Natural Beverages and Sensory Quality Based on Phenolic Contents

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Abstract Currently, consumers are demanding natural products, with low sugar content and high nutritional and sensory qualities. Natural beverages have taken an important place due to their mineral, vitamin, and antioxidant contents. Phenolic compounds have great rel- evance for food industries for their functional properties acting as good antioxidant mol-ecules as well as aging retarders and preventing degenerative diseases. In this connection, design of functional beverages rich in phenolic compounds has been related to the acceptability, quality, and safety for consumers; however, sensory properties regarding influence of these compounds are still poorly investigated. Recent works have been conducted in order to highlight the impact of phenolics on sensory properties of natural beverages. This chapter discusses the relationship between sensory quality and the phenolic compounds in natural beverages. The antioxidant properties, methods, and statistical analysis for sen- sory evaluation are also reviewed.