Herbal drink formulation optimization of Trollius chinensis Bunge by sensory fuzzy comprehensive evaluation

Background: Trollius chinensis Bunge is a common herbal plant used for pharmaceutical and food resources in China. The dry flowers of Trollius chinensis Bunge are also treated as a traditional Chinese tea for daily drinking, yet the Trollius chinensis Bunge tea will exhibit a bitter taste in a certain concentration range and is not always accepted among consumers. The aim of the study was to design a herbal drink with a good flavor and optimize the formulation.

Methods: Trollius chinensis Bunge was purchased and ground. The sensory fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method and the orthogonal test were applied to optimize the formulation of the Trollius chinensis Bunge herbal drink.

Results: The results showed that the optimum formulation was as follows: an addition amount of Trollius chinensis Bunge extract solution of 30%; an addition amount of mint extract solution of 4%; an addition amount of liquorice extract solution of 7%; an addition amount of sugar of 3%; an addition amount of citric acid of 0.15%. The polysaccharide content decreased with an increase in storage time; the stability of the polysaccharides was not significantly affected by storage temperature (P > 0.05). The pH value of the samples was significantly affected by storage temperature (P < 0.01), which was basically unchanged at 4°C and 25°C, and relatively large at 37°C; the stability of color was significantly affected by temperature (0.01 < P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Sensory fuzzy comprehensive evaluation is an useful evaluation method in optimizing the formulation of a herbal drink. These results provide some theoretical basis for the food product development of Trollius chinensis Bunge.

Keywords: Trollius chinensis Bunge; formulation; fuzzy; optimization; sensory.