Development of diet cereal bar sweetened with stevia leaves pre-treated with ethanol

Sandra Beserra Da Silva,Maysa Ariane Formigoni,Flávio Augusto Vicente Seixas,Antonio Sérgio Dacome,Paula Gimenez Milani,Silvio Claúdio Da Costa,Maria Rosa Zorzenon

doi:10.1590/fst.19319

Sandra Beserra Da Silva, Maysa Ariane Formigoni + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/fst.19319

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Abstract

Abstract The objective of this work was to perform the ethanolic pretreatment of stevia leaves from the plant Stevia UEM-13 line and to characterize its physical-chemical properties aiming its use as a sweetener in the development of a diet cereal bar. The same formulation of the cereal bar with stevia leaves without pretreatment was elaborated for comparative purposes. The following ingredients were used in the preparation of the produtc: fine oat flakes, no sugar granola, cranberry, dehydrated apricots, water, gum acacia and stevia leaf pretreated (F1) and without treatment (F2). According to the results, the diet cereal bars presented significant amounts of crude fiber, protein and antioxidant activity. The product was microbiologically safe for human consumption, reporting lower microbiological valuesthan those foreseen by official regulation. The overall sensory evaluation indicates that the two formulations did not present statistically significant differences regarding the analyzed attributes, being the averages between “liked very much” and “moderately liked”. However, considering the group of cereal bars consumers, the formulation sweetened with pretreated leafs (F1) was found more than twice the acceptance regarding to the formulation sweetened with the leaf in natura (F2). These results demonstrate a viable option of a diet food product naturally sweetened.

Highlights

The Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) is plant of the Asteraceae family, which presents in its leaves, stems and flowers, the steviol glycosides with sweetness power ranging between 300 and 450 times greater than sucrose, acting at the limit of the sweet taste perception (Lemus-Mondaca et al, 2012)
Among the glycosides of steviol, the most prominents are the rebaudiosides - A and C, and the stevioside, the latter being classified according to its sweet sensorial profile (Wölwer-Rieck, 2012)
When the level 5 range of the hedonic scale of purchase intent is evaluated (Figure 1), which is composed of panelists who would buy the product, the F1 formulation was better ranked regarding the formulation F2, demonstrating the good acceptance of this product among consumers of cereal bars. It can be concluded from the results that the ethanolic pretreatment of stevia leaves slightly decreases the total glycosides contents, without altering the sensorial characteristics of sweet taste, as well as slightly decreasing the centesimal composition, with the exception of the total fibers

Summary

Introduction

The Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) is plant of the Asteraceae family, which presents in its leaves, stems and flowers, the steviol glycosides with sweetness power ranging between 300 and 450 times greater than sucrose, acting at the limit of the sweet taste perception (Lemus-Mondaca et al, 2012). The stevioside present in the stevia leaf has as characteristic a residual bitter taste in its composition, limiting its use in the food industry, as well as the presence of other phytochemical compounds (Formigoni et al, 2018). Most of the dietary products marketed are developed with the addition of synthetic sweeteners, where the main source is sucralose. They have certain drawbacks such as: they are not totally effective in sweetening nor able to provide health benefits (Gasmalla et al, 2017; Kalicka et al, 2019). There are reports that the sucralose sweetener can generate toxic compounds known as chloropropane, as well other related compounds, when exposed to high temperatures (Yildiz-Ozturk et al, 2015)

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