Effect of the Inclusion of Scent (Ocimum gratissimum) and Mint Leaves (Mentha spp.) in Herbal Yogurt

Herbal yogurt was produced individually with scent leaf (Ocimum gratissimum) extract (FSLE) and mint leaf (Mentha spp.) extract (FMLE) at different volumes (milliliter) and coded as plain yogurt (PY) having 300, PY + FSLE (290:10), PY + FSLE B (285:15), PY + FMLE (290:10), and PY + FMLE (285:15). The samples were analyzed. The proximate, micronutrient, physicochemical, phytochemical, microbial, and sensory characteristics of the yogurt samples were determined. Proximate composition results revealed that there was no significant difference (p < 0.05) in all the proximate parameters. The moisture content of the samples ranged from 81.01% to 82.41%, protein content 6.62%–7.10%, fat content 4.63%–5.97%, and carbohydrate content 5.60%–6.07%. Fiber was not detected, and the ash content ranged from 0.076% to 1.09%. The physicochemical analysis showed that the pH values ranged from 4.27 to 4.32, and viscosity values ranged from 83.75 to 143.1 mPa·s. Total titratable acidity ranged from 1.11% to 1.23%. The phytochemicals increased with increasing quantities of FSLE and FMLE; flavonoids ranged from 13.55 to 17.65 μg/g, tannin 3.37–4.46 μg/g, and saponin 5.26–7.45 μg/g. Lactic acid bacteria count decreased with extract addition (9.0 × 10⁴–1.9 × 10⁴ cfu/g). The total viable count value ranged from 1.3 × 10³ to 4.0 × 10³ cfu/g while the mold count was not detected in the samples. The concentration of vitamin A varied from 0.17 to 0.34 mg/100 g, whereas the concentration of vitamin C ranged from 0.15 to 0.2934 mg/100 g. Calcium and potassium contents increased with the addition of the extracts. The sample PY + FMLE D (285:15 mL) was most preferred for all sensory parameters except for appearance, and sample PY was most preferred for its appearance. The study shows that FSLE and FMLE could be used as herbs in the production of herbal yogurt.