Use of Yoghurt Enhanced with Volatile Plant Oils Encapsulated in Sodium Alginate to Increase the Human Body’s Immunity in the Present Fight Against Stress

Ovidiu Tița, Maria Adelina Constantinescu, Mihaela Adriana Tița and Cecilia Georgescu
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Ovidiu Tița: Department of Agricultural Sciences and Food Engineering, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Doctor Ion Rațiu No.7, 550012 Sibiu, Romania
Maria Adelina Constantinescu: Department of Agricultural Sciences and Food Engineering, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Doctor Ion Rațiu No.7, 550012 Sibiu, Romania
Mihaela Adriana Tița: Department of Agricultural Sciences and Food Engineering, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Doctor Ion Rațiu No.7, 550012 Sibiu, Romania
Cecilia Georgescu: Department of Agricultural Sciences and Food Engineering, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Doctor Ion Rațiu No.7, 550012 Sibiu, Romania

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-17

Abstract: (1) Background: The COVID–19 pandemic and the imposition of strict but necessary measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus have been, and still are, major stress factors for adults, children, and adolescents. Stress harms human health as it creates free radicals in the human body. According to various recent studies, volatile oils from various aromatic plants have a high content of antioxidants and antimicrobial compounds. An external supply of antioxidants is required to destroy these free radicals. The main purpose of this paper is to create a yoghurt with high antioxidant capacity, using only raw materials from Romania; (2) Methods: The bioactive components used to enrich the cow milk yoghurt were extracted as volatile oils out of four aromatic plants: basil, mint, lavender and fennel. Initially, the compounds were extracted to determine the antioxidant capacity, and subsequently, the antioxidant activity of the yoghurt was determined. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhy-drazyl (DPPH) method was used to determine the antioxidant activity; (3) Results: The results show that cow milk yoghurt enhanced with volatile oils of basil, lavender, mint and fennel, encapsulated in sodium alginate has an antioxidant and antimicrobial effect as a staple food with multiple effects in increasing the body’s immunity. The antioxidant activity proved to be considerably higher than the control sample. The highest antioxidant activity was obtained on the first day of the analysis, decreasing onwards to measurements taken on days 10 and 20. The cow milk yoghurt enriched with volatile basil oil obtained the best results; (4) Conclusions: The paper shows that yoghurts with a high antioxidant capacity were obtained, using only raw materials from Romania. A healthy diet, compliance with safety conditions and finding appropriate and safe methods to increase the body’s immunity is a good alternative to a major transition through harder times, such as pandemics. The creation of food products that include natural antioxidant compounds combines both the current great possibility of developing food production in Romania and the prevention and reduction of the effects caused by pandemic stress in the human body.

Keywords: antioxidants; food management; mental health; stress; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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