Fortification of Egyptian Cake with Some Medicinal Plants as a Natural Source of Antioxidants and Minerals

The medicinal plants (MP) are very important for human health due to their  high content of  numerous phytochemicals. The goal of the present study was the cake fortification using some MP are anise seed, mint leaf and caraway seed at three different levels (1,2, and 3 %) to be available for a wide category of people especially children. The chemical composition of the three selected MP was carried out and  its contents of  protein, fat, fiber, ash and carbohydrates was determined. As an authentic part of this work the mineral contents of MP are evaluated and this cleared that they have a great valuable mineral content are Ca, K, Fe, P and Na at high levels, especially mint leaves have the highest value of Ca, K, Fe and Na at level 1390,1720,66 and 326 mg/kg respectively, followed by anise and caraway. The effect of MP at different concentrations on the dough rheological properties and chemical composition of produced cakes were examined and the additions induced some slight changes. Mineral content of  the produced fortified cakes were evaluated and significant increase found in all mineral types due to the addition of anise, mint and caraway and the Ca, K, Fe, P, and Na were increased gradually by increasing of  the addition level of MP from 7.8, 67.0, 73, 64.2, and 1.3 mg/kg in the control cake sample to 22.7, 91.0, 1.3, 70, and 3.4 in the supplemented cakes. The physical properties, freshness, color, specific volume, and sensory evaluation of produced cake were evaluated and slight changes were noted due to the MP addition.