# Functionality of Muffins Fortified with Apple Pomace: Nutritional, Textural, and Sensory Aspects
## 4 Conclusions  
This study presents an alternative to capitalize on apple pomace powder to obtain a handcrafted muffin product. The by-product resulting from apple juice production and some powders obtained after its thermal processing were also evaluated in terms of physicochemical properties. Muffins were obtained after optimizing the process of drying and grinding apple pomace to obtain a powder with a high antioxidant potential, rich in biologically active substances. Following the analyses performed, it was demonstrated that the samples were characterized by a high content of phenolic compounds responsible for \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Parameters**} & \multicolumn{5}{c}{**Muffin Samples**} \\ \cline{2-6}  & **M\_W0** & **M\_WB10\%** & **M\_WB20\%** & **M\_WB30\%** & **M\_WB40\%** \\ \hline Firmness [g] & 1055 & 754 & 1497 & 1757 & 1980 \\ Total work [mJ] & 162.0 & 111.7 & 238.5 & 254.6 & 283.7 \\ Fracturability [g] & 1055 & 750 & 1459 & 1757 & 1994 \\ Deformation [\%]—first fracture & 17.9 & 21.5 & 19.0 & 22.1 & 23.2 \\ Peak load [dyn/cm\({}^{2}\)] & 23,418.6 & 16,737.1 & 33,230.0 & 39,01.4 & 42,300.2 \\ Consistency [g] & 721 & 573 & 629 & 907 & 1124 \\ Work done in cycle 2 [mJ] & 52.6 & 41.0 & 46.5 & 67.6 & 89.39 \\ Elasticity & 0.75 & 0.82 & 0.72 & 0.73 & 0.75 \\ Cohesiveness & 0.29 & 0.33 & 0.17 & 0.23 & 0.30 \\ Gumminess [g] & 309 & 246 & 250 & 409 & 598 \\ Chewiness [mJ] & 40.0 & 35.0 & 35.9 & 50.8 & 80.23 \\ Mean consistency load [g] & 888 & 664 & 1063 & 1332 & 1690 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* M\_WB0 is 100% wheat flour + 0% apple juice by-products, M\_WB10\% is 90% wheat flour + 10% apple juice by-products, M\_WB20\% is 80% wheat flour + 20% apple juice by-products, M\_WB30\% is 70% wheat flour + 30% apple juice by-products, and M\_WB40% is 60% wheat flour + 40% apple juice by-products.  
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Table 7: Results regarding textural characterization of the muffin prototypes. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Muffin Samples** & **Color** & **Taste** & **Aroma** & **Texture** & **Overall Acceptability** \\ \hline M\_W0 & 8.04 \(\pm\) 0.8 a & 7.66 \(\pm\) 1.46 a & 8.04 \(\pm\) 1.16 a & 8.57 \(\pm\) 0.59 a & 8.19 \(\pm\) 0.81 a \\ M\_WB10\% & 7.85 \(\pm\) 1.06 a & 7.90 \(\pm\) 0.70 a & 8.00 \(\pm\) 0.83 a & 8.42 \(\pm\) 0.59 a & 7.90 \(\pm\) 0.62 a \\ M\_WB 20\% & 7.71 \(\pm\) 1.00 a & 7.76 \(\pm\) 0.76 a & 7.90 \(\pm\) 0.83 a & 8.38 \(\pm\) 0.66 a & 8.09 \(\pm\) 0.76 a \\ M\_WB 30\% & 7.71 \(\pm\) 1.18 a & 7.71 \(\pm\) 1.05 a & 7.71 \(\pm\) 1.14 a & 8.33 \(\pm\) 0.65 a & 8.00 \(\pm\) 0.88 a \\ M\_WB 40\% & 7.61 \(\pm\) 1.20 a & 7.66 \(\pm\) 1.31 a & 7.42 \(\pm\) 1.28 a & 8.28 \(\pm\) 0.64 a & 7.71 \(\pm\) 1.18 a \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* no significant (\(p<0.05\)), M\_WBO is 100% wheat flour + 0% apple juice by-products, M\_WB10% is 90% wheat flour + 10% apple juice by-products, M\_WB20% is 80% wheat flour + 20% apple juice by-products, M\_WB30% is 70% wheat flour + 30% apple juice by-products, and M\_WB40% is 60% wheat flour + 40% apple juice by-products.  
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Table 8: Sensory evaluation of muffin prototypes. numerous physiological, biological, and biochemical functions due to their strong antioxidant activity. The cytotoxic potential of the methanol extracts of the apple pomace ranged between 70.42 and 78.80%, it being concluded that the sample subjected for the longest period to thermal treatment was the lowest in viability, displaying the highest cytotoxic effect. The behavior of the tested samples towards the bacterial strains was relatively similar and an antimicrobial effect towards the Gram-positive bacteria was revealed. In regard to the detected volatile compounds, different compounds were registered for the apple by-product in comparison to the powder obtained after the thermal process.