Nutritional content, phenolic composition and antioxidant activity of yoghurt enriched with baobab pulp (Adansonia digitata)

Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine the nutritional content, phenolic content and antioxidant activity of yoghurt enriched with baobab pulp. Baobab yoghurt had significantly (p<0.05) higher ash, crude fibre, vitamin C, iron, total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and DPPH scavenging activity than the control and commercial yoghurts. The ash, crude fibre, vitamin C and iron content was 3.7±0.01 g/100 g, 0.2±0.02 g/100 g, 18.25±0.02 mg/100 g and 0.33±0.01 mg/100 g, respectively. The total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and DPPH scavenging activity of the baobab yoghurt was 22.6±2.08 mg GAE/100 g, 4.23±0.25 mg CE/100 g and 19.03%, respectively. The following phenolic acids were detected in the baobab yoghurt: syringic, caffeic, p-dihydroxybenzoic, gallic, protocatechuic and chlorogenic acids. The present study showed that baobab yoghurt is a valuable source of nutrients and phenolic compounds compared to some commercial yoghurts.