Fortification of Lemon Ready-to-Serve Beverage with Astaxanthin Beads Using Spherification Technology

Aim: The present study aims to development of the Lemon RTS incorporated with the Astaxanthin Bead lets. Background / Rationale: Astaxanthin is strong antioxidant and also possesses several health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, immunomodulatory, anticancer, photoprotective and antidiabetic. Methodology: Beads with different concentration of astaxanthin was prepared by spherification techniques. TFurther developed beads were incorporated in lemon Ready-To-Serve beverage (RTS) and their physical parameters, physico-chemical parameters, sensorial quality and microbial parameters were studied. Results: The beads prepared with 3% concentration of astaxanthin, showed better stability than other samples and control sample. The RTS added with 3% beads secured highest sensorial scores as overall acceptability score (8.26), score in appearance (8.35), Odour (8.18), Texture (8.16) and Taste (8.37) in comparison with other samples. The physico-chemical composition of RTS incorporated with astaxanthin beads showed similar values such as 15.20% TSS, 23.15 mg/100ml Vitamin C, 0.42% Titratable acidity, 6.10% Reducing sugar, 1.40% non-reducing sugar and 8.20% Total sugar as that of RTS without beads. While only the RTS containing beads contain 4.80 (µg/100 ml) astaxanthin. Conclusion: Lemon RTS incorporated with 3% astaxanthin bead-lets demonstrated improved nutritional, sensory, and microbial quality, indicating the potential of spherification for functional beverage development," has to be clarified.