Mango (Mangifera indica L.) young leaf extract as brine additive to improve the functional properties of mozzarella cheese.

Lucia Parafati, Laura Siracusa, Fabiola Pesce, Cristina Restuccia, Biagio Fallico, Rosa Palmeri

Food chemistry 2023 Nov 01

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Mango (Mangifera indica L.) has been an important plant in traditional medicine for over 4000 years, probably because of its remarkable antioxidant activity. In this study, an aqueous extract from mango red leaves (M-RLE) was evaluated for its polyphenol profile and antioxidant activity. The extract was used as brine replacement (at 5%, 10% and 20% v/v) in fresh mozzarella cheese for improving its functional properties. During storage (12 d at 4 ± °C), compositional analysis performed on mozzarella has shown a progressive increase of iriflophenone 3-C-glucoside and mangiferin, the compounds most present in the extract, with a noticeable preference for the benzophenone. At the same time, the antioxidant activity of mozzarella peaked at 12 d of storage, suggesting a binding action of that matrix for the M-RLE bioactive compounds. Moreover, the use of the M-RLE has not negatively influenced the Lactobacillus spp. population of mozzarella, even at the highest concentration. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Lucia Parafati, Laura Siracusa, Fabiola Pesce, Cristina Restuccia, Biagio Fallico, Rosa Palmeri. Mango (Mangifera indica L.) young leaf extract as brine additive to improve the functional properties of mozzarella cheese. Food chemistry. 2023 Nov 01;425:136474