Quality characteristics of a functional beverage developed from Moringa oleifera and Aloe vera

Abstract

Abstract: The lifestyle of most populations has changed over the past few decades. Usually, the lack of time is perceived as the major barrier to practicing healthy habits such as eating healthy food. As a result, there seems to be a greater incidence of chronic or degenerative disorders such as cancer in most countries. In this study, a functional beverage was developed by blending Moringa oleifera and Aloe vera at different proportions (0M: 100A; 30M: 70A; 50M: 50A; 70M: 30A; 100M: 0A, M. oleifera: A. vera, respectively). The nutritional and phytochemical composition of the developed beverages was determined. Further, consumer acceptability and storage stability of the beverage blends were determined. The pH of the beverages ranged from 3.66 - 4.15 with the least and highest pH obtained with 100 % Aloe (100A) and 100 % Moringa (100M) beverages, respectively. The titratable acidity (TA) of the beverages ranged from 0.14 - 0.12 %, while total soluble solids ranged from 0.5-0.8 °Brix. Beverage blends with high Aloe concentration contained high levels of vitamin C possibly due to the high concentration of the vitamin in Aloe. The highest protein content (343.60 μg/ml) was observed with 100M beverage and the least (74.60 μg/ml) with 100A beverage. The concentration of Ca, K, Mg in the beverage blends increased with an increase in the concentration of Moringa. Also, the total phenolic content and total flavonoid content of the beverage blends improved with increase in Moringa concentration and so did the antioxidant activity when determined with DPPH assay. However, the beverage blends showed similar antioxidant activity with ABTS. Consumer acceptability of Moringa-aloe beverage blends was investigated using the 9-point hedonic scale method. The results showed that 100A beverage was the most preferred beverage by the taste panel as it was scored highest for taste (7.08), flavour (6.76) and overall acceptability (7.04). The least preferred beverage was 100M followed by the beverage blend with high Moringa concentration (70M: 30A). With colour, the highest score (6.48) was observed with 70M: 30A beverage blend and all the other beverage blends were scored high for colour compared to control samples. With storage stability, a slight increase in pH accompanied by a decrease in TA occurred on all beverages after 12 weeks. However, most beverage blends still maintained a pH of less than 4.2 at the end of the storage period. There was no microbial growth observed for total aerobic bacteria and yeast and mold after 12 weeks of storage, possibly due to added preservatives and low pH of the products. Overall, the current study confirms that beverage blends with Moringa ii have high nutritional quality and possess health-promoting properties. However, an increase in Moringa concentration impacts negatively on sensory quality. Therefore, the 30M: 70A beverage blend appears to be the best concerning consumer acceptability and storage stability. d 650 0 Beverages. d 650 0 Functional foods. d 650 0 Medicinal plants. d 650 0 Botany, Medical. d 650 0 Moringa oleifera|xTherapeutic use. d 650 0 Aloe vera.M.Sc. (Food Technology