Formulation and Quality Analysis of Palmyra Tender Fruit Endosperm (PTFE) - Lime Based Functional Nectar

Aims: Functional nectars are gaining popularity as a healthy beverage option due to their nutritional and sensory benefits. Palmyra tender fruit endosperm (PTFE) is not commercially explored for the production of value-added products. Considering the nutritional aspects, PTFE is suitable for the preparation of beverages, especially nectars. The market holds substantial opportunities for creating innovative functional beverages because of the considerable health advantages and expanding consumer desire for these drinks. Natural ingredients with strong antioxidant activities could be used to formulate these novel functional beverages. In this context, the present study aims to develop functional nectar using PTFE pulp and lime juice enriched with functional ingredients like mint, ginger, and cardamom and to evaluate its chemical, nutritional, and sensory quality parameters. Study Design: Completely Randomized Design by using GRAPES (General R-based Analysis Platform Empowered by Statistics) Place and Duration of Study: Department of Postharvest Management, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Agricultural University between February 2022 and July 2024. Methodology: The study involved blending of PTFE pulp and lime juice in different ratios viz., (T1) 90P:10L, (T2) 80P:20L, (T3) 70P:30L, (T4) 60P:40L and (T5) 50P:50L for the development of blended nectars as per the FSSAI specifications. The developed blended nectars were compared with pure PTFE nectar (100P) for various chemical, nutritional and organoleptic quality parameters to explore the possibility of efficient blending and for the selection of a superior blending ratio. The best-blended nectar was further incorporated with mint, ginger, and cardamom extracts at varying concentrations (C1 - 1% ginger extract, C2 - 2% ginger extract, C3 - 3% ginger extract, C4 - 1% mint extract, C5 - 2% mint extract, C6 - 3% mint extract, C7 - 1% cardamom extract, C8 - 2% cardamom extract, C9 - 3% cardamom extract, C10 - without addition (control)) to develop functional nectar with superior sensory parameters. Results: The blended nectar with 90% PTFE pulp and 10% lime juice (90P:10L) recorded 21.76oBrix TSS, 0.26% acidity, 1.33% reducing sugar, 35.47% total sugar, 41.77 mg 100g-1 ascorbic acid and 74.75% antioxidant activity with superior sensory scores. The selected best-blended nectar is incorporated with functional ingredients such as ginger, mint and cardamom extracts in different concentrations independently for the production of functional nectars. The functional nectar (90P:10L) incorporated with 1% mint extract recorded superior sensory parameters. Conclusion: The study concludes that blending PTFE pulp with lime juice in a 90:10 ratio and incorporating 1% mint extract results in the development of a quality functional nectar with superior nutritional and sensory properties, making it a promising healthy beverage option.