Effect of different fruit and medicinal plant extract on ascorbic acid, acidity and pH of blended guava nectar

Introduction

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is one of the most common fruits in India. It is believed to be introduced in India early in the 17 th century, it belongs to family Myrtaceae and genus Psidium contains about 150 species (Hayes, 1970) [8] . In India, Guava is cultivated in an area of 304 thousand hectares with production of 4433 thousand MT (Anonymous, 2021-22) [2] . Guava also called the "Apple of Tropics" and "Poor man's apple" and the fruit consists of 20% peel, 50% flesh portion and seed core. It also contains 74-84% moisture, 13-26% dry matter, 0.8-1.5% protein, 0.4-0.7% fat and 0.5-1.0% ash and the fruit are considered as an excellent source of vitamin-C (299 mg/100 g) and pectin (1.15%). Guava fruit is normally consumed as fresh as a dessert fruit or in processed form as puree, juice, concentrate, jam, jelly, cheese, toffee, fruit flakes, squash, syrup, nectar, powder, wine and vinegar, ready to use snacks, drinks and dehydrated canned products. The processing of fruit in to various products is one of the best ways to reduce the losses (Lavanya et al., 2018) [13] . The fruit nectar is one of the most delicious products being prepared from fruit pulp. Blended nectar beverage based on blends of guava, aonla, aloevera, tamarind, carambola, ginger, tulsi and pudina juice extracts receiving a considerable amount of attention reflecting a growing awareness of the potential of these products in the market place.

Thus, beverages have high nutritional quality and increased energy value especially therapeutic properties into the beverages. These could be particularly useful in place where there is lack of food and improper nutrition (Khan and Ayub, 2020) [12] . Food commodities like guava and underutilized medicinal fruit like aonla, aloevera, tamarind, carambola, ginger, tulsi and pudina leaf extract are used for the beneficial effects and are being used to cure different degenerative diseases. Several fruit beverages are not preferred by the consumer due to their inherent acidic and astringent taste but the acceptance of these beverages can be increased by blending with guava fruits having acceptable taste and flavour (Gaikwad et al., 2022) [6] .

Materials and Methods

The present experiment was conducted in Laboratory Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Gwalior (M.P.). For the experiment, fresh guava fruits were collected from Dry land Horticulture Farm, Sirsod, College of Agriculture, Gwalior and fresh aonla fruits were collected from Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Gwalior, while tamarind and ginger was purchased from local market of Gwalior. Fresh Aloevera, tulsi, pudina leaves and carambola fruits were collected from the nursery of College of Agriculture, Gwalior. The fruits were harvested along some pedicle to avoid spoilage of the fruit during storage. After procurement, the fruits were immediately brought to the laboratory of the Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Gwalior for further treatments. The experiment comprised of twentytwo treatments consisting of various concentration of edible fruit pulp and juice viz., aonla juice, tamarind pulp, aloevera pulp, ginger juice, carambola juice, tulsi leaf extract and pudina leaf extract. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD). All the treatments were replicated thrice.

Results and Discussion

The treatments consisting of edible fruit pulp and juice of aonla juice, tamarind pulp, aloevera pulp, ginger juice, carambola juice, tulsi leaf extract and pudina leaf extract were statistically influenced the chemical composition of guava nectar and result shows decreasing effect on ascorbic acid with different storage days. There was no significant difference was found at 0 days after storage. The maximum ascorbic acid (mg/100ml) was found in treatment T 16 -Guava pulp 94% + Carambola juice 6% and it was the best treatment for preparation of blended guava nectar. However, the minimum ascorbic acid (mg/100ml) was observed under treatment T 1 -Guava pulp 100% in first year, second year and in pooled at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after storage, respectively. The decreased in ascorbic acid content in nectar during storage might be due to the oxidation or irreversible of L ascorbic acid into dehydro ascorbic acid in the presence of enzyme ascorbic acid oxidase (ascorbinase) caused by trapped or residual oxygen in the bottles. The results are in confirmation with the results achieved by Chandra et al. (2018) [5] , Vikram and Sikarwar (2018), Sharma and Sharma (2019) [15] , Kausar et al. (2020) [10] , Ahirrao et al. (2022) [1] , Bhadouriya et al. (2022) [3] and Verma et al. (2024) [16] .

There was no significant influenced recorded at 0 days after storage. The treatment T 16 -Guava pulp 94% + Carambola juice 6% was significantly superior treatment as compared to rest of treatments and it recorded the minimum acidity (%) at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after storage. However, the treatment T 1 -Guava pulp 100% recorded the maximum acidity (%) in first year, second year and in pooled at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after storage, respectively. This might be due to chemical reaction taking place between organic acids and pigments. This might also be due to the conversion of organic acid in to sugars. Findings are in agreement with those of Vikram and Sikarwar (2018), Kaushal et al. (2019) [11] , Gill et al. (2020) [7] , Sangani et al. (2021) [14] and Gaikwad et al. (2022) [6] . pH There was no significant influenced recorded on pH of blended guava nectar at 0 days after storage. The maximum pH was registered under treatment T 16 -Guava pulp 94% + Carambola juice 6% and it was significantly superior treatment as compared to rest of treatments. However, the minimum pH was recorded in treatment T 17 -Guava pulp 98% + Tulsi leaf extract 2% in first year, second year and in pooled at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after storage, respectively. It is apparent from the data that pH values showed decreasing trend with decreasing storage period. The retention in pH values during storage periods might be due to increased hydrogen ion concentration (Gill et al., 2020) [7] . The enhancement in acidity might be responsible for reduce in pH. This statement is justified in light of research carried out by Bogha et al. (2020) [4] , Ahirrao et al.

(2022) [1] and Gaikwad et al. (2022) [6] .

Conclusion

Result concluded that the treatments consisting of different edible fruit pulp and juice of aonla juice, tamarind pulp, aloevera pulp, ginger juice, carambola juice, tulsi leaf extract and pudina leaf extract were statistically influenced the chemical composition and sensory parameters of blended guava nectar. It was observed that the treatment T 16 -Guava pulp 94% + Carambola juice 6% was found the best treatment for preparation of blended guava nectar as compared to rest of treatments and it was also recorded the maximum ascorbic acid (mg/100ml), minimum acidity (%) and maximum pH in blended guava nectar.

References

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