Optimization Prickly Pear Juice Concentration Clarification for Better Retention of Potassium and Magnesium Properties

The prickly pear is a fruit naturally rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional components. These characteristics make it a product with the potential to offer healthy beverage alternatives. The demand for healthy and natural products is rapidly increasing today, and consumers are gravitating towards products that do not contain additives and are made with natural ingredients. This growing demand can enhance the popularity of natural beverages such as prickly pear juice concentrate. Furthermore, prickly pear is a culturally significant local product in some regions, and offering such a product in concentrated form provides an opportunity to introduce the region's cultural heritage to a broader audience. Enzymes play a crucial role in producing clear and stable fruit juice. The aim of this study is to optimize the enzymatic clarification process parameters for prickly pear juice. This research aims to develop an appropriate processing technology for high-quality prickly pear juice production by ensuring better preservation of potassium and magnesium content. Prickly pear juice, in a cloudy form, was processed using different pectinase enzyme concentrations (50 ppm- 100 ppm), incubation temperatures (50–55°C), and incubation times (30–90 minutes). The effects of the enzymatic process on the clarity of the juice, as well as its potassium and magnesium content, were examined using the response surface methodology (RSM). Response surface analysis determined the optimum conditions for the enzymatic purification process for prickly pear juice as follows: Enzyme concentration: 100 ppm Incubation temperature: 50°C Incubation time: 60 minutes The expected results under these conditions are: Clarity: Ntu < 5 Magnesium content: 9.35 mg/100 g Potassium content: 542.93 mg/L per juice The desirability value obtained for these conditions was determined as 0.890. This value shows that the optimal process parameters provide a suitable balance to obtain the desired juice properties.