Elaboración y evaluación de una bebida funcional a base de lactosuero fermentado con pitahaya (Selenicereus undatus) y chía (Salvia hispanica).

Abstract

The objective of this research was to elaborate a fermented-whey functional beverage with pitahaya (Selenicereus undatus) and chia (Salvia hispanica). Physicochemical and microbiological analyses were carried out on both, the raw material and the final product. Three experimental treatments were applied, each with 5 replications, and evaluated under a completely randomized design. For the statistical analysis, the Analysis of Variance (ADEVA) was carried out with the separation of means by Tukey (p < 0.05). The results obtained for the physicochemical parameters did not show significant differences (p > 0.05); however, T1 had the highest percentage for lactose 0.69%, milk protein 0.83%, titratable acidity 0.86%, ash 0.70% and a pH of 3.16. For the microbiological analysis, there was greater growth of Lactobacillus casei in T2 with 1.61x108 CFU/mL. The sensory analysis of the functional beverage showed highly significant differences between the different treatments, the treatment that had the greatest preference was T1 in attributes such as color and flavor and T3 in flavor and appearance, since these reported the highest values in relation to the others. It was concluded that any of the three treatments that were evaluated can be used according to their formulation: T1, T2 and T3. It is recommended to add higher percentage of fruit in the different treatments to improve the organoleptic characteristics of the final product, especially in flavor.