Showing papers in "Asian Journal of Food and Agro-Industry in 2014"

Effects of butterfly pea extract and flower petals on sensory, physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics of sugar-free ice cream.

Abstract: The objective of this research was to study the feasibility of using a Thai herb, the butterfly pea, to enrich sugar-free ice cream. Formulations of ice cream containing 0.3% liquid extract from dried butterfly pea flower and 1%, 3% or 5% fresh butterfly pea flower petals were tested in comparison with a basic sugar-free ice cream formula. The results of sensory testing showed that there was no significant difference among the different formulations, except for the smoothness. The ice cream containing 3% butterfly-pea flower petals received the highest overall “liking” score. Consumer acceptance testing showed that the 3% flower petal ice cream was more acceptable than the 5% flower petal formulation and all 100 participating panelists accepted the idea of using Thai herbs as an ingredient in frozen desserts. The ice cream that contained butterfly pea flowers had purple colouration and had higher anthocyanin content, total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity; as measured using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hadrazyl (DPPH) methods than did the basic sugar-free ice cream without butterfly pea flowers. These values increased with increasing butterfly pea flower petal content, to a statistically significant degree (p<0.05). The 3% flower petal formula showed 0.5850.139 mg/100 g fresh weight of anthocyanin content, 0.8840.017 mgGAE/1 g dry weight of total phenolic compounds, 10.1140.562 μmol Trolox/1 g dry weight of antioxidant activity as measured by FRAP and 7.579+0.223 μmol Trolox/1 g dry weight as measured by DPPH. The (in vitro) glycaemic responses of the sugar-free ice cream formulation was lower than that of the normal ice cream made with sugar and the former showed lower calorie and carbohydrate content. The addition of butterfly pea flowers to the ice cream did not affect the glycaemic index, but increased the fibre content. The sugar-free ice cream made with butterfly pea flower extract and petals showed good potential as a healthy frozen dessert product with natural colouration, antioxidative properties and lower glycaemic response.