Study on preparation, packaging and storage of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis flavicarpa Deg.) Nectar beverages

Abstract:

Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis flavicarpa Deg.) is the fruit of exotic passion flower. Passion fruit grown commercially all around the world. The fruit is valued for its powerful medicinal property and high antioxidant activity. The juice exhibits pronounced flavour and aroma which help in producing high quality beverages and also in flavouring several other products. It is quite delicious, nutritious and liked for its excellent blending property. Even though passion fruit is having many such advantages, its utilization is limited in processing sector mainly due to the short shelf life, minimum juice recovery and intense acidity. Hence, to overcome these limitations, a study on “preparation, packaging and storage of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis flavicarpa Deg.) Nectar beverages” was carried out in the Department of Post-Harvest Technology, College of Horticulture, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh-362 001 (Gujarat) during 2024-25 with two main objectives viz., to study the quality parameters of passion fruit nectar in different packaging materials during storage period & to study the shelf life of passion fruit nectar of local passion fruit variety. Treatment viz Factor A: Nectar (N₁ Nectar 13 ^oBrix, N₂ Nectar 15 ^oBrix, N₃ Nectar 17 ^oBrix). Factor B: Packaging material (P₁ PET bottle P₂ PVC bottle) & Factor C: Storage condition (S₁ Ambient temperature, S₁ Low temperature (5-7 ⁰C) with three replication in Completely Randomized Design with Factorial concept. Treatment combinations were T₁- Nectar (13 ^oBrix) +PET bottle+Ambient temperature, T₂- Nectar (13 ^oBrix )+ PET bottle + Low temperature(5-7 ⁰C) , T₃- Nectar (13 ^oBrix) +PVC bottle + Ambient temperature, T₄- Nectar (13 ^oBrix ) + PVC bottle + Low temperature(5-7 ⁰C) , T₅- Nectar (15 ^oBrix) + PET bottle + Ambient temperature, T₆- Nectar (15 ^oBrix )+ PET bottle + Low temperature(5-7 ⁰C), T₇- Nectar (15 ^oBrix) + PVC bottle + Ambient temperature, T₈- Nectar (15 ^oBrix )+ PVC bottle + Low temperature(5-7 ⁰C), T₉- Nectar (17 ^oBrix) + PET bottle + Ambient temperature, T₁₀- Nectar (17 ^oBrix )+ PET bottle + Low temperature(5-7 ⁰C), T₁₁- Nectar (17 ^oBrix) + PVC bottle + Ambient temperature & T₁₂- Nectar (17 ^oBrix )+ PVC bottle + Low temperature (5-7 ⁰C). Bio-chemical characteristics viz Ascorbic acid (mg/100g pulp),Total sugar (%),Reducing sugar (%) & Non-reducing sugar (%), Organoleptic evaluation viz color, taste, flavor & overall acceptability were observed in the treatment T₁₁(N₃ Nectar 17 ^oBrix + P₂ PVC bottle+ S₁ Ambient temperature). It may be concluded that storage of passion fruit nectar (17 ^oBrix) at ambient temperature by filling in PVC bottle which can be kept safely up to one month along with organoleptically acceptable good quality.