Design of buffalo yoghurt enriched with Rosa damascena extracts encapsulated in maltodextrin and agave inulin as carriers

¹ Department of Analytical Chemistry and Physical Chemistry University of Food Technologies 26 Maritza Blvd, 4002, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
² Department of Organic Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry University of Food Technologies 26 Maritza Blvd, 4002, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
³ Trakia University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Dairy Science, 6000 Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
⁴ Laboratory of Biologically Active Substances, Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Plovdiv, Bulgaria
⁵ Department Mathematics, Informatics, and Natural Sciences, Technical University of Gabrovo, Gabrovo, Bulgaria
⁶ Trakia University, Faculty of Agriculture, Trakia University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Biology and Aquaculture, 6000 Stara Zagora, Bulgaria

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

This study aimed to develop and characterize novel buffalo yoghurts enriched with lyophilized Rosa damascena petals extract encapsulated in maltodextrin and agave inulin. The fatty acid profile, sugar composition, inulin content, phenolic and flavonoid levels, and antioxidant activity of the yoghurts were evaluated. Nutritional indexes, including atherogenicity, thrombogenicity, and hypocholesterolemic/ hypercholesterolemic ratio, were also calculated. Among the 17 identified fatty acids, palmitic (C16:0) and oleic (C18:1) acids predominated. Lactose, glucose, and galactose were the main sugars across all samples, while fructose and inulin were detected only in yoghurts with agave inulin. The highest total phenols (1.96±0.11 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g), flavonoids (2.45±0.21 mg quercetin equivalents/100 g), and antioxidant activity were found in yoghurts containing both Rosa damascena extract and agave inulin, even after 14 days of storage. Sensory evaluation showed satisfactory results, with the control and agave inulin- enriched samples receiving the highest scores. Overall, the use of agave inulin was more effective than maltodextrin for preserving bioactive compounds in yoghurt. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed study on the use of Rosa damascena extract, alone or combined with agave inulin or maltodextrin, to produce traditional Bulgarian buffalo yoghurt with enhanced nutritional and functional properties.