Natural Antioxidant and Phenolic Content Evaluation of Sweet Dairy Product (Sandesh) with Incorporation of Beetroot and Rosemary Extract

Abstract

Sandesh is a traditional heat- and acid-coagulated sweet dairy product prepared from chhana and widely consumed in India. This study evaluated the radical scavenging activity and total phenolic content of Sandesh incorporated with beetroot and rosemary extracts, either individually or in combination. Ethanolic extracts of beetroot and rosemary were prepared and incorporated into Sandesh at concentrations of 1%, 2% and 3%, alongside a control sample without extract. Antioxidant potential was assessed using the DPPH radical scavenging assay, while total phenolic content was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method and expressed as gallic acid equivalents. The radical scavenging activity of beetroot and rosemary extracts was 88.654% and 98.402%, respectively. In fresh Sandesh, radical scavenging activity increased with extract incorporation and ranged from 22.42 ± 0.12% in the control to 88.81 ± 0.13% in the sample containing 3% beetroot and 3% rosemary extract. During storage, radical scavenging activity gradually decreased across the fortified samples. Total phenolic content was higher in fortified Sandesh than in the control. The control contained 1.06 ± 0.12 mg GAE/g, whereas fortified samples ranged from 2.43 ± 0.11 to 7.98 ± 0.013 mg GAE/g. The highest phenolic content was recorded in Sandesh containing the combined 3% beetroot and 3% rosemary extracts. These findings indicate that beetroot and rosemary extracts can improve the antioxidant and phenolic profile of Sandesh.