STUDY ON PHYSICOCHEMICAL QUALITY OF SUGARCANE JUICE INCORPORATED WITH CARDAMOM AND TEJPAT ESSENTIAL OIL

Abstract

Sugarcane is one of the most important crops grown in Nepal and is mainly grown for its rapid accumulation of sucrose but, in the countries of Southeast Asia, South Asia and Latin America, sugarcane juice is also very popular as a beverage. Due to the high concentration of nutrients in sugarcane juice, it degrades quickly due to microbial activity. The purpose of the study was to investigate and find out how essential oils from spices affected the quality and shelf life of sugarcane juice. Cardamom(C) and tejpat(T) essential oils were extracted using hydro-distillation method and incorporated in the sugarcane juice (10 µL essential oil+90 µL ethanol+50mL juice). The prepared essential oil samples along with control I (Juice only) and control II (50 mL juice+100 µL ethanol) were analyzed for their physico chemical and microbiological changes. The notations C1, C2, C and T stand for sample with no additives, sample with ethanol, cardamom oil and tejpat oil respectively. The samples were stored under refrigerated condition (4±1℃) and studied for the period of 28 days while observation being carried out every 7 days. Using GenStat 12th Edition, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's test were run to determine whether there was a significant relationship at p<0.05. The physico-chemical properties like Total soluble solids (TSS), % total sugar, % reducing sugar, pH and titratable acidity were analyzed along with microbiological test i.e., Total Plate Count and Yeast & mold counts. At the end of 28 day, statistically the most significant difference was found in % total sugar content among the samples. The samples C1, C2, C and T had a percentage decrease of 35.65%, 32.44%, 23.94% and 27.93%, respectively which shows that sample containing cardamom oil resists the fall in the total sugar content by withstanding the hydrolysis and inhibiting microbes. Over the course of the 28-day observation period, each sample's parameters gradually changed. The essential oil containing sample produced noteworthy outcomes when compared to the control sample. The most significant impact on the entire observation was demonstrated by cardamom essential oil. Thus, these results suggest that adding essential oils to sugarcane juice could help slow down its deterioration rate in the refrigerated storage conditions.