Cottage cheeses functionalized with fennel and chamomile extracts: Comparative performance between free and microencapsulated forms

• Published in: Food chemistry Vol. 199; pp. 720 - 726
• Main Authors: Caleja, Cristina, Ribeiro, Andreia, Barros, Lillian, Barreira, João C.M., Antonio, Amilcar L., Beatriz P.P. Oliveira, M., Barreiro, Maria Filomena, Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 15.05.2016
• Subjects: Biological Products; Cheese - analysis; Cottage cheese; Foeniculum - chemistry; Foeniculum vulgare; Functional foods; Matricaria - chemistry; Matricaria recutita; Microencapsulation; Oils, Volatile; Plant Extracts; Cottage cheese; Microencapsulation; Matricaria recutita; Foeniculum vulgare; Functional foods
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.12.085

•Aqueous extracts of fennel and chamomile were used to functionalize cottage cheese.•Functionalized samples showed nutritional characteristics similar to the control.•Microencapsulation protected the extracts from degradation.•Microencapsulated extracts allowed an increase in the antioxidant activity along time. Globally, there is a trend for healthy food products, preferably incorporating natural bioactive ingredients, replacing synthetic additives. From previous screening studies, extracts of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (fennel) and Matricaria recutita L. (chamomile) maintained nutritional properties and improved the antioxidant activity of cottage cheese. Nevertheless, this effect was limited to 7days. Accordingly, aqueous extracts of these plants were microencapsulated in alginate and incorporated into cottage cheese to achieve an extended bioactivity. Plain cottage cheese, and cheese functionalized by direct addition of free decoctions, were prepared and compared. Independently of plant species, “functionalization type” factor did not show a significant effect on the nutritional parameters, as also confirmed in the linear discriminant analysis, where these parameters were not selected as discriminating variables. Furthermore, samples functionalized with microencapsulated extracts showed higher antioxidant activity after the 7th day, thereby demonstrating that the main purpose of this experimental work was achieved.