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Narayana NMNK* and Feros AM
1Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Mapalana, Kambutupitiya, Sri Lanka
Abstract
Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) is an important tropical herb with proven health benefits which has
an enormous potential to be used in functional food applications. The present study aimed to find out the effect of the addition
of W. somnifera root powder (WSRP) on the compositional, physicochemical, physical, functional and sensory properties of
cow milk. Skimmed and standardized (3% fat) milk were separately fortified with WSRP at the rate of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2 percent
levels, well mixed and pasteurized (63°C for 30 min) ending up in 10 treatments. 2 x 5 (milk type x WSRP level) factorial arrangement
of treatments in a completely randomized design was used with 3 replicates and SPSS (ver. 20) was used for the data analysis. Significant (p<0.05)
reduction of rennet coagulation time (RCT) was observed with increasing WSRP percentage irrespective of the type of milk. Standardized milk
had significantly (p<0.05) lower RCT than skimmed milk. Instrumental colour values were significantly (p<0.05) affected by the added WSRP
in both milk types while fermentation characteristics were not affected. Sensory scores were decreased with increasing levels of WSRP in both
milk types due mainly to the sedimentation effect. From the above results, it is concluded that a possibility exists to fortify milk with WSRP
and produce functional fermented dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt. Nevertheless, studies are needed with other forms of W. somnifera such
as root powder extract to reduce the impact of sedimentation.
Keywords: Functional dairy products, Phytochemicals, Rennet coagulation time, Withania somnifera
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* - Corresponding Author
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