Incorporation of Leaf Extract in Yoghurts to Mitigate Children's Malnutrition in Developing Countries.

, which is rich in bioactive compounds, has numerous biological activities and is a powerful source of antioxidants and nutrients. Therefore, can be incorporated into food to mitigate children's malnutrition. In this work, the bioactive compounds were extracted from leaf powder by ultrasound-assisted solid-liquid extraction. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and the phenolic composition of the extract were evaluated. The extract presented a total phenolic content of 54.5 ± 16.8 mg gallic acid equivalents/g and IC values of 133.4 ± 12.3 mg/L for DPPH and 60.0 ± 9.9 mg/L for ABTS. Catechin, chlorogenic acid, and epicatechin were the main phenolics identified by HPLC-DAD. The obtained extract and leaf powder were incorporated into yoghurts and their physicochemical and biological properties were studied. The incorporation of did not impair the yoghurts' stability over eight weeks when compared to both negative and positive controls. The extract presented higher stability regarding syneresis but lower stability regarding TPC compared to the powder. Also, the fortified yoghurts presented higher antioxidant properties than the negative control. These findings highlight the potential use of powder and extract as natural additives to produce fortified foods that can be used in the mitigation of malnutrition.