Physical, reconstitution and phenolic properties of instant drink mix prepared with Moringa oleifera leaf, raw banana and whey protein concentrate

The formulation of instant drink mix with nutritional enhancement and optimum physical properties is a challenging task. The present study was undertaken to formulate instant drink formulation (IDF) mix using the ingredients green unripe mature banana powder (GMBP), Moringa oleifera leaf powder (MLP) and whey protein concentrate powder (WPCP) as main ingredients. Different combinations of these ingredients were mixed to formulate nine different variants (treatments) of composition mixes. The developed treatments were evaluated for physical and reconstitution properties of color characteristics, water activity, bulk density, tapped density, flowability, angle of repose, foaming capacity, swelling index, hygroscopicity, water absorption capacity (WAC), water solubility index (WSI), dispersibility, and wettability. The samples were evaluated for phenolic composition and antioxidant potential. Water activity, bulk and tapped density among the samples was ranging between 0.245–0.254 a_w, 0.35–0.43 g/cm³ and 0.67–0.77 g/cm³, respectively. The flowability characteristics of Carr index (CI), Hausner ratio (HR) and angle of repose were ranging between 26.20–55.51, 1.36–2.34 and 27.51–48.33, respectively, with T₁ treatment having the highest values for these characteristics. Foaming capacity, swelling index and hygroscopicity was found to be 21.83–51.17 %, 3.55–10.16 % and 24.53–36.67 %, respectively. The WAC and WSI was observed to be highest in the T1 treatment with 2.55 and 76.27, respectively. Whereas, the dispersibility and wettability was found to be between 49.75–87.93 (%) and 14.15–22.46 (s), respectively. Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and total anthocyanin content (TAC) in the analyzed samples were ranging between 26.86 and 1740.00 mg GAE/100 g, 12.33–1880.50 mg RE/100 g and 0.27–448.83 μg C3G/g, respectively. For the antioxidant assays, the DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assay were recorded with 10.30–8.36 % inhibition, 11.85–88.07 % inhibition and 0.36–22.72 μM Fe²⁺/100g, respectively. Polyphenol profile and enzyme inhibition activity was analyzed among the formulated compositions.