Manuscript Title:

UTILIZATION OF MORINGA, MINT AND THYME EXTRACTS AS NATURAL PRESERVATIVES TO AMELIORATE SHELF STABILITY OF CARROT JUICE

Author:

HUMAIRA KAUSAR, MOAZZAM RAFIQ KHAN, MUHAMMAD ABRAR, IMRAN PASHA, MUHAMMAD SHAHID

DOI Number:

DOI:10.5281/zenodo.12817873

Published : 2024-07-23

About the author(s)

1. HUMAIRA KAUSAR - Student, National Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
2. MOAZZAM RAFIQ KHAN - Associate Professor, National Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38040, Pakistan.
3. MUHAMMAD ABRAR - Principal Scientist, Post-Harvest Research Center, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad-38850, Pakistan.
4. IMRAN PASHA - Professor, National Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38040, Pakistan.
5. MUHAMMAD SHAHID - Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38040, Pakistan.

Full Text : PDF

Abstract

Carrot juice is a popular and an economical beverage consumed worldwide and commonly accepted as a vital source of its valuable nutrients. The juice is normally spoiled within few hours of extraction and difficult to preserve for a long time thus cannot be utilized properly. The present research was conducted to explore the potential of moringa, mint and thyme leaves ethanolic extracts as natural preservatives at different level (0, 1, 2 and 3%) for preservation of carrot juice during 20 days of storage period at 4 ± 2°C temperature. The effect of extracts incorporation and storage time was studied on physico-chemical parameters (TSS, PH, Titratable acidity %), antioxidant potential (DPPH, FRAP), bioactive compounds (TPC, TFC), enzymatic activity, microbial load and overall acceptability. The 2% thyme extract (T8) significantly (p<0.05) maintain the pH (6.00±0.04-5.80±0.01) during 20 days of storage as compared to control (6.20±0.02-5.60±0.01). The total phenolic contents was also observed to be retained in 2% thyme extract (32.26±1.16-31.70±1.14 mg GAE/100 ml) as compared to control (27.75±1.11- 25.80±1.29 mg GAE/100 ml) at the end of storage period. Regarding polyphenol oxidase (PPO), per oxidase (POD) and pectin methyl esterase (PME), the highest value was recorded in control pasteurized juice (32.95±0.07%, 26.30±0.08, 14.27±0.03% respectively). However, the corresponding enzyme activity (PPO, POD and PME) decreased as the concentration of extracts increased and thyme incorporation at 2% level showed minimum changes in PPO (28.94±0.05 to 29.40±0.06%), POD (22.80±0.09 to 23.30±0.07%)and PME (10.66±0.02 to 11.18±0.02%) during storage. Other physicochemical and phytochemical analysis including total soluble solids, titratable acidity%, flavonoid content, 2, 2-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) showed that carrot juice incorporated with thyme extract was significantly (p<0.05) stable during storage. However, the inclusion of moringa and mint extracts were also effective in preserving the juice as compared to control. The microbial safety and shelf stability of juices was attained by (T8) 2% and (T9) 3% thyme extracts as compared to control. Sensory scores of juice samples decreased with the progression of storage time. Regarding the overall acceptability of treatments T8 (7.53±0.70) containing 2% thyme extract attained the maximum score throughout the storage period. The addition of natural ingredients into carrot juice such as thyme extract may add other health promoting elements in addition to make product more stable with acceptable quality.


Keywords

Carrot, Juice. Moringa, Mint, Thyme, Natural Preservatives, Shelf Stability.