REALIZZAZIONE DI UN NUOVO INGREDIENTE ALIMENTARE A BASE DI PETALI DI ROSA: ASPETTI NUTRACEUTICI E TECNOLOGICI
Tesi di Dottorato
Data di Pubblicazione:
2010
Citazione:
REALIZZAZIONE DI UN NUOVO INGREDIENTE ALIMENTARE A BASE DI PETALI DI ROSA: ASPETTI NUTRACEUTICI E TECNOLOGICI / M. Nuzzi ; tutor: Patrizia Restani ; co-tutor: Andrea Maestrelli ; coordinatore: Guido Franceschini. Universita' degli Studi di Milano, 2010 Dec 15. 23. ciclo, Anno Accademico 2010. [10.13130/nuzzi-monica_phd2010-12-15].
Abstract:
The aim of this PHD project was to study the suitability of flowers as nutraceutical, technological and healthy sources, in order to produce a new food ingredient.
A case study for the research, the Rosa botanical species was chosen, because the petals are rich in nutritional compounds and are normally used in gastronomical and phytotherapic field. However the scientific information about their chemical-nutritional and technological properties are, at the moment, fragmentary, in particular because the use of roses as food ingredients are very unconventional. For this reason we prefer to pinpoint the innovative characteristics of this study. A particular aspect of the study was related to the ways to produce and obtain raw material. The roses were cultivated in a protected, natural and chemical, phytochemical free environment. The organic cultivation of flowers for nutritional use, could encourage a new kind of vegetable production in a sector where, normally, the use of pesticides is absolutely necessary.
The first scientific step of the study was the chemical characterization of the organically grown roses varieties both as raw material and during processing, in order to obtain an ingredient suitable for several destinations. In this case, there is also a lack of scientific literature regarding chemical and biochemical properties of ingredients, or final products, obtained directly from floricultural matrix (not from flower extracts or by-products).
One of the targets of this research was to realize a formulation of an ingredient, rose petal based, for basic food like yogurt, that is in itself considered a functional food.
The floricultural matrix could offer interesting opportunities not only for garden nurseries or organic flower producers, but also in order to diversify the yogurt production. In this case, in fact, the dairy makers could combine the benefits of the bio-active compound of the flowers with the well known beneficial contribution of the yogurt. The relationship between technological processing of the petals, their phase composition and chemical, microbiological, functional characteristics of the new ingredient, were studied. In particular, for raw material quality evaluation, specific analytical protocols were established, in order to determine chemical-nutritional and nutraceutical parameters,
Nutraceutical composition of the flowers was focused both in terms of specific molecules or antioxidant compound groups such as: ascorbic acid, polyphenols, total anthocyanins and also in terms of antiradicalic activity, expressed as scavenger effect. DPPH and Fremy’ salt, methods, were the most representative analytical ways used for these determinations.
The correct composition of vegetable ingredient (rose petals), in the model mixture under study, was accurately calculate and tested in various attempts. Then this innovative formulation was stabilized microbiologically by applying a specific and targeted thermal treatment. The same analysis carried out on raw material (extraction and characterization of the bio-active compounds), were carried out before and after thermal treatment to evaluating base-flowers-mixture. The analytical indices (including microbial analysis) above described and targeted sensory evaluation test, were also organized for the prepared flower yogurt. In particular, sensorial analysis was carried out following descriptive methods . The trained panel was asked to evaluate intensity of the “new product” typical parameters, such as, color, perfume, flavor, texture, etc.
A critical aspect of the research was the difficulty to obtain and receive suitable raw material. In fact, at the moment the organic cultivation of flowers (specially organic roses destined for nutrition) doesn’t
Tipologia IRIS:
Tesi di dottorato
Keywords:
rose petals ; antioxidant activity ; processing ; functional food
Elenco autori:
M. Nuzzi
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