Oxidative stress is believed to play a major role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic disease. The administration of antioxidants limits the injury caused by neutrophil-derived oxygen free radicals. In this context, the present study was undertaken with the broad objective of developing an antioxidant enriched health drink for optimizing health. Acceptability of the drink was assessed by sensory evaluation, viscosity measured employing viscometry, and nutrient composition analysis was carried out using standard methods. Tolerance was assessed by conducting a pilot trial where 20 healthy subjects were administered 100ml of the health drink for 14 working days. Information on their background, medical history, anthropometric measurements, lifestyle practices was collected using a structured questionnaire. The health drink was developed using ragi, wheat flour, soy flour, bengal gram flour and milk as base components and the sensory evaluation revealed that functional foods namely wheatgrass, gooseberry and cocoa powder incorporated at the level 0.25g, 0.5g and 0.5 g per 100ml respectively in the feed was highly acceptable with no considerable change in the viscosity after keeping for 2 hours. The drink contained significant amounts of micronutrients and was not a significant source of fat, especially saturated fat. The health drink was well tolerated without any gastrointestinal problems and allergic reactions. The subjects reported moderate satiation, sufficient serving size and no difficulty in consuming the health drink. This suggests that low cost kitchen formulated functional foods may help to cater to the needs of “at risk” population and thereby retard the epidemic of NCDs.
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