Functional and sensory impacts of Moringa oleifera leaf powder on fortified cow milk yogurt during refrigerated storage

In this study, Moringa oleifera leaves powder (MOLP) was incorporated in yoghurt at different concentrations: 0% (T0), 0.2% (T1), 0.4% (T2) and 0.6% (T3). These yoghurt formulations were observed for physicochemical, rheological, antioxidant, and sensorial properties during refrigerated storage for 21 days, with an interval of 7 days. All treatments produced results that were statistically different from one another (p ≤ 0.05). On storage for 0–21 days, higher values of total acidity, total solids, viscosity, protein, water holding capacity, TPC, TFC, and antioxidant capacity were noted in yoghurt fortified with 0.6% MOLP (T3) than in the control samples. Microbial analysis revealed that T3 exhibited higher lactic acid bacteria count and lower total coliform and yeast and mold counts. Throughout the 21-day storage period, all MOLP-incorporated yoghurt formulations had lower pH, fat, syneresis, total coliform count, and yeast and mold count values than the control. The findings also indicated that throughout a 21-day storage period at 5 ± 1 °C, yoghurt fortified with 0.2% MOLP received the highest scores for most of the sensory parameters. Thus, MOLP could be a healthy choice for fortifying fermented dairy foods with both functional and nutritional roles.