Incorporation of Agglomerated Spirulina platensis Powder in Yogurt: A Strategy for Enhancing Nutritional Quality and Antioxidants Content

This study evaluated the physicochemical and antioxidant characteristics of yogurt incorporated with commercial and agglomerated (with 30% maltodextrin in a fluidized bed) Spirulina platensis powdered, at concentrations of 0.5-2.0% (w/v) prior to fermentation. Fermentations were carried out at 42ºC for 5 hours and then the yogurts were stored at 4ºC for 28 days for stabilization. All yogurts obtained achieved characteristic values according to the legislation with total acidity (0.6-1.5%), pH (3.5-4.6) and viable lactic bacteria of at least 106 CFU.g-1, without significantly affecting the quality of the final product or the activity of lactic acid bacteria. For the centesimal composition, it was observed that the greater the amount of cyanobacteria incorporated, the higher the concentrations of proteins (4.2-5.6%) and ashes (1.3-1.8%) in the product, and for the antioxidant content, the incorporation increased its amount significantly for phenolic compounds (2.98-14.96 mg.100g-1) and added important amounts of phycocyanin (2.19-3.65 mg.100g-1), β-carotene (4.73-6.37 mg.100g-1) and chlorophyll a (12.39-13.77 mg.100g-1), for both formulations using commercial and agglomerated S. platensis powder. Also, it was found that the agglomerated S. platensis powder preserved a higher amount of these bioactive compounds in the yogurt, one of the main functions considering the incorporation of this cyanobacterium.