Abstract—In recent years, changing life conditions leading to increased industrial and agricultural activities has brought a negative influence on health conditions. Therefore, studies on new and functional, highly nutritious food production has become more important. Especially negative opinions about commonly used food additives in food industry lead to consumption of natural food additives. Scolymus hispanicus L. is a thistle-like plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the Southern Europe and Western Asia. This plant is a mild climate plant which grows in The Aegean, Mediterranean and The Marmara regions at altitudes 0-1580 meters high in Turkey. Although Scolymus hispanicus L. is generally consumed as a vegetable with young leaf and root, it is also used in alternative medicine. Scolymus hispanicus L. leaves, stems and flowers are traditionally used as a “bitter” tonic to stimulate appetite, enhance bile secretion, decrease flatulence, and aid digestion. It was also historically used as a diuretic, diaphoretic, and antipyretic. Although it grows almost everywhere in our country, use of this plant is limited and its economic value is considerably low. Therefore, Scolymus hispanicus L. was thought to have a potential as an alternative food additive and Scolymus hispanicus L. flour (SHF) was produced by washing its roots, peeling, removing the woody sections in the central part of the root, drying in hot air flow and grinding. SHF was rich in dietary fiber, total phenolic compounds, and also it had a high antioxidant capacity. Thus, a product was developed in food industry which could be used in bakery products (biscuits, crackers, cakes), dairy products (yoghurt, ice cream and dessert production), special diet products, energy-reduced products, chocolate and confectionary production. The purpose of this study is to put forward a disregarded product with low economic value and redound it to economy as a valuable substance. In addition, bringing in a new functional food additive to industry is likely to increase productivity and competition, variety in agriculture and exportation potential in industry.
 

Index Terms—dietary fiber, Scolymus hispanicus L., food additive, antioxidant, total phenolic compounds

Cite: Dilek Dulger Altiner and Yasemin Sahan, "A Functional Food Additive: Scolymus Hispanicus L. Flour," International Journal of Food Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 124-127, December 2016. doi: 10.18178/ijfe.2.2.124-127