The development of a new type of functional fresh apple juice using prebiotic fibers, ginger extract, and cardamom essential oil: Antioxidant capacity and chemical analysis

The formulation of a novel functional fresh apple juice enriched with dietary prebiotic fiber (inulin or polydextrose), ginger extract (GE), and cardamom essential oil (CEO) was carried out based on a combined D-optimal design. In the first stage, sensory evaluation was performed to screen and select the optimum sample for further experiments. The sensory evaluation showed that the sample containing inulin 0.25 g/100 g GE and 0.03 g/100 g CEO had the highest organoleptic score. In the second stage, various chemical experiments, including pH, acidity, formalin index, total phenol, flavonoids, antioxidant capacity, and vitamin C content, were evaluated on the selected enriched apple juices. The addition of GE and CEO caused changes in nutritional characteristics, including antioxidant capacity, total phenol, flavonoids, vitamin C, and IC50, from 35 g/100 g, 350 mg GAE/g, 17 mg/L, 370 mg/kg, and 1,800 mg/kg to 45 g/100 g, 460 mg GAE/g, 21 mg/L, 420 mg/kg, and 1,200 mg/kg respectively. The steady shear flow and dynamic oscillatory shear rheological tests were also performed on the screened samples, and results showed that the addition of dietary fiber in apple juices increased the apparent viscosity, storage modulus, loss modulus, and complex viscosity. In general, adding plant extracts and processed essential oil to apple juice increased the nutritional-nutraceutical value and sensory attributes of apple juice.