Effects of pectinase treatment on the quality of red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) juice

Abstract

The present work aimed to investigate the effect of pectinase supplementation on the quality of red-fleshed dragon fruit juice. Pectinase (400 ppm) was added at different concentrations (0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9%) and hydrolysis times (0, 15, 25, 35, and 45 min). The quality of fruit juice was monitored and evaluated by recovery efficiency, pectin content, betacyanin content, viscosity, and total phenolic content. Results showed that pectinase concentration of 5% and hydrolysis time for 25 min produced the highest hydrolysis efficiency (88.16 ± 0.05%), with low residual pectin content (0.49 ± 0.02 g), low viscosity (1.15 ± 0.06 cP), and high betacyanin content (20.06 ± 0.02 mg/100 mL) and total phenolic content (88.68 ± 0.46 mg/100 mL) in the recovered solution. These findings provided essential insights for beverage processing of dragon fruit juice.