In this study, antioxidant-rich eggplant peel extract was used to obtain a value-added pastry cream. In order to reduce the susceptibility to degradation, microencapsulation of the biologically active compounds from the eggplant peel was first performed. The microencapsulated bioactive compounds powder (MBC) obtained through freeze-drying retained about 94.31% of the anthocyanins present in the extract, was rich in phenolic compounds, and displayed a high antioxidant activity. The purple colored powder was added to the pastry cream in different concentrations (5% and 10%), allowing significant increase of total phenolic content and antioxidant activity, which were rather stable over 72 h of storage under refrigeration conditions. Sensory evaluation indicated that addition of MBC resulted in improved color and overall acceptability of the pastry cream formulation. All pastry cream samples exhibited rheological behavior specific to the weak gel-like structures, with increasing values of storage modulus with MBC addition. The instrumental texture analysis showed that MBC addition to the pastry cream slightly decreased the firmness and improved the chewiness of the samples.
Keywords: antioxidant activity; bioactive compounds; eggplant; microencapsulation; pastry cream.