Hydrodynamic cavitation processing of ascorbic acid treated precooled sugarcane juice for physiochemical, bioactive, enzyme stability, and microbial safety

Abstract

AbstractA hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) system (0.35 MPa) with a cooling arrangement was developed for the treatment of ascorbic acid (AA)‐treated sugarcane juice (AASCJ). The AASCJ was precooled to different temperatures (4, 17, and 30°C) and underwent HC processing for different durations (10, 20, 30, and 40 min). The quality parameters such as pH, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD) activity, viscosity, total color difference, microbial load, total phenolic, flavonoids, AA, and antioxidant activity were investigated. The processed AASCJ precooled to 4°C resulted in more than 90% retention in color, total phenolic content, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity. The PPO and POD activities significantly reduced after HC treatment. A 3 log reduction in the microbial population was achieved during HC processing. The optimized condition for HC treatment of AASCJ was a precooling temperature of 4°C and a treatment time of 30 min.Practical applicationsSugarcane juice has a short shelf life due to the high rate of microbiological contamination and enzymatic reactions that occur shortly after extraction. Low‐temperature HC is a nonthermal approach for processing low viscous liquid foods. The HC processed AASCJ is microbiologically safe, with reduced PPO and POD activity, and better retention of bioactive compounds. The low‐temperature HC processing can be used instead of thermal processing to reduce both enzymatic and nonenzymatic browning reactions and eradicate pathogenic microorganisms while maintaining the sugarcane juice quality. This approach is simple to handle, requires little investment, and does not use environmentally hazardous chemicals.