Bioactive Compounds to Fortify Children´s Chocolate Milk: Health Improvements and Future Perspectives

MARSANASCO, M, CHIARAMONI N AND ALONSO S. DEL V.

Functional Foods.Sources, Helath Effects and Future Perspectives

Nova Science Publishers, New York

Lugar: New York; Año: 2016; p. 121 - 142

FunctionalFood contains known biologically-active compounds which in defined quantitativeand qualitative amounts provide a clinically confirmed and documented healthbenefit, and thus, providing an important source in the prevention, managementand treatment of chronic nowadays diseases.Soyphosphatidylcholine contains fatty acids known as omega. These compounds have establishedbenefits against a wide range of diseases, thus they can be considered asbiologically-active compounds that can be added to several products giving as aresult functional food. Thischapter relates to the design and the structural and functionalcharacterization of bioactive compounds (BC) as functional food ingredients fora industrial application in drinkable food such as chocolate milk (neutral)and/or fruit juices (acid). The bioactive compounds were added through naturalvehicles (liposomes) made of soy lecithin (soy phosphatidylcholine) containingBC (omega-3, omega-6, vitamin E) and also encapsulating folic acid (FA) for thefortification of chocolate milk and vitamin C (VC) for the fortification ofboth kind of food: neutral and acid. Stearic acid and calcium stearate wereadded as stabilizers, increasing nutritional value because of the calcium surplusadded.When newfunctional foods are designed the characterization, stability and sensorialevaluation is a necessary step.  The characterizationincluded the oxidative stability, size and shape using wide variety ofmethodologies. Oxidative stability was analyzed by thiobarbituric acid method, andsize and shape by light scattering, and light microscopy, respectively. Thenatural vehicle named liposomes was also characterized by its membrane packing andrheological behavior and of its encapsulation efficiency when added bioactive compounds beforeand after pasteurization. Characterization studies were performed in food-modelsystems in order to avoid interferences of other compounds. There was foundthat natural vehicles showed significant stability of all parameters and a protective effect overthermolabile Folic Acid and Vitamin C.Last butnot least sensory evaluations were performed in all final products,demonstrating in general positive effects on acceptability. Bioactive compoundsvia liposomal formulations did not modify organoleptic properties and also didnot increase microbiota. For all the above, BC formulations are suitable for afuture application and/or scaling up in food industry.Currently,their use and consumption have been gaining increasing interest among consumersand researchers because studies have been associated with a positive direct effecton human health. Indeed, the incorporation of bioactive compounds into drinkablefoods can become an alternative to protect and enhance health care of two mainstages in human life children and elderly.Therefore,the aim of this review was to describe the potential use of soy lecithin asstabilizing matrices holding bioactive compounds, counteracting thedisadvantages of direct application and enhancing the functional properties of drinkablefoods through the incorporation of bioactive compounds.Futureperspectives are discussed based on the requirements to lay accent on studieson this subject in order to develop new functional foods applications withimproved functionality and high sensory performance with enhanced shelf lifeand nutritional quality, and with increased consumer acceptance.