Production of effervescent tablet from jambolan (Syzygium cumini L.) fruit

Abstract

Jambolan (Syzygium cumini L.) fruit contained numerous phytochemical and bioactive constituents beneficial for human health. However, this underutilized fruit was highly susceptible to quality degradation after harvesting. Due to the seasonality and perishability of the jambolan fruit, it’s very necessary to convert this valuable fruit into instant, stable and convenient form for long-term consumption. This research was conducted at STNanotech laboratory in 2021 to evaluate the exploitation of jambolan fruit for juice extraction, spray drying and effervescent tablet production. Different variables of spray drying conditions such as proportion of wall material (maltodextrin 8-16%), inlet/outlet drying temperature (150/80, 160/85, 170/90, 180/95, 190/100 oC/oC), feed flow rate (7.5-17.5 ml/min) were deeply investigated on physicochemical and antioxidant properties of spray-dried jambolan powder (SDJP). In preparation of effervescent tablet, the spray-dried jambolan powder (SDJP) was mixed with sodium bicarbonate (SB) and magnesium stearate (MS) in five different formulas: F1 (65/10/25), F2 (65/5/30), F3 (70/10/20), F4 (65/15/20), F5 (70/15/15). Results showed that jambolan extract should be spray-dried with maltodextrin 14% as wall material (WM), inlet/outlet drying temperature 170/90 oC/oC, feed flow rate (FFR) 12.5 ml/min to obtain the optimal particle size 7.94±0.05 µm, solubility 96.80±0.02%, yield 56.71±0.01%, microencapsulation efficiency (ME) 93.25±0.05%, total phenolic content (TPC) 298.45±0.79 mg GAE/100 g, anthocyanin content (AC) 76.59±0.06 mg/100 g, and antioxidant activity (AA) 85.63±0.04%. The jambolan effervescent tablet produced by formula F2 (65/5/30) achieved the optimal hardness 47.24±0.05 N, disintegration time (DT) 271.05±2.03 s, TPC 201.03±1.28 mg GAE/100 g, AC 40.89±0.30 mg/100 g, AA 73.12±0.24% and overall acceptance (OA) 8.81±0.05. Jambolan fruit could be utilized to produce spray-dried powder and its effervescent tablet as a versatile functional food with excellent physicochemical, antioxidant and sensorial characteristics under safe and convenient way for all year round.