Development and comparative characterization of a ginger-based candy formulated with PEF-modified starch and PEF+US-treated ginger

This exploratory product development study compared the final product performance of a laboratory prepared soft candy (LPS) containing separately optimized pulsed electric field (PEF) modified starch and PEF-ultrasound (PEF+US) treated ginger with three commercially available ginger candies. The LPS showed the highest measured total phenolic content (62.01 mg GAE/g), gingerol concentration (867.59 µg/g), and in vitro radical scavenging activity with 51.53% DPPH inhibition and 52.31% ABTS inhibition. It also showed lower hardness, gumminess, and chewiness, greater adhesiveness, and higher springiness than the commercial products, while a semi trained panel of 10 assessors assigned it the highest mean overall acceptability score. FTIR revealed a distinct matrix fingerprint, while HPLC and colorimetric assays confirmed the higher bioactive content of the LPS. These findings characterize the performance of the complete LPS formulation relative to the commercial products, while the contributions of the individual pretreatments and formulation components were not assessed separately.