Unlocking the impact of citric acid and sugar on the nutritional, physicochemical, microbial and sensorial attributes of mango fruit leathers

This study investigated the effects of citric acid and sugar on the quality of mango fruit leather during 0–90 days of storage. The nutritional and textural properties of mango fruit leathers showed a significant increase ( p < 0.05 ) in ash, K, Mg, vitamin C i.e., 1.9–2, 270–275, 21–23, and 22–24 mg/100 g, respectively, while a decrease in moisture and hardness of samples i.e., 17–15 % and 8.6–5.6 N in MFL 0 (i.e., zero citric acid and sugar) to MFL CS (i.e., 0.2 % citric acid+10 % sugar), respectively. DPPH activity, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoids content (TFC) significantly ( p < 0.05 ) increased from 48.2 to 61.5 %, 170–400 mg GAE/g and 126–163 mg CE/g in MFL 0 -MFL CS , respectively. Likewise, scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis reported significant differences in surface morphology in each treatment. L ⁎ , a ⁎ and b ⁎ values were notably decreased from 52.7 to 46, 17–12 and 29–16 in MFL 0 -MFL CS , respectively at 0–90 of storage. On storage, pH deceased from 4.1 to 3.7 and titratable acidity increased from 0.5 to 0.6 in MFL 0 -MFL CS , respectively. Total plate counts (TPC), mold and yeast count elucidated measurable decrease form 3.4–3 and 2–1.7 at 90th day of storage, respectively. Sensory panelists gave the highest sensory scores to MFL CS (i.e., 0.2 % citric acid+10 % sugar) for its superior sensory attributes and overall acceptability. Conclusively, MFL CS showed the best results for all parameters; however, further studies are recommended to develop and evaluate fruit leathers for quality using different fruits at multiple concentrations of citric and sugar. • Mango leather nutritional profile improved with addition of citric acid and sugar. • Phenolic and flavonoids content increased with citric acid and sugar addition. • Total plate, mold and yeast counts decreased with addition of citric acid and sugar. • Best organoleptic properties observed with 0.2 % citric acid+10 % sugar over 90 days. • Synergistic effect of citric acid and sugar addition enhanced storage life.