Nutritional, sensory, physico-chemical, phytochemical, microbiological and shelf-life studies of natural fruit juice formulated from orange ( Citrus sinensis), lemon ( Citrus limon), Honey and Ginger ( Zingiber officinale)

Abstract

Orange ( Citrus sinensis), lemon ( Citrus limon), ginger ( Zingiber officinale) and honey contain nutrients and phytochemicals that are beneficial to health. Most of the available fruit drinks are artificial and may contain a lot of chemicals which could be unhealthy and detrimental to the health of the consumers. This work was aimed at formulating a healthy fruit drink from the combination (blend) of orange, lemon, ginger and honey for the development of a new product. Thirty (30) different juice blends (formulae) were made and subjected to sensory evaluation, from which five best formulated juices were selected using a 9 point hedonic scale. These were then subjected to physicochemical, nutritional, phytochemical, microbiological analyses and shelf-life studies. The results of the study showed pH (3.40–4.90), Vitamin C (0.04–0.06 mg/mL), titrable acidity (0.04–0.21 citric acid mg/100mL), total soluble solids (2.90–20.69%), reducing (0.41–1.44 mg/mL) and non-reducing sugar (0.21–2.06 mg/mL). The moisture, protein, fat, ash, fibre and available carbohydrate contents ranged from 79.31-97.10 %, 0.01–0.56g/100mL, 0.05–0.11g/100mL, 0.51–1.13g/100mL, 0.01–0.09g/100mL and 16.39–22.99g/100mL respectively. The macro (K, Ca, P, Na) and micro (Zn, Fe) minerals varied differently with Potassium (K) being the most abundant. Amongst the five best formulated juices, F22 (5% lemon juice) was the most organoleptically accepted. On the other hand, F21 (10% lemon juice + sugar) which had the least overall acceptability amongst the five, was shown to be the most nutritive.

Abstract

Citrus sinensis, Citrus limon, Zingieber officinale, Honey, Phytochemicals, Fruit drink, Shelf-life, Nutritional, Microbiological