NUTRIENT COMPOSITION, ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL AND SENSORY EVALUATION OF DEVELOPED MIXED CONCENTRATED JUICE

The purpose of this study is to determine nutrient and antioxidant content, and consumer acceptance of mixed concentrated juice of three ingredients namely pomegranate, honey and date extracts. The nutrient content was analysed based on AOAC method. The antioxidant was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu, DPPH and FRAP assays. Sensory analysis was carried out on 30 untrained panels using hedonic scale. Each 100 g juice provided 380 kcal, contained 55.65 g sugar, 92.13% carbohydrate, 1.97% protein, 0.39% fat, 270.70 mg potassium, 58.43 mg sodium, and 31.58 mg magnesium. The juice contained total polyphenol of 1752.10 mg GAE/100 ml, and antioxidant content of 12.80 mM TE/ml (DPPH) and 51.681 mM TE/ml (FRAP). As for the sensory evaluation, there was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the mean score for the attributes of this newly developed mixed concentrated juice compared to the commercial ones. It can be concluded that the juice has a high nutrient and antioxidant content. The taste of the juice was acceptable among consumers. The combination of more than one type of food could increase the nutrient value of the foods but further studies are needed to see the synergistic effect provided by each food.