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Mελέτη καρδιοπροστατευτικών ιδιοτήτων Μακεδονικού κατσικίσιου κεφίρ (Bachelor thesis)

Θάνου, Αναστασία/ Thanou, Anastasia

The growing demand for natural bioactive ingredients with applications in functional foods, dietary supplements, and nutricosmetics has increased scientific interest in goat milk fermentation products, particularly kefir. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, and antioxidant capacity, chemical composition, and lipid profile of amphiphilic (TAC) mainly extracts isolated from fermented goat's milk kefir yogurt-type product compared to unfermented goat's milk. The isolation of bioactive fractions was performed using conventional extraction methods and further separation based on distribution in polar and nonpolar solvents. The chemical identification of the TAC extracts was performed by ATR–FTIR spectroscopy and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS), while their antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH and ABTS assays. The results showed that all extracts exhibited remarkable free radical scavenging ability, with amphiphilic fractions exhibiting statistically higher bioactivity. Despite the higher extraction yield of the lipophilic fractions, the amphiphilic extracts exhibited stronger anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic biological activity in human platelets against platelet-activating factor (PAF) and ADP. FTIR and LC–MS analyses confirmed the presence of phenolic compounds, carotenoids , and polar lipids, mainly phospholipids with unsaturated fatty acids in the sn-2 position. These polar lipids contain an increased ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids (especially omega-9) and a low omega-6/omega-3 ratio, which are associated with beneficial anti-inflammatory biological properties. Overall, goat kefir emerges as an important source of bioactive molecules with high antioxidant but mainly anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic potential, which give it the designation of a bio -functional food with added biological value that promotes health.