# Pumpkin Pomace Powder as a Bioactive Powder Ingredient for Whey Cheese Production
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Color Evaluation of PPP-Supplemented Cheese Samples  
Given that the color parameter of whey cheese has a substantial impact on consumer approval, it is crucial to evaluate it thoroughly. The color characteristics of L* (whiteness/darkness), a* (redness/greenness), b* (yellowness/blueness), C* (chroma), H* (hue angle), and \(\Delta\)E (total color difference) of PPP-enriched cheeses, both in the initial moment and after storage stability, were examined and are presented in Table 4. There was a sig \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Physical-Chemical** & **RCC** & **RCPPP3** & **RCPPP6** \\
**Characteristics** & & & \\ \hline Total solids, \% & 16.07 \(\pm\) 0.21 c  & 20.73 \(\pm\) 0.19 b  & 24.08 \(\pm\) 0.27 a  \\ pH & 5.88 \(\pm\) 0.13 a  & 5.86 \(\pm\) 0.15 a  & 5.83 \(\pm\) 0.17 a  \\ Fat, \% & 4.30 \(\pm\) 0.08 b  & 4.54 \(\pm\) 0.10 a  & 4.70 \(\pm\) 0.11 a  \\ Protein, \% & 10.01 \(\pm\) 0.14 b  & 10.35 \(\pm\) 0.19 b  & 10.74 \(\pm\) 0.22 a  \\ Carbohydrates, \% & 0.62 \(\pm\) 0.09 a  & 3.94 \(\pm\) 0.07 b  & 5.66 \(\pm\) 0.04 c  \\ Fiber, \% & 0.00 \(\pm\) 0.00 c  & 3.32 \(\pm\) 0.12 b  & 5.04 \(\pm\) 0.19 a  \\ Humidity, \% & 83.93 \(\pm\) 0.31 a  & 79.27 \(\pm\) 0.35 b  & 75.92 \(\pm\) 0.38 c  \\ Salt, \% & 0.89 \(\pm\) 0.09 a  & 0.78 \(\pm\) 0.08 a  & 0.81 \(\pm\) 0.09 a  & 0.81 \(\pm\) 0.09 a  & 0.81 \(\pm\) 0.09 a  & 1.05 \(\pm\) 0.07 c  & 1.90 \(\pm\) 0.11 b  & 29.89 \(\pm\) 0.16 a  \\ KJ/100 g & 339.49 \(\pm\) 0.12 c  & 43.47 \(\pm\) 0.17 b  \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Physico-chemical characteristics of control and PPP-supplemented cheese samples. nificant (_p_ < 0.05) difference between unssupplemented cheese and samples supplemented with PPP. The color parameter research indicates that the inclusion of PPP substantially influenced the cheees' color. The cheees that were subjected to experimentation exhibited the highest values of yellowness (b*) and redness (a*) and the lowest values of lightness (L*). In fact, the PPP-enhanced cheese had a darker appearance compared to cheese without powder addition, as indicated by lower L* values. Indeed, a high decrease in the L* value from 94.60 \(\pm\) 0.36 (RCC) to 80.27 \(\pm\) 0.36 in RCPPP6 prepared with PPP was observed. Therefore, the lightness (L*) value was reduced with the increase of PPP in the enriched cheees. The a* and b* values of PPP samples representing redness/greenness and yellowness/blueness, respectively, were higher compared with the control sample. As can be seen, the a* and b* values for the enriched cheees increased with PPP addition. The yellowness value (b*) of PPP-added samples was significantly higher (_p_ < 0.05) than the control. The b* values increased after the PPP supplementation of cheese, which led to the predominance of a yellowish tint. This finding can be related to the high carotenoid content of pumpkin pomace [35]. During the storage time, the L* values decreased, and the a* and b* values increased. Similarly, in another study, the inclusion of pumpkin flour resulted in a decrease in L* values (from 94.89 to 88.67) while leading to an increase in a* (from \(-\)2.10 to +4.22) and b* (from 10.79 to 25.88) values [13]. The CIELCH parameters include the C* value, which indicates color saturation, and the H* value, which measures the hue angle and reflects the chromaticity or tone of color. The color saturation (C*) values varied between the control sample and the PPP-added samples and were comparable to the b* color coordinate. Also, the C* values increased after storage. The color's chroma was at its highest value in the RCPPP6 cheese. The color tone (H*) values had a range of 1.46 to 1.37 for the RCPPP6 sample during storage for 21 days. H* decreased for the PPP-enriched samples. The total color change of the samples varied from 95.32 \(\pm\) 0.07 to 83.03 \(\pm\) 0.04 units, influenced by PPP addition. Increasing the PPP content led to a decrease in the L* and \(\Delta\)E values.