Vitamin-A enriched yogurt through fortification of pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima): A potential alternative for preventing blindness in children

• Published in: Heliyon Vol. 9; no. 4; p. e15039
• Main Authors: Ahmed, Md Wadud, Khan, Md Sirajul Islam, Parven, Aney, Rashid, Md Harunur, Md Meftaul, Islam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Food fortification; Night blindness; Pumpkin flesh; Vitamin-A; Yogurt; β-carotene; Night blindness; β-carotene; Yogurt; Vitamin-A; Food fortification; Pumpkin flesh
• ISSN: 2405-8440; 2405-8440
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15039

Vitamin-A deficiency associated with night blindness in children is a global health problem that could be prevented or reduced by promoting the intake of β-carotene in food. The fortification of β-carotene in yogurt using pumpkin flesh (PF) could be a very cost-effective public health intervention. The current study aimed to analyze the proximate, functional, microbial, textural, and sensory properties of yogurt fortified with PF to evaluate its suitability as a β-carotene enriched food. The research was conducted with three treatments, control set-type yogurt (CSY) with no PF, 15% PF-fortified set-type yogurt (15PFSY), and 20% PF-fortified set-type yogurts (20PFSY) followed by pumpkin pie spice and ground pumpkin seed to improve consumer acceptability. The fortified yogurt with 20PFSY and 15PFSY contained a higher amount of β-carotene, protein, fiber, and ash, and lower carbohydrate, fat, and energy in compression with CSY, which might attract health-conscious people. In addition, viable bacterial count, firmness, consistency, cohesiveness, and viscosity index were found better in fortified yogurt. Based on reports of sensory panellists, 15PFSY achieved a significantly (p < 0.01) highest overall acceptability than 20PFSY and CSY. These findings suggest that pumpkin-fortified yogurt could be used widely as a nutrient-enriched fermented food. In addition, as a β-carotene (vitamin-A) fortified yogurt, it could be a potential alternative to prevent or reduce blindness in children with minimal cost.