Development of Low-Calorie Mayonnaise-Type Sauces Enriched with the Prebiotic Plantago Ovata

Recently, there has been growing interest in healthy foods enriched with prebiotics. Psyllium (Plantago Ovata) is a natural hydrocolloid with prebiotic properties that also enhances sauce viscosity. Thus, its incorporation into mayonnaise-style sauces could be a delicious and convenient way to create sauces with lower oil content. Low-calorie mayonnaise-type sauces were prepared using milk as protein source for contributing to the emulsification process and the influence of oil content (10–40%) and psyllium amount (1.5–3%) on the rheological properties of the resulting emulsions was evaluated. The physical stability was assessed by multiple light scattering techniques. Following preliminary studies to establish ranges for the oil-to-water ratio and psyllium concentration, a circumscribed central composite design was utilised to determine optimal values. This involved defining five levels for these two factors and two iterations of the central point. The experimental data was analysed using MINITAB software and response surface graphics were obtained. Thus, while samples with low-fat content (10–15%) were possible, the study indicates that increasing the amount of Psyllium and oil raised the viscosity of the sauce. Additionally, it was noted that a higher quantity of Psyllium and less oil (2.8% and 15%, respectively) achieved the same consistency as sauces with lower prebiotic content but higher oil (1.7–35%, respectively).