Characterization of a New Powdered, Milk-Based Medicinal Plant (Alcea Rosea) Drink Product

Abstract

Alcea rosea, known as hollyhock, is an ornamental dicot flower in the Malvaceae family, and it has been used for different purposes, ranging from traditional medicine to food applications, through the use of its leaves, roots, and seeds. The hollyhock flowers possess several properties, including a diuretic, cooling, demulcent, emollient, febrifuge, and astringent effects. Hollyhock flowers were commonly included in a traditional medicine formulation for hypoglycemic or hypolipidemic treatments. Along with its use in traditional medicine, it has also been considered a valuable ingredient in some traditional food preparations; however, the processing of hollyhock into a new food product has not been studied. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the production of a new product, a milk-based Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) powder, and its powder product characterization via particle size, water activity, density, flowability, etc., in addition to the determination of its chemical composition (with 5.73% ash and 29.12% protein). In this paper, we report the application of spray-dried milk-based hollyhock flower extract to produce a new ready-to-drink product of this medicinal plant for food sustainability.