Physicochemical, antioxidant activity, and sensory characteristics of mead produced with Hibiscus sabdariffa and Betula pendula (Birch sap)

Nowadays, consumers' preference for low-alcoholic beverages with health-promoting bioactive constituents is rapidly increasing. Thus, there is an increasing search for bioactive ingredients to enhance the nutritional values and related health benefits of beverages such as mead. Hibiscus sabdariffa (HS) and Betula pendula (Birch sap) are plant materials rich in bioactive constituents that offer beneficial functions, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, the study aimed to use HS and birch sap to produce a low-alcohol mead with improved bioactive constituents, sensory qualities, and antioxidant activity. Before fermentation (20 +/- 1 degrees C, 21 days), honey-must (25%) was supplemented with HS brew (8, 19, 22, or 25%). The findings showed that the addition of HS extract had no negative effect on fermentation dynamics, as evidenced by a general decline in extract (%Brix) and simultaneous release of alcohol in both the control and HS-supplemented meads. HS meads had significantly lower alcohol content (3.22 +/- 0.04-5.58 +/- 0.04) than control meads (36.32 +/- 0.04-7.17 +/- 0.04). Also, the addition of HS and birch sap enhanced the bioactive elements and antioxidant activity of HS mead compared to the control meads. HS mead (HSC) had the highest (p < 0.05) total phenolic content (134.38 +/- 0.83 mg QAE/L), total flavonoid content (117.88 +/- 0.150 mg RE/L), and 2,2Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl antioxidant activity (65.83 +/- 0.62%) among all the samples studied. Mead augmented with 1.8 L (HSC) was generally preferred by sensory panellists with an overall acceptability score of 7.67 +/- 0.77. The results suggest that the addition of birch sap and HS will not change the fermentation kinetics but will improve the bioactive constituents and health-promoting benefits of the mead.