Nutritional composition, antioxidant activity and microbiological quality of non-alcoholic cashew apple wine

Expanding knowledge on cashew apple utilization has ensued in the development of non-alcoholic cashew wine using S. ludwigii and Z. rouxii yeast strains under cold fermentation (1–3 °C) in a completely randomized design, however, its nutritional composition, antioxidant capacity and microbiological quality have not been evaluated. This research aimed to determine the nutritional content, antioxidant activity and microbiological quality of non-alcoholic cashew apple wine. The two non-alcoholic cashew wine samples (S. ludwigii and Z. rouxii) were analysed for minerals, some phytochemicals, antioxidant activity, Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, total yeast, aerobic plate and coliform counts using standard analytical methods. All the wine samples contained equivalent compositions of sodium (153.99–158.06 mg/100 mL), total phenols (160.16–164.48 mg/100 mL) and flavonoids (7.57-7.78 mg/100 mL), which were higher or comparable to commercial grape wines. S. ludwigii wine had higher concentrations of K, Zn, Ca, vitamin C and anthocyanin, except for Tannins, Mn and Mg, which were paramount in Z. rouxii. In furtherance, Z. rouxii recorded higher antioxidant activity at an IC-50 of 0.014 mg/mL than S. ludwigii (0.021 mg/mL), and this may be attributed to the high tannin content. Copper and Iron were absent in all the samples. No Enterobacteriaceae, S. aureus, yeasts, or coliforms were detected within the method’s detection limits, except for aerobic plate count (within acceptable levels), which are indicative of shelf stability and microbiological safety. In conclusion, all the non-alcoholic cashew apple wines are nutritious, microbiologically safe and have high antioxidant activity to help in the management of cardiovascular diseases.