Yacon Prebiotic Functional Beverages, the Sensory, Antioxidant Profiles, and Shelf Stability

The increasing awareness on overall health of consumers has driven a shift from fruit juices and carbonated beverages to functional beverages. This research aimed to incorporate yacon concentrate to the formulation of functional beverages to improve the health-related properties. Using yacon concentrate as main ingredients, three functional prototypes have been developed: yacon-collagen, yacon-blackcurrant, and yacon-vitamin c. Sensory evaluation for yacon-collagen and yacon-blackcurrant beverages was conducted by a 9-point hedonic scale. Antioxidant activities of three yacon beverages were evaluated using the CUPRAC, DPPH, and FRAP assays. Yacon-collagen and yacon-blackcurrant beverages were sensory acceptable with ratings above the centre point of the scores (all ratings > 5, n = 50) on four sensory attributes (appearance, sweetness, flavor, overall liking). The antioxidant capacity of yacon-collagen, yacon-blackcurrant, yacon-vitamin c, and yacon concentrate were 1941mg/2300mg/1891mg/1193mg TE/100g (CUPRAC), 1943mg/2404mg/2122mg/1365mg TE/100g (DPPH), and 1219mg/2614mg/2990mg/992mg TE/100g (FRAP). The antioxidant capacity of yacon-blackcurrant and yacon-vitamin c were much higher than that of yacon concentrate because blackcurrant and vitamin c enhanced the antioxidant capacity. The development of yacon functional beverages with acceptable taste, verified health-related properties, applicable shelf-life, as new dietotherapy applications of yacon concentrate, could provide more healthier food products for consumers to exercise healthier food choices.