Introduction.
The aim of research was to increase the content of bioactive substances and improving antioxidative properties of organic artisanal cheeses by application the selected organic vegetable additives into manufacture of cheeses.
Materials and methods.
In the produced organic cheeses containing selected organic vegetable additives the antioxidant propertied were determined by analyzing the ferric reducing antioxidant power. Series of spectrophotometric measurement were performed to determine the content of polyphenolic substances and other selected bioactive components including: carotenoids, lycopene, chlorophyll, anthocyanins, flavonoids and betalains.
Results and discussion.
The findings revealed that the antioxidant activity of the tested products ranged from 1.48±0.11 μmol of Trolox/g (variant of control cheese after ripening) to 4.1±0.3 μmol of Trolox/g (cheese containing tomatoes tested after ripening). In turn, the content of total phenolic compounds in cheeses immediately after ripening ranged from 141.51±2.38 mg GAE /100 g (in the control variant) to 289.9±9.9 mg GAE /100 g (in cheese with addition of dried tomatoes). The final products with the addition of broccoli and tomato after refrigerated storage exhibited the highest antioxidant properties in comparison to other tested products. Furthermore, after the maturation process total carotenoids, content in the organic cheeses produced with organic carrot and
tomato additives correspond to the results of the antioxidant activity assay. Moreover, cheeses containing the dried tomato
additives were characterized by the highest acidity associated with the content of lactic acid after ripening (2.33±0.02 g/100 g
of cheese) and after refrigerated storage (2.51±0.03 g/100 g of cheese); simultaneously, these products exhibited the highest
values of total phenolic contents. The refrigerated storage of cheeses reduced the hardness and adhesion values only in the
case of cheeses produced with the addition of onions, while the other variants showed an increase in this parameter after the end of the refrigerated storage. All vegetable additives contributed to an increase in the red color in the cheeses.
Conclusions.
The tested additives increased the level of bioactive components and antioxidant properties of cheeses after ripening and also positively influenced on their color.