Abstract
The current study aimed to evaluate the chemical, phytochemical, and sensory properties; the nutritional value; and the antioxidant properties resulting from the incorporation of yogurt fortified with the aqueous extract of Hawthorn leaves in Sprague Dawley rats. The results revealed that the yogurt containing the aqueous extract from Hawthorn leaves exhibited no significant differences in terms of its protein, fat, and ash contents compared to control samples. Moreover, the highest total phenolic content (62.00 ± 1.70) and antioxidant activity (20.60 ± 0.74%) were detected in the yogurt containing 0.4% Hawthorn leaf extract compared to the other samples. The consumption of yogurt fortified with the aqueous extract from Hawthorn leaves by rats experiencing oxidative stress resulted in a significant decrease (p ≤ 0.05) in the triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, creatinine, urea, and malondialdehyde levels and a remarkable increase (p ≤ 0.05) in the high-density lipoprotein, total protein, and albumin levels as well as in the total antioxidant potentials of serum compared to the positive control group, indicating that the extract from Hawthorn leaves can play a preventive role against oxidative stress. Collectively, our study concluded that the extract from Hawthorn leaves can provide health benefits to yogurt on the basis of its high bioactive components and can exert protective effects against oxidative stress in rats.