Changes in physico-chemical characteristics of kokum (Garcinia indica) based RTS beverage during storage

Abstract

Kokum (Garcinia indica) is one of the important indigenous tree spice crops originated and grown in Western Ghats of India. The shelf life of the fruit is only about one week and the fruit is mainly used for culinary purposes. The rich bioactive profile of kokum makes it a highly nutritious and desirable fruit crop. Three kokum based Ready to Serve (RTS) juices were standardized and evaluated for quality changes during storage under ambient and refrigerated conditions. During storage, there was an increase in total soluble solids, titratable acidity, reducing sugars and total sugars under both the storage conditions. However, a decrease in pH was observed during storage for all the treatments. No indications of microbial growth were observed till 60 days of storage, however, after 60 days of storage few colonies of microbial growth could be detected under both the storage conditions. The study concluded that towards the end of storage for 75 days kokum RTS blended with roasted powdered cumin seeds stored in PET bottles under refrigerated condition was most preferred RTS with overall acceptability score of 8.16 which was followed by the same RTS stored under ambient condition with overall acceptability score of 7.10.