71435

CHARACTERIZATION OF HIBISCUS FLOUR (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) AND APPLICATION IN YOGURT

Favoritar este trabalho

The yogurts and dairy drinks, rich in nutrients and microorganisms which are important for intestinal reconstitution, have had their consumption boosted. The antioxidant activity of hibiscus denotes that its use in food may be an alternative to develop products with functional aim. The purpose was to use the hibiscus flour as source of anthocyanin in the production of fermented milk drink. The flour was obtained from the milling of the dried commercial hibiscus and performed the physicochemical characterization. For the production of the beverages, 0%(C), 1%(T1), 3%(T2), and 7%(T3) of hibiscus flour were added to the milk prior to fermentation. The fermentation process was monitored from the acidity and pH of the yoghurts. After fermentation, analysis of moisture, ashes, lipids, total anthocyanins and lactic bacteria were carried out. The flour showed to be acidic, which explains the higher acidity and lower values of pH found in the beverages formulated with the flour, when compared to the control. During the fermentation process, acidity values increased and pH decreased gradually, where the addition of flour had a significant influence(p<0,05), being the acidity staying within the established by the legislation (0,6 to 1,5g/100g). The ash content of the samples showed no significant difference(p>0,05). The sample with the highest flour content (7%) showed lower values of pH and humidity when compared to the other samples. The anthocyanin content ranged from 3,14 to 14,4 mg/100g, being the highest content for the sample with greater addition of hibiscus flour, which was already expected. The lactic acid bacteria count was influenced by the addition of flour (p<0,05%), but with values within the established by the legislation (minimum of 107 UFC/g). It’s concluded that the application of the hibiscus flour is a viable alternative in the yogurt formulation, for adding value and maintaining the standards required by legislation.