Assessment of Physico-Chemical and Functional Characteristics of Yogurt Enriched with Mint Extract and Probiotics

Medicinal plants and herbs are good source of antioxidant and bioactive compounds; hence they are used to fortified food as preservatives, flavorings and therapeutic agents. In this context, wild mint (Mintha) is important herb which is widely grown in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, but it is not properly utilized and mostly wasted. Therefore, present research work is an effort to properly utilize mint for the value addition of yogurt. The mint-based yogurt was prepared by using different combination of mint extract such as 0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2%. The prepared product samples were analyzed for different parameters such as physic-chemical (pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solid and fat), functional (total phenol, antioxidant activity and antimicrobial) and sensory attributes (flavor, taste, color and overall acceptability) at five days interval for 25 days storing period at 4 °C. The data obtained was statistically analyzed by using two factorial completely randomized design (CRD) @ 5% level of significance and treatments were compared by using LSD value. Use of mint extract produced better results in terms of lowering syneresis and improving appearance, body and texture. Mint extract with 1% addition showed best result for overall sensory acceptability and yogurt shelf life was increased up to 25 days at 4 °C temperature.