Development of functional nougat without diabetic effects in vivo

Abstract

Nougat is a confectionery foodstuff made of whipped egg white, sugar, honey, and nuts. In a traditional Italian nougat recipe, the mixture is flavoured with vanilla extract, and packed with toasted almonds. Traditional nougat is banned from the diets of diabetics due to high amount of sugar. In the present work, we aimed to develop innovative sugar-free nougat, and compare its textural and sensory properties with those of commercial nougat. Finally, we tested the residual hyperglycaemic effect in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, a model of type 1 diabetes. We developed a sugar-free nougat recipe by mixing xanthan gum, erythritol, and inulin with egg white and almonds using conventional industrial instruments. Technical analysis indicated that the structure, in terms of shear force, was comparable with that of traditional chewy nougat. Sensory analysis indicated that flavour and sweetness were preserved, whereas cohesiveness and fracturability changed significantly. Interestingly, the innovative food composition positively influenced two other texture parameters; solubility and adhesiveness. In vivo experiments showed that the number of mice in the group that was fed with experimental nougat that did not develop diabetes was significantly higher than that in the group fed with commercial nougat (66.6% vs. 33.0%; p < 0.05), and not different from that in the group fed without nougat (72.7%; p = 0.37). In conclusion, we produced, on a pilot scale, innovative sugar-free nougat with improved texture and similar sensory properties, in comparison with the traditional product. In vivo, the experimental nougat did not increase the diabetes incidence significantly.