Optimisation of enzymatic extraction and characterization of palm (Borassus flabellifer) juice

Abstract

Palm is a seasonal fruit and has high nutritional and medicinal values. The palm juice is popular for its taste and nutritive value. When ripe, the pulp becomes fibrous making the manual and mechanical juice extraction difficult. Due to this, the palm juice is underutilized. The present work explored enzymatic-assisted extraction of Palm juice. Pectinase and cellulase were used in different combinations for this purpose. Various parameters affecting the quality of the palm juice such as yield, total soluble solids (TSS), colour and ascorbic acid contents were optimised using response surface method with the central composite design. The palm juice yield was maximum (87.9 ± 0.66%) with acceptable TSS (12.8 ± 0.05 °Brix), color change (ΔE = 8.41 ± 0.03) and ascorbic acid content (0.031 ± 0.0003 mg of AA/ml). A combination of mixed enzyme concentration at a ratio of 1:0.75(w/w), incubation temperature of 55.0 °C and incubation time 120.0 min resulted in the optimum juice quantity and quality. This process can be commercialized for the production of palm juice on an industrial scale that can further improve the economic condition and livelihood of the palm growers.