The enrichment of emergency food rations with complexes made of curcumin/quercetin-whey protein nanofibrils to improve their antioxidant activity

Functional emergency food rations with health-promoting attributes can improve the performance of armed forces during military missions, especially if there would not be enough time for food consumption. Therefore, the aim of this study was to produce emergency rations enriched with functional ingredients including whey protein nanofibril (WPN) and its complexes with curcumin (C-WPN) and quercetin (Q-WPN) as bioactive antioxidant compounds. After the formulation and production of the rations, their antioxidant activity, sensory properties, and microbial attributes were investigated. Addition of curcumin and quercetin to rations significantly improved their antioxidant activity as investigated by free radical scavenging method and reducing power assay. In all these methods, rations had higher antioxidant activity in the presence of curcumin and quercetin. The microbial and sensory properties of rations also were acceptable. Therefore, the results of this study suggested that the curcumin and quercetin as biologically active ingredients can be used in the formulation of emergency food rations for increasing their antioxidant activity which is very useful for improving the performance of armed forces and soldiers during military missions and activities.