Textural and antioxidant properties of mozzarella cheese fortified with dehydrated oyster mushroom flour

As a good source of natural anti-oxidants, oyster mushroom flour can be incorporated in dairy products. However, very few scientific publications provide formulations for dairy products fortified with oyster mushroom flour. This research featured the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of oyster mushroom flour pretreated with 0.5% citric acid solution. Three samples of mozzarella cheese were incorporated with 1, 2, and 3% oyster mushroom flour and tested for physicochemical properties, total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). The mushroom flour had 11.09 ± 0.88% moisture content, 20.70 ± 0.74% protein, 3.25 ± 0.13% ash, 7.43 ± 0.35% crude fiber, 3.31 ± 0.51% fat, and 54.20 ± 0.81% carbohydrate. The DPPH was 87.00 ± 0.15 mg GAE/g DM, the total phenolic content was 2.09 ± 0.68 mg GAE/g DM, and the total flavonoid content was 1.67 ± 0.27 mg QE/g DM. The texture and water holding capacity of the mozzarella cheese samples fortified with oyster mushroom flour decreased as the proportion of mushroom flour increased. The color (L* lightness, b* redness, and a* yellowness) was significantly lower than in the control (cheese without oyster mushroom flour). The test samples contained significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher amount of DPPH and phenolic compounds than the control. The sensory attributes were assessed by 30 semi-trained panelists, who gave the highest score to the sample fortified with 1% oyster mushroom flour. As a natural antioxidant, oyster mushroom flour proved to be an excellent component for functional cheese products.