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. 2024 Jan 12:10:1321004.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1321004. eCollection 2023.

Enhancing nutritional value and health benefits of gluten-free confectionery products: innovative pastilles and marshmallows

Yuliya Pronina  1 , Olga Belozertseva  1 , Zhanar Nabiyeva  1 , Annachiara Pirozzi  2 , Serena Carpentieri  2 , Giovanna Ferrari  2   3 , Elmira Bazylkhanova  1 , Anastasiya Burlyayeva  1
Affiliations

Enhancing nutritional value and health benefits of gluten-free confectionery products: innovative pastilles and marshmallows

Yuliya Pronina et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Introduction: The research focuses on enhancing the nutritional value and potential health benefits of gluten-free confectionery products, developing innovative pastilles and marshmallows enriched with medicinal herb extracts, probiotics, and bioactive compounds from natural sources.

Methods: Physicochemical properties, including water activity, texture, and color, are assessed to evaluate the quality of the final products. Moreover, in vitro digestibility of the confectionery products is also investigated, with a focus on the release of bioactive compounds such as total phenolic compounds (TPC) and total anthocyanin (TAC) during simulated gastrointestinal digestion.

Results and discussion: Results indicate that the addition of specific ingredients to pastille samples does not lead to variations in water activity (~0.44), preserving the original properties, quality, and stability of the food. In contrast, the incorporation of additives in marshmallow products significantly increases water activity (p ≤ 0.05), attributed to their moisture-retaining effect. In general, our findings reveal that texture properties and color parameters are significantly affected by different formulations (p ≤ 0.05) for both confectionery products. Notably, the use of fruit and berries puree, along with the incorporation of additives, improves the functionality of confectionary products in terms of consumer acceptance (harder pastilles and softer marshmallow) and product quality. Furthermore, the study reveals that bioactive compounds are released and become more bioaccessible during digestion, particularly in the intestinal phase, with a maximum release exceeding 97% of TPC and TAC for both pastille and marshmallow samples. These findings pave the way for the development of a new category of gluten-free confectionery products, enriched with functional ingredients that offer potential health benefits, aligning with consumer preferences for natural, functional, and health-conscious treats. This research contributes to the evolving the landscape of functional confectionery products and underscores their potential as immune-boosting and naturally based food options.

Keywords: bioactive compounds; confectionery products; marshmallow; pastille; probiotic.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Production steps of fruit and berries based functionalized pastilles.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Production steps of fruit and berries based functionalized marshmallows.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Picture of functionalized confectionary food products: (A) pastilles and (B) marshmallows.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Release of total phenolic compounds (TPC) expressed in mgGAE/gsample, and (B) as percentage of release during the digestive phases of the marshmallow samples. Different lowercase letters above the bars indicate significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the mean values of different samples at the same digestion phase. Different uppercase letters above the bars indicate significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the mean values of the same sample at different digestion phases. M_A, M_S + R, M_AC + S, and M_AB+S refer to marshmallow samples prepared with apple puree, strawberry puree plus rosehip, apple and cranberry puree plus St John’s worth, and apple and blueberry puree plus sea buckthorn leaves, respectively.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(A) Release of antioxidant activity (FRAP) expressed in mgAAE/gsample, and (B) as percentage of release during the digestive phases of the marshmallow samples. Different lowercase letters above the bars indicate significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the mean values of different samples at the same digestion phase. Different uppercase letters above the bars indicate significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the mean values of the same sample at different digestion phases. M_A, M_S + R, M_AC + S, and M_AB+S refer to marshmallow samples prepared with apple puree, strawberry puree plus rosehip, apple and cranberry puree plus St John’s worth, and apple and blueberry puree plus sea buckthorn leaves, respectively.
Figure 6
Figure 6
(A) Release of total anthocyanin content (TAC) expressed in mgcyanidin 3-o-glucoside/gsample, and (B) as percentage of release during the digestive phases of the marshmallow samples. Different lowercase letters above the bars indicate significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the mean values of different samples at the same digestion phase. Different uppercase letters above the bars indicate significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the mean values of the same sample at different digestion phases. M_A, M_S + R, M_AC + S, and M_AB+S refer to marshmallow samples prepared with apple puree, strawberry puree plus rosehip, apple and cranberry puree plus St John’s worth, and apple and blueberry puree plus sea buckthorn leaves, respectively.
Figure 7
Figure 7
(A) Release of total phenolic compounds (TPC) expressed in mgGAE/gsample, and (B) as percentage of release during the digestive phases of the pastille samples investigated. Different lowercase letters above the bars indicate significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the mean values of different samples at the same digestion phase. Different uppercase letters above the bars indicate significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the mean values of the same sample at different digestion phases. P_AC, P_AC + S, and P_AC + SP refer to pastille samples prepared with apple and cranberry puree, apple and cranberry puree plus St John’s worth and sea buckthorn leaves, apple and cranberry puree plus St John’s worth, sea buckthorn leaves, and probiotic, respectively.
Figure 8
Figure 8
(A) Release of antioxidant activity (FRAP) expressed in mgAAE/gsample, and (B) as percentage of release during the digestive phases of the pastille samples investigated. Different lowercase letters above the bars indicate significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the mean values of different samples at the same digestion phase. Different uppercase letters above the bars indicate significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the mean values of the same sample at different digestion phases. P_AC, P_AC + S, and P_AC + SP refer to pastille samples prepared with apple and cranberry puree, apple and cranberry puree plus St John’s worth and sea buckthorn leaves, apple and cranberry puree plus St John’s worth, sea buckthorn leaves, and probiotic, respectively.
Figure 9
Figure 9
(A) Release of total anthocyanin content (TAC) expressed in mgcyanidin 3-o-glucoside/gsample, and (B) as percentage of release during the digestive phases of the pastille samples investigated. Different lowercase letters above the bars indicate significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the mean values of different samples at the same digestion phase. Different uppercase letters above the bars indicate significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among the mean values of the same sample at different digestion phases. P_AC, P_AC + S, and P_AC + SP refer to pastille samples prepared with apple and cranberry puree, apple and cranberry puree plus St John’s worth and sea buckthorn leaves, apple and cranberry puree plus St John’s worth, sea buckthorn leaves, and probiotic, respectively.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Sensory final evaluation for the pastille and marshmallow samples. P_AC, P_AC + S, and P_AC + SP refer to pastille samples prepared with apple and cranberry puree, apple and cranberry puree plus St John’s worth and sea buckthorn leaves, apple and cranberry puree plus St John’s worth, sea buckthorn leaves, and probiotic, respectively. M_A, M_S + R, M_AC + S, and M_AB+S refer to marshmallow samples prepared with apple puree, strawberry puree plus rosehip, apple and cranberry puree plus St John’s worth, and apple and blueberry puree plus sea buckthorn leaves, respectively.
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Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by the project “Development of a technology for the production of dietary immunostimulating confectionery products based on the processing of local plant raw materials” (No. AP09058293).

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