Effect of Haematococcus pluvialis on Chiffon Cake Quality and Stability of Astaxanthin

To improve nutritive value and quality of chiffon cake, Haematococcus pluvialis powder was added to chiffon cake in this study. Nutrients of H. pluvialis was determined by HPLC and GC-MS. Using automatic color difference meter and texture analyser to explore the color and texture of chiffon cake with different levels of H. pluvialis. Antioxidant activity of chiffon cake and the effect of baking on astaxanthin were also investigated. The results showed that the content of astaxanthin, carbohydrate, protein and fatty acid was 20.93±0.41 mg/g DCW, 25.56%±0.94%, 19.97%±0.13% and 27.11%±0.25%. The color of chiffon cake turned orange red gradually, the hardness, elasticity and chewiness of chiffon cake were gradually increased, and antioxidant activity was improved with the increase of H. pluvialis addition. Specific volume was highest with the addition of 2.0% H. pluvialis. Scavenging

rate of DPPH and hydroxyl radical increased by 119.92% and 9.17% with the addition of 4.0% H. pluvialis compared with the control group. The content of astaxanthin decreased sharply with the loss rate of 49.37%~62.17% after baking. Besides, algal fishy smell emitted with the addition of H. pluvialis increased, which affected the flavor of chiffon cake. Therefore, 1.0%~2.0% of H. pluvialis was appropriate for chiffon cake to improve its quality and nutritive value.