Studies on development and storage quality of syrup prepared from wild prickly pear fruit

Abstract

The present study was undertaken for the development of syrup from wild prickly pear fruit and its quality evaluation during storage for six months. Different combinations of juice (25, 30, 35 and 40%) and sugar syrup (65 and 70oB) were tried to standardize proper combinations for syrup. The syrup prepared with 30% juice and 65oB TSS was packed in glass and PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and stored for six months under ambient and refrigerated temperature conditions. Syrup could be safely stored for a period of six months under both the storage conditions without much change in various quality characteristics. Various physico-chemical characteristics increased/decreased like TSS (65 to 65.58oB), reducing sugars (47.55 to 50.25%), titratable acidity (1.50 to 1.39%), ascorbic acid (5.91 to 1.48 mg/100 ml), total phenols (24.14 to 17.47 mg/100 ml), betacyanins (9.15 to 3.58 mg/100 ml), betaxanthins (4.41 to 1.03 mg/100 ml) and antioxidant activity (22.97 to 16.68%). However, the changes in the quality characteristics of the syrup were slower in refrigerated storage conditions as compared to ambient conditions. Both the packaging materials viz. PET (polyethylene teraphthalate) and glass bottles were found suitable, with comparatively less changes occurring in glass bottles stored under refrigerated conditions.