The influence of addition of cranberrybush juice to pear juice on chemical composition and antioxidant properties

The current trend of a healthy lifestyle has had an impact on the change in nutritional needs and growth of interest in functional foods. A varied and properly balanced diet and increasing physical activity are among the most important factors that affect the development of health and mental and physical well-being of consumers (Jiménez-Colmenero et al. 2001 ; Charalampopoulos et al. 2002 ; Granato et al. 2010 ). More and more often consumers choose those natural products with sensory advantages and heightened pro-health value (Layman 2014 ; Falguera et al. 2012 ). In order to meet customer demand, the food industry has begun to produce functional foods, which play a special role (Menrad 2003 ; Andrés et al. 2015 ). Functional food refers to food products enriched with raw materials exhibiting high value for health prevention, with characteristics intermediate between medicine and food. They are similar to traditional products, which are part of a normal diet (Hardy 2000 ; Gupta et al. 2015 ). A vital role is fulfilled by products rich in biologically active compounds, such as functional drinks. Functional beverages and juices are commonly consumed around the world and are located in the dynamically growing segment of functional foods. Consumers mainly in developed countries such as the United States, Canada and Europe have increased interest in natural and minimally processed vegetable drinks. A good example of such drinks is mixing different fruits without the addition of synthetic substances, which allows for attractive products with the content of bioactive substances. This may be important in processing fruits that are low in health-promoting compounds (Mena et al. 2011 ; Yong et al. 2009 ; Keenan et al. 2012 ; Teleszko and Wojdyło 2014 ).