Functional Beverages

Fermented, fruit-based functional beverages

A row of six bottles with differently colored drinks stands on a table. The bottles are arranged in a line and in front of them are various berries and leaves as decorative elements.
The illustration symbolizes so-called functional beverages - i.e. functional drinks - based on natural ingredients

Project duration: until early 2026
Project coordination: Dr Doreen Schober
Funded by: Internal university funding (ZFF)

What are functional beverages?   Functional beverages (German: functional beverages) include, for example, energy drinks, isotonic sports drinks and fortified wellness drinks. They are said to have health-promoting and nutritional effects, but their actual benefits are difficult to evaluate objectively due to limited scientific evidence.

The aim of this project is to establish the scientific and technological basis for fermented, fruit-based functional beverages.
The project has two main focuses:

  • Definition and optimization of the concept of functional beverages based on natural fermentation processes, including the investigation of the relationships between phenolic ingredients, antioxidant effect and sensory quality.
  • Establishment of UV-VIS fluorescence spectroscopy as a rapid method for determining phenolic compounds and their antioxidant capacity.

Project description

Blurred shelf display with colorful drinks in plastic bottles, symbolic of products based on imported raw materials and artificial additives.
A grocery store with a shelf display full of colorful drinks in plastic bottles, blurred. The image symbolizes the existing variety of products, which have so far mainly been based on imported raw materials and artificial additives.

As many of these products have so far been based on imported raw materials and artificial additives, naturally fermented, fruit-based drinks based on regional raw materials are being developed and characterized as part of the project.

For this purpose, mulberries, blueberries, blackberries or cherries are co-fermented together with white grapes in malolactic and alcoholic fermentation. The aim is to achieve an optimum balance between sugar reduction, antioxidant potential and sensory quality.

In addition to the chemical analysisof phenolic compounds (including anthocyanins, flavonols, tannins), a sensory evaluation of the products is carried out using descriptive tests and acceptance tests. In addition, the samples are analyzed using UV-VIS and UV-VIS fluorescence spectroscopy in order to develop a database and a simplified index for the rapid determination of antioxidant and sensory properties.

The project thus creates the basis for a follow-up project that will further advance the development and evaluation of functional, regional beverages.