Applicability of extracts from Centaurea calcitrapa in ripening of bovine cheese

Aqueous extracts obtained from cell suspension cultures of Centaurea calcitrapa were used as proteolytic additive in the manufacture of a commercial bovine cheese, coagulated with animal rennet and typically ripened for 28 d. The cheese was assessed in comparison to standard cheese for two levels of addition of said extract, viz. 0.61 and 1.22 mg of total protein mL^-1. The qualitative and quantitative evolutions of the nitrogen fractions were monitored in the experimental cheeses throughout the whole ripening period. In general, the chemical compositions of the cheeses were different depending on the amount of extract used, but no significant differences could be detected in the ripening index. With regard to electrophoretic profiles, the two types of cheese could be distinguished until up to ca. 7 d of ripening, but differences did essentially vanish by 28 d.