Physicochemical changes of Malaysian red Ragnar sugarcane juice treated with chemical preservatives during storage

Abstract

ct This study aimed to determine the best chemical preservative for preserving the quality profiles of the Red Ragnar sugarcane juice. The preservation was performed by using various types and concentrations of the chemical preservatives, namely sorbic acid (SA), sodium benzoate (SB), potassium sorbate (PS), ascorbic acid (AA), and citric acid (CA) under room temperature for 7 days. The treatments led to a pH reduction like the control (3.31 on day 7), except for the 0.8% CA treatment that had a significantly lower pH (2.67). 0.8% CA also demonstrated the largest °Brix reduction of 40.79%, followed by 0.8% AA at 31.57%. The colour profile was improved in all samples, indicated by lighter (∆L), greener (∆a), and bluer (∆b) colour than the control. 0.8% AA was found to be the best enzymatic anti-browning agent (97.18% PPO activity reduction) followed by 0.1% PS (77.88%). PS was the most effective in reducing microbial presence, as only an average of 104 microorganisms was detected at all concentrations. All the treatments were non-toxic, as their median lethal concentration (LC50) did not exceed 1000 µg/ml. These observations indicate that PS might be the best preservative for red sugarcane juice due to its excellent ability to inhibit microbes and browning.

Keywords

• sugarcane
• preservative
• shelf-life
• physicochemical
• browning