Process optimization for enzyme aided clarification of watermelon juice

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Enzymology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Watermelon juice processing often faces challenges with low yield and undesirable physical properties.
• Enzymatic treatments offer a potential method to improve juice quality and extraction efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of masazyme concentration, time, and temperature on watermelon juice properties.
• To optimize enzymatic treatment conditions for enhanced juice recovery and quality.

Main Methods:

• Watermelon juice was treated with masazyme at varying concentrations (0.01-0.1% w/w), times (20-120 min), and temperatures (30-50 °C).
• A Box-Behnken Design and Response Surface Methodology were employed to analyze the effects on juice recovery, total dissolved solids (TDS), viscosity, turbidity, cloud stability, and L value.
• Model validation showed R(2) values greater than 90% for all dependent variables.

Main Results:

• Enzymatic treatment degraded polysaccharides, leading to decreased viscosity, turbidity, and absorbance.
• Juice recovery, total dissolved solids (TDS), and lightness (L value) were significantly increased.
• Optimal conditions (0.09% w/w enzyme, 46.90 °C, 117.45 min) maximized juice recovery (86.27%) and lightness (17.57), while minimizing viscosity (0.0020 Pa.s) and turbidity (39.37 NTU).

Conclusions:

• Masazyme treatment is effective in improving watermelon juice yield and quality attributes.
• Optimized enzymatic processing can enhance the commercial viability of watermelon juice production.