Quality comparison of elephant apple juices after high-pressure processing and thermal treatment

In the present work, the effect of high pressure processing (HPP) on the quality parameters (pH, °Brix, total acidity, viscosity, colour, antioxidant activity, total phenols, total flavonoids, microbial flora, and sensory analysis) of elephant apple (Dillenia indica) juice was investigated. The juice samples were analysed periodically (0, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 days) during 60 days of storage period and results were compared with thermally processed as well as with untreated (fresh juice) samples.

Slight variations had been observed in the quality parameters like pH, °Brix and total acidity. Other parameters like colour values, antioxidant activity, total phenols and total flavonoids were varied significantly (P < 0.05) in between the treated (HPP and thermal) and untreated juice samples. The microbial counts of the HPP treated samples were lower than the other samples. Sensory results also showed similar results to those of the other analyses that the treated samples were better for consumption rather than the untreated samples. The shelf-life of the HPP processed elephant apple juice was established as 60 days at 4 °C.

This study showed that application of HPP effectively maintained quality attributes and extended shelf life of the elephant apple juice. It may be suggested that application of HPP could be considered for commercial application during storage and marketing. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.