# Pumpkin Pomace Powder as a Bioactive Powder Ingredient for Whey Cheese Production
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Physico-Chemical Characterization of PPP-Supplemented Cheese Samples  
It is possible to hypothesize that the nutritional makeup of cheese is greatly affected by the milk production conditions in each particular type of cheese. In particular, the quantities of lipophilic antioxidants, such as carotenoids, can be influenced by physical and chemical elements, including air, which can vary greatly depending on dietary consumption. This can result in their depreciation during the cheese manufacturing process [45; 46]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Phytochemical Characteristics**} & **Storage Time,** & \multirow{2}{*}{**RCC**} & **RCPPP3** & **RCPPP6** \\  & **(Days)** & & & \\ \hline Total Carotenoids, mg/100 g dw & 0 & - & 38.14 \(\pm\) 0.91 \({}^{\text{AA}}\) & 76.41 \(\pm\) 1.28 \({}^{\text{AB}}\) \\  & 21 & - & 35.07 \(\pm\) 0.97 \({}^{\text{BA}}\) & 73.61 \(\pm\) 1.35 \({}^{\text{BB}}\) \\ \hline Total Polyphenols, mg GAE/100 g dw & 0 & 9.40 \(\pm\) 2.33 \({}^{\text{AA}}\) & 45.44 \(\pm\) 2.66 \({}^{\text{AB}}\) & 82.83\(\pm\) 2.87 \({}^{\text{AC}}\) \\  & 21 & 6.98 \(\pm\) 2.11 \({}^{\text{AA}}\) & 42.09 \(\pm\) 2.51 \({}^{\text{AB}}\) & 79.71 \(\pm\) 2.64 \({}^{\text{AC}}\) \\ \hline Total Flavonoids, mg CE/100 g dw & 0 & 4.23 \(\pm\) 1.84 \({}^{\text{AA}}\) & 23.92 \(\pm\) 2.84 \({}^{\text{AB}}\) & 38.64 \(\pm\) 2.99 \({}^{\text{AC}}\) \\  & 21 & 2.02 \(\pm\) 1.62 \({}^{\text{AA}}\) & 20.86 \(\pm\) 2.61 \({}^{\text{AB}}\) & 35.08 \(\pm\) 2.54 \({}^{\text{AC}}\) \\ \hline Antioxidant Activity, \(\mu\)mol TE/g dw & 0 & 171.46 \(\pm\) 3.39 \({}^{\text{AA}}\) & 470.25 \(\pm\) 4.15 \({}^{\text{AB}}\) & 977.41 \(\pm\) 6.96 \({}^{\text{AC}}\) \\  & 21 & 167.35 \(\pm\) 3.15 \({}^{\text{BA}}\) & 466.76 \(\pm\) 4.07 \({}^{\text{BB}}\) & 973.12 \(\pm\) 6.24 \({}^{\text{DC}}\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* Means marked with distinct superscript lowercase letters indicate a statistically significant difference (\(p<0.05\)) between each investigated phytochemical and storage time. Means with various superscript uppercase letters (\(p<0.05\)) indicate a significant difference between each phytochemical parameter and sample variant.  
\end{table} 
Table 2: Phytochemical characteristics and antioxidant activity and stability during 21 days of storage for the control and PPP-supplemented cheese samples. Table 3 presents the physicochemical properties of whey cheeses with varying pump-kin pomace proportions (3 and 6%) in comparison to the control cheese. The addition of PPP to cheese greatly improved its chemical composition in comparison to the control. A statistically significant difference (\(p<0.05\)) was seen in the proximate makeup of the whey cheese samples with and without PPP. The incorporation of PPP results in significant variations (\(p<0.05\)) in moisture, fat, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, ash, energy value, and dry matter content. No significant differences between samples were observed in pH and salt content. Moreover, the addition of PPP to cheese results in a decrease in salt and moisture content while simultaneously increasing the levels of protein, fat, fiber, carbs, ash, and total solids in direct proportion to the quantity of PPP supplied. The observed outcomes can be attributed to the pumpkin pomace's elevated levels of dietary fiber and crude protein [47]. Adding a higher proportion of PPP results in a substantial increase in the whey cheese's total solid and total protein contents (\(p<0.05\)). The total solids exhibited significant variations (\(p<0.05\)) between the enriched samples (RCPPP3 and RCPPP6) and the control. The total protein content in the control, RCPPP3, and RCPPP6 chees was 10.01%, 10.35%, and 10.74%, respectively. These results indicate increased protein levels following the addition of pumpkin powder. Increasing the pumpkin powder level to 6% during cheese production showed a statistically significant impact (\(p<0.05\)) on the fiber content. Among the samples, RCPPP6 had the highest fiber value (5.04%).