Effect of Thermal, and Microwave Treatment on Bioactive Compound, Antioxidant Activity, and Sensory Quality of Lime-Flavored Dragon Fruit RTS Beverage

Aims: The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of lime juice standardization on sensory evaluation, and changes in betacyanin content, antioxidant activity, and sensory attributes of lime-flavored dragon fruit RTS beverage processed with thermal, and microwave processing.

Study Design: CRD and Factorial CRD.

Place and Duration of Study: College of Food Processing Technology & Bioenergy, Anand Agricultural University, Anand, between October 2021 to july 2023.

Methodology: The dragon fruit RTS beverage (12% fruit juice, 0.1% citric acid, and 12°Brix TSS) was incorporated with 3% lime juice on the sensory evaluation basis was subjected to thermal, and microwave processing. The thermal treatment was carried out for 5, 10, and 15 min at 70, 80, and 90°C, while microwave treatment was done at fixed power density of 900 W for 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 sec for lime-flavored dragon fruit RTS beverage.

Results: The RTS processed for 5 min at 70°C was found best among all thermal treatments on the basis of better betacyanin content retained in RTS (23.80 mg/L), and 73.43% antioxidant activity, whereas 30 sec of exposure time at 900 W power density had better betacyanin content (29.87 mg/L), and 54.31% antioxidant activity than other microwave treatments.

Conclusion: The betacyanin retention was higher for microwave processing than thermal processing, whereas antioxidant activity was reported higher for thermal treatment.