Title: The effect of cholesterol removal from milk and cream on the textural and organoleptic properties of final products

Abstract

As cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of mortality in the world, the production of low-cholesterol content products could decrease effectively high cholesterol intake what would be one of the crucial steps in CVD prevention. The elimination of cholesterol content in milk products is successfully achieved by the application of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD). Only 1.5% and 5.0% (w/w) of β-CD can reduce the cholesterol content in milk and cream by almost 99% and 96%, respectively. This study aims the effect of the processing conditions and the elimination of cholesterol on the textural and organoleptic properties of final cholesterolfree milk and cream. The textural analysis was monitored by a TA.XT plus Texture Analyzer (Godalming, Surrey, Great Britain) with the determination of firmness and consistency values. It was found that the final cholesterolfree milk and cream had similar firmness and consistency values to standard samples. The elimination of cholesterol content from milk and cream thus not influenced the texture of final products. The color coordinates (L*, a*, and b*) and whiteness index were monitored by a UV-VIS spectrophotometer Cary 300 (Agilent Technologies, USA). It was studying the effect of β-CD concentration on the changes of these values in final products. The β-CD concentration slightly influenced the L* values (whiteness coordinate) and thus the final whiteness index of samples. The color differences (ΔE) were not, however, significantly influenced thus it was not noticed any changes in the visual appearance of treated milk and cream. From the results, it can be concluded, that the elimination of cholesterol from milk and cream by β-CD does not influence the textural and organoleptic properties of final products, which makes this method excellent for the production of milk products with health benefits. The authors would like to thank for financial contribution from the STU Grant scheme for Support of Young Researchers and grant APPV-18-0061. This article was also funded by Operational program Integrated Infrastructure within the project: Demand-driven research for sustainable and innovative food, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (Grant no. Drive4SIFood 313011V336).