Abstract
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) juice is known for its refreshing flavor, but its high perishability limits its availability throughout the year. Watermelon juice concentrate has extended shelf-life and lower transportation and storage costs, but the conventional thermal evaporation process for concentrating juice degrades the nutritional components and sensory quality of the product. Thus, in this work, a large-scale, non-thermal forward osmosis (FO) process was used to concentrate fresh watermelon juice up to 65°Brix. The FO concentrate was compared to thermal concentrate and fresh juices, and to commercially available refrigerated watermelon juices, in terms of lycopene and citrulline content, total soluble phenolics, antioxidant activity, and sensory properties. The FO concentrate had statistically similar (p < 0.05) levels of all the nutrients of interest except antioxidant activity, when compared to the thermal concentrate. The reconstituted FO concentrate maintained the same antioxidant activity as the raw source juice, which was 45% higher than that of the reconstituted thermal concentrate. Sensory results showed that reconstituted FO concentrate resulted in highly liked juice, and it outperformed the reconstituted thermal concentrate in the sensory hedonic rating. This work demonstrates the possibility to produce a high-quality watermelon juice concentrate by forward osmosis.
Highlights
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a popular fruit known for its refreshing flavor
The reconstituted forward osmosis (FO) concentrate maintained the same antioxidant activity as the raw source juice, which was 45% higher than that of the reconstituted thermal concentrate
This study demonstrated that high-quality watermelon concentrate could be obtained using FO
Summary
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a popular fruit known for its refreshing flavor. Watermelon juice has gained attention as a functional beverage for exercise, since it contains electrolytes and a significant amount of the amino acid citrulline, which has been found to have ergogenic (athletic performance-enhancing) effects in both humans and animal models [2,3,4]. Despite the appealing flavor and health benefits of watermelon juice, its high perishability limits its distribution. Thermal pasteurization of watermelon juice has been attempted, but the treatment temperatures involved in this process degrade the nutritional components and color of the beverage [5]. Consumers are increasingly seeking out minimally processed single-strength juices [6]
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