Vol. 40 No. 3 (2026):
Articles

Functional foods and sensory analysis: Evidence from a magnesium-enrichment radish study

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  • I. Bravo,
  • E.K. Twum,
  • I. Colamatteo,
  • C. Beni,
  • E. Iannucci,
  • L. Cappelli
I. Bravo
LAMeT, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, viale dell'Università, 03043 Cassino (FR), Italy.
E.K. Twum
LAMeT, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, viale dell'Università, 03043 Cassino (FR), Italy.
I. Colamatteo
LAMeT, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, viale dell'Università, 03043 Cassino (FR), Italy.
C. Beni
CREA-IT, Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare, 16, 00015 Monterotondo (RM), Italy.
E. Iannucci
LAMeT, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, viale dell'Università, 03043 Cassino (FR), Italy.
L. Cappelli
LAMeT, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, viale dell'Università, 03043 Cassino (FR), Italy.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/ahsc-20316
Categories

Published 2026-09-30

Keywords

  • Food quality,
  • magnesium biofortification,
  • organoleptic assessment,
  • radish,
  • sensory analysis

How to Cite

Bravo, I., Twum, E., Colamatteo, I., Beni, C., Iannucci, E., & Cappelli, L. (2026). Functional foods and sensory analysis: Evidence from a magnesium-enrichment radish study. Advances in Horticultural Science, 40(3), 335–344. https://doi.org/10.36253/ahsc-20316

Copyright (c) 2026 Ilenia Bravo, Ilenia Colamatteo, Claudio Beni, Enrica Iannucci, Lucio Cappelli

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

Evidence from the literature highlights a strong consumer preference and/or purchase intention for fortified food products due to their health benefits. They prefer enriched food products with an increase of micronutrients and a better nutritional profile, specific for their needs. Yet sensory appeal remains a key driver to their final acceptance and at the same time, there are few evidence in literature regarding organoleptic aspect of horticultural fortified. Investigating sensory profiles is therefore critical to developing enriched food products that meet both health expectations and hedonic preferences. This paper aims to evaluate organoleptic aspects of a radish plant enriched with magnesium, and a combination of magnesium and zeolite solution, using a trained panel of tasters. Data collected were analyzed using the Co-efficient of Variation, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) tests. Treatment samples with magnesium solutions increased magnesium concentrations relative to the control sample. The estimated increase is 27.2% in swollen root and 58.4% in leaf. In fact, the treatment significantly altered the sensory profiles of the radish plant. Both magnesium and magnesium and zeolite samples significantly exhibited lower bitterness and crunchiness intensity while showing an increase intensity of spiciness. Notably, the treatment samples were perceived as spicier but less bitter than the control sample. Sensory profiles of functional foods are altered by incorporation of nutrients and foliar treatments, ultimately having the ability to affect the hedonic preferences of potential consumers. The study produces new data on the topic of sustainable product innovation in the agri-food industry, delineating new opportunities for future research. Finally, it addresses the gap in the literature on fortified vegetable sensory evaluation. A further hedonic analysis with a larger number of panelists along with surveys assessing consumer willingness to consume and purchase these products are needed.

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