Functionalization of Ricotta cheese with powder of spirulina platensis: physicochemical, sensory, and microbiological properties

Figures & data

Table 1. Physiochemical properties, amino acid (g/100 g), minerals (mg/100 g), vitamins (mg/100 g), antioxidant indicators of spirulina (S. platensis) powder.

Physiochemical properties		Minerals	(mg/100 g)
Moisture (%)	5.43 ± 0.30	Calcium (Ca)	269.34 ± 5.87
Protein (%)	70.40 ± 0.29	Phosphorus (P)	672.36 ± 13.24
Lipids(%)	5.02 ± 0.14	Potassium (K)	1309.45 ± 33.07
Ash (%)	6.77 ± 0.14	Sodium (Na)	1550.12 ± 5.09
Fiber (%)	5.43 ± 0.30	Magnesium (Mg)	20.87 ± 0.91
Carbohydrate (%)	12.06 ± 0.59	Iron (Fe)	49.09 ± 0.93
Energy (K Cal.)	376.32 ± 1.36	Zinc (Zn)	5.10 ± 0.13
Acidity (%)	0.19 ± 0.03	Copper (Cu)	0.40 ± 0.01
pH value	6.82 ± 0.06	Manganese (Mn)	5.31 ± 0.19
Amino acids	(g/100 g)	Vitamins	(mg/100 g)
Lysine	4.32 ± 0.27	Thiamine (B1)	2.77 ± 0.04
Phenylalanine	4.52 ± 0.11	Riboflavin (B2)	3.63 ± 0.33
Tyrosine	3.31 ± 0.18	Niacin (B3)	13.69 ± 0.46
Leucine	7.52 ± 0.36	Pyridoxine (B6)	1.26 ± 0.06
Methionine	2.84 ± 0.15	Cyanocobalamin (B12)	0.23 ± 0.03
Glutamic acid	13.44 ± 0.23	Tocopherols (E)	10.50 ± 0.50
Aspartic acid	11.32 ± 0.19	Antioxidant indicators
Tryptophan	1.66 ± 0.31	Phenolic compounds (mg GAE100/g)	240.0 ± 0.77
Cysteine	1.22 ± 0.05	DPPH• Scavenging activity (%)	85.8 ± 0.03
Valine	6.34 ± 0.08	β-Carotene (mg/100g)	30.79 ± 0.84

Means (three different determinations) ± standard deviation (SD)

Table 2. Minerals*, total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of fresh Ricotta cheese samples fortified with S. platensis powder.

Minerals and Antioxidants	Ricotta cheeses
	CRC	SRC1	SRC2	SRC3	SRC4
Calcium	271.25 ± 8.05^d	278.43 ± 3.27^cd	283.55 ± 1.95^bc	289.47 ± 5.91^ab	296.24 ± 2.98^a
Potassium	69.72 ± 2.39^e	83.56 ± 1.88^d	98.38 ± 1.03^c	108.78 ± 1.96^b	120.49 ± 1.82^a
Magnesium	21.31 ± 0.85^c	26.53 ± 1.02^b	27.18 ± 0.19^ab	27.76 ± 0.18^a	28.04 ± 0.19^a
Phosphorus	212.57 ± 8.09^e	231.34 ± 1.89^d	242.31 ± 1.90^c	251.59 ± 2.85^b	265.64 ± 2.87^a
Sodium	183.40 ± 2.07^e	192.35 ± 3.25^d	202.21 ± 7.93^c	211.51 ± 1.62^b	219.36 ± 1.88^a
Iron	1.18 ± 0.03^d	2.33 ± 0.32^c	2.64 ± 0.28^bc	2.98 ± 0.06^ab	3.07 ± 0.11^a
Copper	N.D	0.02 ± 0.001^d	0.05 ± 0.002^c	0.07 ± 0.002^b	0.09 ± 0.001^a
Zinc	0.04 ± 0.01^d	0.07 ± 0.01^cd	0.09 ± 0.02^bc	0.11 ± 0.02^ab	0.14 ± 0.02^a
Total phenolic (mg GAE/g)	5.11 ± 0.07^d	6.33 ± 0.09^c	6.61 ± 0.17^b	6.88 ± 0.13^a	7.03 ± 0.08^a
Antioxidant capacity (%)	15.25 ± 0.41^c	18.64 ± 0.37^b	19.42 ± 0.54^ab	19.85 ± 0.27^a	20.27 ± 0.80^a

^a-eMeans with different lowercase letters in the same column differed significantly (P < 0.05)

*Values are means ± standard deviations of triplicates (n = 3). Minerals expressed as (mg/100g)

CRC, control Ricotta cheese without Spirulina platensis powder; SRC1, Ricotta cheese with 0.25% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC2, Ricotta cheese with 0.5% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC3, Ricotta cheese with 0.75% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC4, Ricotta cheese with 1% Spirulina platensis powder.

Table 3. Physiochemical and Color parameters of Ricotta cheese fortified with S. platensis powder during storage at 5°C for 21 days.

Ricotta cheese	Storage period (day)
	1	7	14	21
Titratable acidity (%)
CRC	0.205 ± 0.005^aB	0.22 ± 0.01^aAB	0.22 ± 0.01^aAB	0.23 ± 0.01^aA
SRC1	0.197 ± 0.006^abA	0.20 ± 0.01^bA	0.21 ± 0.01^abA	0.22 ± 0.02^abA
SRC2	0.193 ± 0.006^bcB	0.20 ± 0.01^bB	0.20 ± 0.01^bcB	0.215 ± 0.01^abA
SRC3	0.188 ± 0.003^bcA	0.19 ± 0.01^bA	0.20 ± 0.01^cA	0.205 ± 0.02^bA
SRC4	0.185 ± 0.005^cB	0.187 ± 0.01^bB	0.20 ± 0.01^abcA	0.20 ± 0.00^bA
pH
CRC	6.35 ± 0.05^bA	6.34 ± 0.065^aA	6.33 ± 0.00^bA	6.32 ± 0.01^bA
SRC1	6.36 ± 0.01^abA	6.36 ± 0.04^aA	6.35 ± 0.05^abA	6.34 ± 0.01^abA
SRC2	6.37 ± 0.005^abA	6.37 ± 0.03^aA	6.36 ± 0.02^abA	6.35 ± 0.01^abA
SRC3	6.39 ± 0.012^abA	6.38 ± 0.02^aA	6.37 ± 0.01^abA	6.36 ± 0.03^abA
SRC4	6.40 ± 0.02^aA	6.40 ± 0.05^aA	6.39 ± 0.02^aA	6.38 ± 0.06^aA
L*
CRC	91.23 ± 1.00^aA	90.76 ± 0.81^aAB	89.22 ± 0.64^aBC	88.78 ± 1.06^aC
SRC1	83.45 ± 1.11^bA	82.56 ± 1.11^bAB	81.17 ± 0.98^bB	80.92 ± 0.60^bB
SRC2	81.19 ± 0.61^cA	80.76 ± 0.48^cA	79.44 ± 0.59^cB	78.46 ± 0.50^cB
SRC3	78.56 ± 0.44^dA	77.43 ± 0.48^dB	77.78 ± 0.21^dB	76.14 ± 0.10^dC
SRC4	76.84 ± 0.20^eA	75.56 ± 0.49^eB	75.89 ± 0.09^eB	74.23 ± 0.34^eC
a*
CRC	1.21 ± 0.04^aC	1.57 ± 0.10^bB	1.68 ± 0.06^aB	1.82 ± 0.06^aA
SRC1	−3.34 ± 0.22^bC	−3.21 ± 0.10^cBC	−2.96 ± 0.08^bB	−2.15 ± 0.08^bA
SRC2	−4.41 ± 0.22^cC	− 4.16 ± 0.11^dC	−3.74 ± 0.21^cB	−3.16 ± 0.04^cA
SRC3	−7.55 ± 0.12^dD	−7.13 ± 0.14^eC	−6.79 ± 0.17^dB	−6.11 ± 0.13^dA
SRC4	−8.63 ± 0.32^eC	− 8.06 ± 0.09^aA	−7.78 ± 0.21^eB	−7.43 ± 0.13^eB
b*
CRC	8.67 ± 0.08^eD	9.36 ± 0.05^dC	9.52 ± 0.05^dB	9.72 ± 0.11^dA
SRC1	9.65 ± 0.09^dD	10.27 ± 0.21^cC	10.61 ± 0.08^bB	11.41 ± 0.17^cA
SRC2	10.34 ± 0.09^cD	11.32 ± 0.11^bC	11.78 ± 0.22^cB	12.29 ± 0.12^bA
SRC3	10.83 ± 0.14^bC	11.54 ± 0.29^bB	11.84 ± 0.22^cB	12.46 ± 0.13^bA
SRC4	11.46 ± 0.10^aD	12.22 ± 0.11^aC	12.63 ± 0.33^aB	13.22 ± 0.26^aA

^A-CMeans with different uppercase letters in the same row differed significantly (P < 0.05)

^a-cMeans with different lowercase letters in the same column differed significantly (P < 0.05)

Values are means ± standard deviations of triplicates (n = 3).

CRC, control Ricotta cheese without Spirulina platensis powder; SRC1, Ricotta cheese with 0.25% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC2, Ricotta cheese with 0.5% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC3, Ricotta cheese with 0.75% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC4, Ricotta cheese with 1% Spirulina platensis powder

Table 4. Texture profile analysis of Ricotta cheese fortified with S. platensis powder during storage at 5°C for 21 days.

Texture properties	Storage period (day)	Ricotta cheese
		CRC	SRC1	SRC2	SRC3	SRC4
Hardness (N)	0	10.40 ± 0.30^cB	10.50 ± 0.40^bcB	10.90 ± 0.10^abC	11.10 ± 0.10^aB	11.15 ± 0.15^aB
	7	11.15 ± 0.27^aA	11.17 ± 0.05^aA	11.21 ± 0.23^aB	11.25 ± 0.07^aAB	11.30 ± 0.15^aB
	14	11.40 ± 0.27^aA	11. 45 ± 0.25^aA	11.51 ± 0.07^aA	11.53 ± 0.2^aA	11.60 ± 0.07^aA
	21	11.45 ± 0.29^aA	11.48 ± 0.20^aA	11.52 ± 0.09^aA	11.54 ± 0.30^aA	11.63 ± 0.09^aA
Cohesiveness	0	0.60 ± 0.03^aA	0.52 ± 0.02^bB	0.50 ± 0.03^bC	0.50 ± 0.04^bA	0.48 ± 0.01^bB
	7	0.61 ± 0.01^bA	0.54 ± 0.03^bAB	0.51 ± 0.02^bBC	0.51 ± 0.08^bA	0.50 ± 0.01^bB
	14	0.62 ± 0.017^aA	0.56 ± 0.02^bAB	0.55 ± 0.01^bcAB	0.54 ± 0.01^cA	0.53 ± 0.01^cAB
	21	0.63 ± 0.02^aA	0.59 ± 0.04^abA	0.58 ± 0.04^abA	0.57 ± 0.01^abA	0.56 ± 0.04^bA
Springiness	0	0.90 ± 0.04^aA	0.91 ± 0.05^aA	0.92 ± 0.04^aB	0.93 ± 0.06^aA	0.96 ± 0.03^aA
	7	0.93 ± 0.023^bA	0.94 ± 0.01^bA	0.95 ± 0.01^abAB	0.95 ± 0.02^abA	0.98 ± 0.02^aA
	14	0.94 ± 0.01^bA	0.95 ± 0.03^abA	0.96 ± 0.01^abA	0.96 ± 0.04^abA	0.99 ± 0.01^aA
	21	0.96 ± 0.02^aA	0.97 ± 0.02^aA	0.97 ± 0.01^aA	0.98 ± 0.02^aA	0.98 ± 0.02^aA
Gumminess (N)	0	6.24 ± 0.21^aC	6.21 ± 0.07^aB	5.32 ± 0.11^bC	5.31 ± 0.09^bD	5.30 ± 0.09^bD
	7	6.80 ± 0.14^aB	6.24 ± 0.09^baB	6.18 ± 0.05^bB	5.78 ± 0.09^cC	5.65 ± 0.27^cC
	14	7.07 ± 0.20^aAB	6.44 ± 0.17^bB	6.35 ± 0.14^bB	6.29 ± 0.17^bB	5.99 ± 0.09^cB
	21	7.21 ± 0.17^aA	6.83 ± 0.26^bA	6.65 ± 0.14^bcA	6.59 ± 0.17^bcA	6.40 ± 0.14^cA
Chewiness (mJ)	0	5.62 ± 0.34^aC	5.26 ± 0.05^bD	5.21 ± 0.06^bD	5.16 ± 0.16^bD	5.13 ± 0.08^bC
	7	6.32 ± 0.19^bB	5.62 ± 0.10^bC	5.6 ± 0.08^abC	5.55 ± 0.07^abC	5.54 ± 0.31^aBC
	14	6.79 ± 0.15^aA	6.12 ± 0.08^bB	5.96 ± 0.11^bcB	5.79 ± 0.04^cB	5.75 ± 0.21^cB
	21	6.92 ± 0.15^cA	6.56 ± 0.09^bA	6.45 ± 0.14^bA	6.32 ± 0.15^bA	6.27 ± 0.21^bA

^A-CMeans with different uppercase letters in the same row differed significantly (P < 0.05)

^a-cMeans with different lowercase letters in the same column differed significantly (P < 0.05)

Values are means ± standard deviations of triplicates (n = 3).

CRC, control Ricotta cheese without Spirulina platensis powder; SRC1, Ricotta cheese with 0.25% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC2, Ricotta cheese with 0.5% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC3, Ricotta cheese with 0.75% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC4, Ricotta cheese with 1% Spirulina platensis powder

Figure 1. SEM micrographs of functional Ricotta cheese fortified with S. platensis powder as follows: CRC, control Ricotta cheese without Spirulina platensis powder; SRC1, Ricotta cheese with 0.25% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC2, Ricotta cheese with 0.5% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC3, Ricotta cheese with 0.75% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC4, Ricotta cheese with 1% Spirulina platensis powder.

Figure 2. Hedonic sensory evaluation of Ricotta cheese fortified with S. platensis powder during storage at 5°C for 21 day: (a) after 1 day, (b) after 7 days, (c) after 14 days, and (d) after 21 days. CRC, control Ricotta cheese without Spirulina platensis powder; SRC1, Ricotta cheese with 0.25% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC2, Ricotta cheese with 0.5% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC3, Ricotta cheese with 0.75% Spirulina platensis powder; SRC4, Ricotta cheese with 1% Spirulina platensis powder.

Data availability statement

Data will be made available on reasonable request.