ROSEMARY EXTRACT (ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS) AS A BIOACTIVE AND FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENT IN BREAD

Bread is a staple food consumed worldwide. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is rich in phenolic compounds, particularly carnosic acid, commonly used as a food ingredient and recognized for its health benefits. The objective is to apply rosemary extract, rich in carnosic derivatives, as a bioactive and functional ingredient in bread and evaluate its technological properties. Extraction of dehydrated and ground rosemary (300 μm) was conducted in probe-type ultrasound with 99.5% ethanol. The extract was dried in an oven at 40°C. The dry extract was resuspended and characterized by UPLC-PDA-QDa system. Concentrations of 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1% of the extract were used for formulating pan bread. Instrumental texture and specific volume were determined
according to AACC, 2010. Water activity was measured using the Aqualab® 4TEV hygrometer at 25 °C. Chromatography identified carnosic and rosmarinic acids, carnosol, and rosmanol, as well as flavonoids in the rosemary extract. The addition of rosemary extract at 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1% did not alter the firmness (N) of the breads compared to the control bread, but it was significantly lower (p<0.0001) compared to the standard bread (with calcium propionate), suggesting softer breads. Water activity was not affected by the addition of rosemary extract (p=0.1507), remaining equal among all formulations. When compared to the control bread, the volume of the breads was reduced with the addition of rosemary extract (p<0.0001), being similar to the volume of the standard bread. The volume reduction may be related to the content of added phenolic compounds, which interact and affect the physicochemical properties of the flour. Despite the reduction in volume, the addition of rosemary extract could be an alternative for increasing the consumption of bioactive compounds in bread, without altering the properties of softness and water activity, which are related to the shelf life of these products.