Development, quality assessment and probable aroma constituents of red dragon fruit-based wine

• Highest sensory rating (T4) with pomegranate juice blend (60:40 ratio). • 19 aroma compounds in blended wine vs. 10 in control; phenyl ethyl alcohol dominates. • Anthocyanin content tripled to 494.20 mg/100 mL in blended wine (T4). • Antioxidant activity increased to 46.78% DPPH; total phenolics rose to 72.36 mg/100 g. This study investigates the physicochemical properties, sensory attributes, color characteristics, and bioactive constituents & aroma compounds of red dragon fruit wine blended with pomegranate juice. Sensory evaluation revealed that the blend prepared with the highest pomegranate juice content (T 4 ) was most preferred. The total soluble solids (TSS) ranged from 5.2 to 6.0 ° Brix, acidity from 0.60 to 0.66%, pH from 3.40 to 3.55, and alcohol content from 9.72 to 10.12% across the formulations. Color analysis showed that the L* value decreased, while the a* and b* values increased with increasing pomegranate juice concentration. The T 4 formulation showed the highest total phenolic content (72.357 mg/100 g), antioxidant activity (46.78% DPPH Inhibition), Anthocyanin content (494.20 mg/100 mL), Tannin content (65.89 mg/1000mL), FRAP activity (673.83 mM Fe 2 SO 4 Eq./100 mL) and Vitamin C (21.78 mg/100 g) whereas control wine had higher betacyanin content. GC- MS analysis identified 10 aromatic compounds in the control wine and 19 in T 4, with 1-butanol, 3-methyl (90.80%) and phenethyl alcohol (70.67 %) being the most abundant respectively. This result suggests that blending red dragon fruit wine with pomegranate juices enhances its sensory, color, bioactive and flavoring compounds, making it a promising functional alcoholic beverage.