The Effect of Hot Chocolate Fortification with Ginger Powder on Its Quality Characteristics

Abstract:
Background: Hot chocolate (a cocoa-based beverage) has gained popularity in recent decades due to its many health benefits. During the processing of the base powder of this product, some of its nutrients are lost. Therefore, fortification would be an effective method to increase its overall nutrient content.
Aims: In this study, the effect of ginger powder for fortification of ready-to-use hot chocolate powder was evaluated.
Methods: Ginger powder was added at 0 (control), 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6% w/w to the Magush brand hot chocolate powder formulation and its overall properties were evaluated according to the product national standard, phenolic and flavonoid compounds, and antioxidant capacity.
Results: The findings showed that the addition of ginger powder had no significant effect on the appearance, moisture, total sugar, and fat of the product, but with increasing ginger powder level, total ash and acid-soluble ash increased, but its pH decreased. The highest amount of total phenolic compounds was observed in the 0.6% ginger powder sample (3015±11.7) and the lowest amount was observed in the control treatment (2800±10.6). Also, with increasing ginger powder, the amount of flavonoid compounds and antioxidant capacity also increased. Ginger powder, decreased the total microbial load. The highest overall acceptability score from the sensory evaluators' perspective was given to the 0.4% treatment and the lowest to the 0.6% treatment.
Conclusion: Ginger powder at a level of 0.4% can be used in the formulation for enrichment of hot chocolate without negatively affecting the sensory properties.
Keywords: Ginger, Hot chocolate, Phenolic compounds, Antioxidant activity

The Effect of Hot Chocolate Fortification with Ginger Powder on Its Quality Characteristics

Extended Abstract
Intruduction: Hot chocolate powder is produced and marketed in different formulations and under various brand names. The processing and production of hot chocolate base powder (cocoa powder and dark chocolate) is a multi-step process that includes fermentation, drying, roasting, grinding and refining of cocoa beans, conching and tempering of cocoa beans. During these steps, large amounts of its nutrients are lost. For example, the polyphenol content decreases by approximately 10 times. Some flavonoids are completely destroyed during the Maillard reaction. For this reason, the amount of antioxidant compounds varies from raw materials to finished products (DiMattia et al., 2017). Approximately 50% of epicatechin is lost during drying. Drying too quickly leads to the production of acetic acid, which gives off unpleasant flavors, and drying too slowly causes excessive mold growth and lack of desirable color in chocolate (Cheng et al., 2015). Anthocyanin degradation occurs during fermentation due to further hydrolysis and polymerization of dense tannins (Di Mattia et al., 2017). During fermentation, the content of epicatechin, polyphenols, and procyanidins decreases sharply. In fact, anthocyanidins become undetectable after fermentation (Zugravu and Otelea, 2019). To compensate for this high loss of phytonutrients, fortification is an effective way, and various materials have been used for fortification (Samanta et al., 2022).
Ginger is available in three forms, namely fresh ginger root, preserved ginger and dried ginger. The medicinal properties of ginger are mainly attributed to its bioactive compounds. The findings indicate the potential of ginger extract as an additive in the food and pharmaceutical industries (Shah Rajabian et al., 2019). Shaukat et al. (2023) extensively reviewed the application of ginger and its derivatives in a wide range of food products. The prominent properties that ginger imparts to various food formulations are its antioxidant and nutritional value. Flavor, acceptability, and technical-functional properties; hedonistic and antimicrobial properties, oxidative stability, softening, and sensory properties are among the important applications of ginger in various food formulations.
Our studies show that, the addition of ginger powder to hot chocolate powder formulations has not been investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of adding ginger powder at 0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6% to hot chocolate formulation and to investigate the amount of phenolic and flavonoid compounds, antioxidant capacity, physical and chemical, microbial, and sensory properties of the product.
Materials and Methods: The hot chocolate product (containing cocoa powder, chocolate base powder, sugar, non-dairy creamer powder, milk powder and stabilizer E410) was formulated according to the Aynaz Maku Company formulation in R&D department of Magush Coffee Factory and ginger powder (obtained from Kralchin Company in West Azerbaijan, Maku) was added to the formulation at 0 (control sample), 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6% w/w. Then, they were mixed well and packaged in metallized bags to prevent moisture penetration. The physical, chemical, sensory and microbial properties of hot chocolate were determined according to the Iranian National Standard No. 16884. Total phenolic compounds was determined by the Singleton-Rossi method [13]. The antioxidant capacity was measured based on the antiradical activity of the samples using the DPPH method and according to the method of Saviz et al. (2015). The measurement of the total flavonoid content was determined by the method of Udayaprakash et al. (2015). Total microbial count and mold and yeast, was done according to Iranian National Standard No. 5272-1 No. 10899-3 respectivly [13].
Results and Discussion: The results of this study showed that adding ginger powder had no significant effect on the appearance of hot chocolate powder (p >0.05) and all treatments were in accordance with the standard in terms of appearance properties and no foreign substances were observed in the samples. The results also showed that increasing of ginger powder in the product formulation did not have a significant effect on the moisture, total sugar and fat of the product (p>0.05). With increasing the amount of ginger powder, the amount of total ash and acid-soluble ash increased. Also, analysis of variance showed that with increasing the amount of ginger powder, the pH value decreased. With increasing ginger powder content, TPC and flavonoid compounds increased significantly (p<0.05). The highest amount of total phenolic compounds was found in the 0.6% ginger powder sample (3015 ± 11.7) and the lowest amount was found in the control (2800 ± 10.6 mgGA/100g powder). The results also showed that with increasing ginger powder percentage, the amount of flavonoid compounds increased. The results of this study are consistent with the findings of Amer and Rizek (2022), who added ginger powder to snack formulations, and Aamir et al. (2023) who enriched yogurt with ginger powder. Similar results were reported by Albek and Tekin (2014), who enriched dark chocolate with ginger and cinnamon. Addaing 0.6% ginger powder to hot chocolate formulation, incresesd antioxidant capcity to 63%.
The results showed that the effect of adding ginger powder on sensory properties of hot chocolate was significant. The highest color score was assigned to the control sample and the lowest to the 0.6% ginger powder treatment. Also, the highest taste score was given to the 0.4% treatment and the lowest to the 0.6% treatment. Ginger can affect the taste of chocolate in higher amounts due to its spicy taste. With the increase in ginger powder, the taste and flavor scores of the product increased from the sensory evaluators' perspective. The highest texture evaluation score was given to the 0.4% treatments and the lowest to the 0.6% treatment. The highest overall acceptability score was given to the 0.4% treatment and the lowest to the 0.6% treatment.
Conclusion: Hot chocolate powder is an instant drink based on cocoa powder and dark chocolate. During the processing of hot chocolate, some of its nutritional components are lost. On the other hand, the desire to consume functional products containing bioactive compounds is also in demand by consumers. In this study, the effect of adding ginger to the formulation of ready-to use hot chocolate powder was evaluated. The results showed that adding ginger powder did not have a significant effect on the appearance, moisture, total sugar and fat of the product, but with increasing the level of ginger powder, the amount of total ash and acid-soluble ash increased. With increasing ginger powder level, the TPC and flavonoid compounds in the product increased significantly, and the highest amount of total phenolic compounds was for the 0.6% ginger powder sample (3015±11.7mg GA/100g) and the lowest amount was for the control sample (2800±10.6 mg GA/100g powder). Also, with increasing ginger powder percentage, the amount of flavonoid compounds increased. Adding different percentages of ginger significantly (P < 0.05) increased its antioxidant activity. Adding ginger powder significantly decreased total microbial count of the product. The highest overall acceptability score from the sensory evaluators' perspective was given to the 0.4% treatment and the lowest to the 0.6% treatment. These results showed that ginger powder at a level of 0.4% can be used to fortification of hot chocolate powder in order to increase the nutritional value of product without having a negative impact on its organoleptic properties.