<p>Storage Stability of Dragon Fruit (<em>Hylocereus undatus</em>) and Aloe Vera (<em>Aloe barbadensis</em>) Pulp Ready-to-Serve (RTS) Beverage Under Different Storage Conditions</p>

In modern lifestyle, fruit-based ready-to-serve (RTS) beverages play an essential role due to their ease of consumption and nutraceutical-functional properties. The present study investigates the storage stability of an RTS beverage developed from dragon fruit and aloe vera under refrigerated (4 ± 1°C) and ambient (25 ± 3°C) storage conditions over a 30-day period. The purpose of this study was to determine the sensory, physicochemical, storage stability, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry quality of the formulated dragon fruit and aloe vera-based RTS beverage. Various physicochemical parameters, including pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, reducing sugar, total sugar, and ascorbic acid, were assessed throughout the 30-day storage period. Sample R12, which was stored at 4 ± 1°C, showed maximum acceptability by sensory panellists based on taste, colour, and overall acceptability. No major differences were observed in samples stored at 4 ± 1°C, but samples stored at 25 ± 3°C showed maximum degradation. For example, sample R14 (25 ± 3°C) showed maximum ascorbic acid degradation from 11.01 ± 0.14 mg/100 mL to 6.95 ± 0.28 mg/100 mL compared to R14 (4 ± 1°C), which decreased from 10.87 ± 0.33 mg/100 mL to 8.59 ± 0.35 mg/100 mL. Maximum changes in reducing sugar from 4.82 ± 0.08% to 5.23 ± 0.11% occurred in R14 (25 ± 3°C). On the other hand, minimum changes in reducing sugar from 2.25 ± 0.07% to 2.71 ± 0.08% occurred in R10 (4 ± 1°C). Major phytochemicals and volatile components detected in gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis were benzoic acid as the most abundant (71.49%) compound. Other significant compounds included n-nonadecanol-1 (7.35%), 1-hexacosanol (5.26%), and 2,6,10,15,19,23-pentamethyl-2,6,18,22-tetracosahexaene (3.91%). These results can assist in better determining the deteriorative changes in a variety of fruit and vegetable-based beverages, essential changes in product composition that may result in improved product quality.