The Development and Consumer Acceptance of Functional Fruit-Herbal Beverages

Abstract

The development of functional beverages often requires a compromise between the palatability and high content of bio-active compounds. The purpose of this study was to elaborate on the fruit-herbal beverages with defined pro-health functions and evaluate their consumer acceptance. The beverages contained 80% of juices obtained from the fruits of aronia, rugosa rose, acerola, sea buckthorn, and cranberry. Each beverage was supplemented with different plant extracts which enhanced the designed functions of the beverage. The beverages were sweetened with sugar or with steviol glycosides, and were preserved by thermal pasteurization. The main groups of bio-active compounds and antioxidant capacity using ABTS, DPPH, and ORAC methods were analysed before and after pasteurization. The sensory acceptance was tested by 60 adult consumers who assessed the desirability of taste, odour, colour, and overall quality. Each beverage contained substantial amounts of polyphenols, including anthocyanins; rosehip-acerola and sea buckthorn beverages were also sources of vitamin C and carotenoids. All these components were stable under thermal treatment. Rosehip-acerola beverages had the highest antioxidant capacity, which was measured using all three methods exhibited. The highest level of consumer acceptance and willingness to purchase went to aronia beverages, while the sea buckthorn gained the lowest. There was no significant difference between the acceptance of beverages sweetened with sugar and stevia. Women and the 25- to 34-year-old consumer group rated the overall acceptability of the beverages slightly higher, although this was not reflected in their inclination to buy them. Attitude toward proper body mass and health had no influence on overall acceptance and willingness to complete the purchases. The main motivation for purchasing the functional beverages was their sensory acceptance, even if the consumers were informed of their potential health benefits.

Functional Beverages from Blends of Ficus Deltoidea Leaves and Brown Rice Powders: Physico-Phytochemical Properties, Antioxidant Activities, Sensory Evaluation and Acute Toxicity Study

“…78 A high amount of polyphenolic components in food are perceived as being bitter, tart, or astringent. 79,80 Even so, taste and aftertaste are not used as criteria for functional food products since products claiming to be healthy beverages are normally tasteless and perhaps a little bitter. 77 Therefore, the selection of FB2 for further study on toxicological profiles might be considered as there is no significant difference in appearance, color, aroma and overall testing parameters.…”

Cherries and Blueberries-Based Beverages: Functional Foods with Antidiabetic and Immune Booster Properties

“…The addition of bioactive compounds and other functional components, and/or reduction of the other constituents, such as fat or sugar, are part of the functional foods’ formulations [ 210 ]. Thus, the production and sale of beverages supplemented with probiotics, natural antioxidants, and red fruits such as cherries and blueberries have been increased [ 215 ].…”

Exploitation of Sea Buckthorn Fruit for Novel Fermented Foods Production: A Review

“…Similarly, in the study comparing consumer acceptance of five supplemented beverages containing 80% of individual fruit juices, sea buckthorn beverages gained the lowest rating of consumer acceptance and willingness to purchase. The reason was their sour taste and odor perceived as unpleasant [19].…”