Development and Quality Evaluation of Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus undatus) based Blended RTS Beverages

Abstract

Background: Dragon fruit is considered as a fruit crop for the future, having great potential for developing value-added products as the demand for natural and healthy beverages is increasing. The present study was undertaken to standardize blended Ready To Serve beverages from dragon fruit and to evaluate the product quality during storage. Methods: Blended RTS beverages were prepared by mixing dragon fruit juice with that of three common tropical fruits viz., acid lime, pineapple and watermelon in nine different ratios, analyzed for various sensory attributes and compared with that of pure dragon fruit RTS beverage. The best blended beverage selected from each fruit was analyzed for chemical, nutritional and sensory parameters and were stored in transparent glass bottles under ambient storage conditions (27-32C and 70-83% RH) for 60 days for assessing the shelf stability. Result: TSS, acidity, reducing and total sugars had increased with storage period and ascorbic acid, β-carotene, antioxidant activity and overall acceptability scores had decreased. All the developed blended beverages were microbiologically safe during 60 days of storage with good acceptability. Blended beverages with pineapple or watermelon were economical compared to pure beverage. The study proved that blending of fruit juices in dragon fruit juice is a viable option which could improve the quality and sensory attributes.