kg, 0.03 µg/kg, 3.00 µg/kg dan 5.07 µg/kg setiap satunya. Hasil ini mengesahkan kepekatan logam berat tidak melebihi piawaian kadar maksimum peraturan Malaysia untuk Cd(0.3 mg/kg), As (5 mg/kg), Pb(10 mg/kg), and Hg (0.5 mg/kg). Oleh itu, keputusan yang