Development of a yogurt with antioxidant properties based on the use of encapsulated taxifolin

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of using plant antioxidants to produce probiotic products with antioxidant properties. The probiotic food system chosen was yoghurt produced by a thermostatic process using commercially available yoghurt sourdough. Being a mass-market product, yoghurt with antioxidant properties may become an adequate approach to solve the problems of providing the population with biologically active minor substances of antioxidant action. One of the important challenges in the development of fortified probiotic products is to assess the impact of the food ingredients used on probiotic development and the formation of a given quality of the product itself. For this reason, the research assessed indicators such as titratable acidity, which characterizes the course of the fermentation process; the content of probiotic microorganisms in combination with the study of their morphology; and antioxidant activity as an indicator reflecting the formation of new functional properties. Taxifolin powder in the original and encapsulated form (in hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin) according to the author's methodology was used as an antioxidant. The results of studies show that inclusion of taxifolin into the composition of yogurt ensures formation of probiotic product with the required amount of probiotic microorganisms (not less than 107 CFU per 1 g) and the titratable acidity level according to the current regulatory documentation. It was found that the use of taxifolin in encapsulated form provides a better development of the fermentation microflora of yoghurt, the content of probiotic microorganisms was one order of magnitude higher than in the sample with unencapsulated taxifolin. The value of antioxidant activity of the enriched yoghurt samples was more than 2 times higher than that of the control sample. Thus, the results obtained showed that when obtaining yoghurt with antioxidant properties it is most advisable to add a food ingredient based on encapsulated taxifolin.