Sensory evaluation and in vitro prebiotic effect of (poly)phenols and dietary fiber-rich mango bagasse-enriched confections

Mango bagasse (MB) is a (poly)phenols and fiber (DF)-rich agroindustrial by-product exhibiting health-beneficial properties. This research aimed to design and characterize an MB-added confection and evaluate its prebiotic effect in vitro. A sensory analysis involving 51 children was conducted to select the most accepted formulation. Nine formulations (3^k factorial design) were screened through texture profile analysis to select an MBC formulation that was hydrated (1:4 and 1:5 MBC:water) to reduce its hardness, where 1:4 was chosen. Compared to MB, 1:4 formulation showed a higher protein (+1.20-fold) but less DF (−0.62-fold). The confections contained gallic acid, mangiferin, quercetin, and (+)-catechin (234.82–479.69 g/100 g sample) but displayed a lower in vitro accessibility than those from MB. Selected bacterial strains exhibited fermentative activity using MBC as a substrate, which was even better than using MB fiber-only. The results showed the potential of MB to DF and (poly)phenol-rich confections with prebiotic potential.