On the importance of adequately choosing the ingredients of yoghurt and enriched milk for their antioxidant activity

Abstract

The antioxidant activity of several dairy products, yoghurt enriched with green tea and lemon, fermented milk, yoghurt with strawberry pulp, ‘low-calorie’ yoghurt with inulin and milk enriched with vitamin E and their ingredients were analysed. Yoghurt enriched with green tea and lemon showed the best lipidic antioxidant capacity. All the dairy products analysed were very good OHÆ radical scavengers. The dairy products analysed were unable to scavenge H2O2 except green tea. The antioxidant activity of these samples resisted high temperatures in the Rancimat test; of the ingredients analysed, the best antioxidant activity was found for vitamin E followed by green tea, pectin, Lactobacillus acidophilus, lemon pulp and cornstarch. Antioxidant activity did not suffer variations during storage at an unfavourable temperature (40ºC), as demonstrated by the linoleic acid assay. Yoghurt enriched with green tea and lemon, yoghurt with strawberry pulp and low-calorie yoghurt with inulin produced the best results in the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay.