STORAGE STABILITY OF BURMESE GRAPE JUICE AND JELLY: EVALUATING BIOCHEMICAL, PHYSIO-CHEMICAL AND MINERAL NUTRIENT CHANGES DURING STORAGE

Abstract

Burmese grape (in Bengali ‘Lotkon’) is an underutilized fruit under the Euphorbiaceae family. Still now, there is very limited research available regarding processing of this fruit into value added products. The aim of this study was preparation of Lotkon juice and jelly products and also preserve them as well as the assessment of their biochemical, physico-chemical and nutrient properties. The Lotkon fruits were collected from the local market at Ulipur Bazar in the Kurigram district of Bangladesh. The experiment was conducted in the Department of Agricultural Chemistry laboratory and Food Processing and Preservation laboratory, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur. The experiment was laid out in complete randomized design (CRD) with three replications. The Lotkon fruits were carefully chosen in order to obtained the optimum maturity because its pectin contain depends on maturity. Juice and jelly, each were prepared with five different types and the best type of each juice and jelly was selected by a sensory test with a panel of 20 testers. Five types of juices are named by J1, J2, J3, J4, J5 and jellies are named by S1, S2, S3, S4, S5. Sensory evaluation showed that all of the five types of juice and jelly samples varied significantly in terms of color, taste, flavor and overall acceptability. Findings of the sensory test showed that juice made from J3 sample and jelly made from S4 sample were more acceptable than those of other samples. The study allows to preserve juice and jelly till 120 days and check their self-life through bio-chemical analysis. Analyses were done in 0 day, 15th day, 30th day, 60th day, and 120th day. Vitamin C content and pH remained relatively constant, which is favorable for product quality. Unexpectedly, there were minor fluctuations in total phenols specially in jelly which could result from chemical reactions or interactions between the components during storage. Mineral content exhibited stability similar to other biochemical parameters. The study found minimal changes over the storage period indicating the stability of Lotkon juice and jelly which are suitable for storage up to 120 days. These products maintain their quality over the storage period and are viable for public consumption. The results support the potential for marketing these products as year-round.