Posted by The food industry is constantly increasing the number of functional foods in the market to satisfy our demands and, the value of cyclodextrins (CDs) not only to carry bioactive compounds, but also for improving the quality of the product.
In a recent publication, the group of prof. López Nicolás (UMU, Spain) has developed novel healthy milk and yogurt products for reducing metabolic diseases using CDs and omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil [1]. This project, in collaboration with Feiraco® and Clesa® companies consisted in the reduction of cholesterol of UNICLA® milk adding β-CD, which reduced around 87-85% the original quantity in whole milk with a 1% of β-CD. After this, α- and β-CD were used as carriers to introduce the 50% of recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of EPA and DHA fatty acids firstly in food models, and in dairy products after optimization. These products count with the dietary effect of CDs too. The final formulation, which included a precise composition and preparation using other agents like ascorbyl palmitate or α-tocopherol, was approved for the 80% of the sensory panel, and they do not feel any fish taste or odor. Furthermore, they obtained a 74% of fatty acid bioaccessibility, being stable the final products for 3 months at 4ºC.
These results as a whole demonstrate the potential of CDs for adding bioactive compounds to food products masking unpleasant odors and tastes. The results satisfy the aid of Feiraco® and Clesa® to develop improved products for human consumption based on UNICLA® fortification.
References
[1] Guadarrama-Flores, B., Matencio, A., Navarro-Orcajada, S., Martinez-Lede, I., Conesa, I., Vidal-Sanchez, F. J., … & Nicolás, J. M. L. (2022). Development of healthy milk and yogurt products for reducing metabolic diseases using cyclodextrin and omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil. Food & Function.