Abstract

Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) is widely used as a flavor enhancer in Food Industry. Extracted lime juice cannot be preserved for long time due to the development of delayed bitterness. Therefore, industry has introduced artificial alternatives for lime juice. The aim of this research was to evaluate effect of active carbon filtration on physico-chemical properties of lime juice. Extracted juice was kept in PET bottles for one month at ambient conditions to facilitate sedimentation and the development of bitterness and then the juices were filtered through activated carbon columns. Columns of three heights (5cm, 10cm and 15cm) were used. Filtered juices were analyzed for physiochemical (pH, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity-TA), total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity (DPPH radical scavenging) and sensory quality (simple ranking test, 5 point hedonic scale). Based on evaluated quality of the juice obtained after filtered through 10cm activated carbon column was selected for further studies. The pH, TSS, and TA values for selected juice were 2.2, 4.8°, 5g citric acid equivalent /100mL respectively, and those values were significantly different compared to the natural lime juice (pH 2.01, TSS 7and TA 6.29g citric acid equivalent/100mL). Total phenol content of selected lime juice was 0.029mg galic acid equivalent GAE/g, which is significantly lower than natural lime juice (0.611mg GAE/g). Sensory results revealed that the sour taste and the overall acceptability of the filtered lime juice were similar to that of natural lime juice. Sensory results revealed that the natural lime juice showed higher “bitterness” compared to filtered juice. That is realized the activated carbon filtration and de-sedimentation effective for minimizing delayed bitterness. However, phenolic content of the treated juice has been significantly reduced compared with natural lime juice.

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