Development of a rosehip-enriched pumpkin–apple functional food matrix: Linking additive form to physicochemical, rheological, and sensory properties

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Fruit–vegetable matrices can serve as carriers of plant-derived compounds, but the technological consequences of incorporating rosehip in different physical forms and concentrations remain insufficiently characterized. This study therefore focuses on formulation and matrix performance rather than on biological or clinical effects, which were not measured. Objective: To determine how rosehip powder and extract, their concentration, and the pumpkin-to-apple ratio influence the physicochemical, structural–mechanical, and sensory properties of pumpkin–apple pastes. Methods: Pumpkin–apple pastes containing 13% honey and 12% ground walnut were prepared at pumpkin-to-apple ratios of 70:30, 50:50, and 30:70 and enriched separately with rosehip powder or ultrasound-assisted rosehip extract at 1%, 3%, and 5% (w/w of the final product). Each formulation was prepared in five independent batches. Water activity, moisture content, pH, titratable acidity, apparent viscosity, and compressive deformation were determined, and second-order response-surface models, correlation analysis, and a biplot were used to describe formulation–property relationships. Sensory acceptability of the 50:50 formulations was evaluated by 52 assessors on a 9-point hedonic scale and analyzed by repeated-measures ANOVA. Results: Significant response-surface models were obtained for pH (R2 = 0.962), water activity (R2 = 0.925), viscosity (R2 = 0.898), and moisture content (R2 = 0.954), whereas models for titratable acidity and deformation parameters were not significant (p = 0.111–0.292) and were interpreted descriptively. pH was strongly associated with pumpkin content (r = 0.882), and formulations with rosehip powder had higher water activity and titratable acidity and lower moisture content than those with extract. Formulation significantly affected all sensory attributes (p < 0.001). The 3% rosehip powder formulation received the highest overall acceptability (8.15 ± 0.57), not significantly different from 3% extract (7.96 ± 0.52), whereas 5% additions reduced acceptability; concentration had a substantially larger effect than additive form (ηG2 = 0.258 vs. 0.045). Conclusion: The pumpkin-to-apple ratio, rosehip form, and especially rosehip concentration are practical formulation variables for controlling pH, water state, viscosity, and sensory quality of pumpkin–apple pastes, with about 3% rosehip providing the most acceptable products. Bioactive-compound retention, bioaccessibility, biological activity, safety, and efficacy require dedicated studies before health-related functionality can be claimed. Novelty of the Study: The study provides an integrated comparison of rosehip powder and extract across concentration and pumpkin-to-apple ratio within a single fruit–vegetable matrix, combining batch-replicated physicochemical data with assessor-level sensory statistics, and identifies the addition level, rather than the additive form, as the dominant driver of consumer acceptability. Keywords: rosehip; pumpkin–apple paste; functional food matrix; plant bioactive ingredients; physicochemical properties; water activity; rheological properties; deformation behavior; sensory quality.