Antioxidant potential, lipid profile and sensory attributes of a functional yogurt formulated with hydroethanolic extract of Mentha Piperita L.

Abstract This study aims to quantify and identify phenolic compounds in the hydroethanolic extract of Mentha piperita L. harvested in the Algerian Sahara by colorimetric and LC-MS/MS analysis, assess its antioxidant capacity by DPPH and ABTS assays and examine the impact of its inclusion at 2 to 6% rates on sensory and oxidative properties (DPPH, ABTS, TEBARS) and the lipid profile analyzed by GC-FID in steamed yoghurt. The extract contained 41.29 mg GAE/ml total phenolics, 22.45 mg QE/ml total flavonoids and only 0.59 mg CE/ml condensed tannins. LCMS/MS analysis detected 26 phenolic compounds, among which rosmarinic acid was the most abundant. DPPH and ABTS assays showed IC50 values of 3.18 and 2.49 mg freeze-dried extract/ml, indicating the high antioxidant potential of the examined extract. Yogurts containing 2% and 4% of this extract were well accepted by the sensory evaluation panel. The studied extract also significantly increased the antioxidant capacity of yogurt up to 39.51% compared to natural yogurt after 20 days of refrigeration, significantly reduced lipid peroxidation and at a dose of 4%, caused a significant improvement (p<0, 01) in the omega content of yogurt, especially alpha-linolenic acid, compared to the control and caused a marked decrease (p<0. 01) in the ω-6/ω-3 ratio in yogurt from 5.21 to 4.11 on day 20 of refrigeration compared with the control. The production of a sensorially acceptable pasteurized yogurt enriched with up to 4% hydroethanol extract of Mentha piperita L. as an alternative to synthetic antioxidant additives with health-promoting properties appears feasible.