Determination of authenticity of Palmyrah toddy using chemical tests

Abstract

Palmyrah toddy is one of the alcoholic drinks prepared by the fermentation of sweet sap of Palmyrah tree (<i>Borassus flabellifer</i>). There are, however, some adulterated toddy samples available in the local market. This study was focused to identify the authenticity of Palmyrah toddy using chemical tests. Chloral hydrate and starch were only present in artificial toddy samples and they had higher alcohol contents (5.5 - 6.2 % v/v), turbidity (2025-2511 NTU) and yeast count (20.8 x 10⁶ - 25.2 x 10⁶ cells/mL) than the genuine toddy samples (3.9- 4.2 % v/v), (798 - 1023 NTU) and (15.9 x 10⁶ - 16.5 x 10⁶ cells/mL) respectively, while there is no significant difference between genuine and artificial toddy in °Brix, acidity and conductivity. Results reveal that the total phenol content of genuine toddy samples were in the range of 815.9-861.8 ppm while artificial toddy samples were 388.2-412.6 ppm. Nearly 50% lower total phenol content in artificial toddy than in genuine toddy. Sulfated ash contents of genuine toddy samples were found to be in the range of 0.45 to 0.52 g/100 mL and artificial toddy showed higher range from 0.05 to 0.10 g/100 mL compared to genuine toddy. This study reveals that total phenol content, sulfated ash and qualitative tests are the most reliable to distinguish artificial toddy samples.

Keywords

• genuine toddy
• artificial toddy
• sulfated ash
• total phenol
• fermentation