Sodium alginate capsules in yoghurt with plant oils
What it found
Yoghurt enriched with basil, mint, lavender and fennel oils, encapsulated in sodium alginate, had higher antioxidant activity than plain yoghurt in lab tests.
The activity was highest on day one and fell over 20 days of cold storage.
What they found
Studies in people
Taste barely changed
In a sensory analysis, tasters said the volatile oil only slightly influenced the yoghurt's taste. The yoghurt's own taste was predominant, with a slight plant taste at the end.
Animal and lab studies
Antimicrobial effect in lab
A mixture of the four volatile oils (25% each) had a strong effect on cultures of enterobacteria, yeasts and molds, with zero colony-forming units compared to standard plates.
Other findings
Antioxidant activity higher
All four enriched yoghurts had considerably higher antioxidant activity than the control sample. The basil yoghurt gave the best results, followed by fennel, lavender and mint.
Activity fell over time
Antioxidant activity was highest on the first day and decreased on days 10 and 20. For basil, fennel and lavender the biggest drop came between days 10 and 20, while for mint it came between days 1 and 10.
Capsules release oils slowly
Encapsulating the oils in sodium alginate let them be released gradually into the yoghurt, which the authors say gives a longer action time and avoids losses.
What the authors conclude
“The paper shows that yoghurts with a high antioxidant capacity were obtained, using only raw materials from Romania.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say yoghurts with high antioxidant capacity were obtained using only raw materials from Romania.
- They state that enriching yoghurt with volatile oils encapsulated in 2% sodium alginate proved to be a beneficial option to increase the product's value.
- They advise that creating foods with natural antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds should take priority in food management, as a safe alternative to help the body's immunity during hard times such as pandemics.
How it was done
The authors wanted to create a yoghurt with high antioxidant capacity using only raw materials from Romania, to help the body cope with stress and free radicals. They also aimed to replace artificial preservatives with natural volatile oils.
They made cow milk yoghurt with volatile oils from basil, mint, lavender and fennel, each encapsulated in 2% sodium alginate capsules. They measured antioxidant activity using the DPPH method on days 1, 10 and 20, alongside a plain yoghurt control, and also tested a mixture of the four oils against enterobacteria, yeasts and molds.
What it can’t tell you
- The antioxidant and antimicrobial tests were done in the lab on yoghurt samples and microbial cultures, not in people, so they cannot show what effect eating the yoghurt has on human health or immunity.
- The study did not measure stress, free radicals or immune markers in people, so it cannot show whether the yoghurt reduces pandemic stress or boosts immunity in the body.
- The taste test was small and only asked about liking, so it cannot show how most shoppers would respond to the product.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu & Hasso Plattner Foundation (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania
The paper
- Title
- Use of Yoghurt Enhanced with Volatile Plant Oils Encapsulated in Sodium Alginate to Increase the Human Body's Immunity in the Present Fight Against Stress
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Tița O, Constantinescu MA, Tița MA, Georgescu C (2020). Use of Yoghurt Enhanced with Volatile Plant Oils Encapsulated in Sodium Alginate to Increase the Human Body's Immunity in the Present Fight Against Stress. International journal of environmental research and public health. doi:10.3390/ijerph17207588Free full textPubMed 33086508DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error