Physicochemical and antioxidant properties of chilli sauce incorporated with fermented Kappaphycus spp. extracts

In this study, three distinct Kappaphycus spp. var. Green Flower (GF), var. White Giant (WG), and var. Purple Giant (PG) were subjected to solid-state fermentation (SSF) for four days at 30°C using Aspergillus oryzae (10% inoculum). The fermented seaweed extracts were incorporated into chilli sauce to increase its nutritional quality and were characterised in terms of proximate composition, antioxidant activity, viscosity and serum separation. The results obtained indicated that samples incorporated with fermented seaweed extracts contained significantly lower carbohydrates and higher ash content in comparison to control. The addition of fermented seaweed extracts significantly (p<0.05) increased the antioxidant activity. Serum separation was observed only in the control sample after eight weeks of storage. Therefore, adding fermented seaweeds can be incorporated into chilli sauce to increase the antioxidant properties and storage stability.