Development of fruit beverages with coconut water: Physicochemical characterization, antioxidant potential, and sensory properties

Fruit beverages blends have been consumed for the balance between nutrients and flavor. The coconut water to replace water is a more natural solution and an option for blending in the fruit beverages. The present study aimed to develop fruit beverages using coconut water as a base, guava, watermelon, and was added apple juice as natural sweetener. Experimental design was used for the development of beverages, considering a factorial design 22, followed by the physicochemical and sensory analysis. The guava fruit was highlighted on antioxidant capacity results compared with the watermelon fruit, in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (86.0 +/- 2.5 and 11.7 +/- 4.5% of reduction, respectively) and in the 2,2 '-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (31.7 +/- 0.0 mu mol trolox/g 12.8 +/- 1.6 mu mol trolox/g, respectively). The physicochemical results of the blends revealed that the beverages with guava (0.5 +/- 0.0%) are more acidic than those with watermelon (0.2 +/- 0.0%), indicating the impact of the intrinsic characteristics of each fruit in the final composition. According to the results of the sensory analysis and response surface methodology, verified the potential optimized formulas contain in their composition 40 g of fruit, 30 g of coconut water, and 30 g of apple juice per 100 mL of beverage, this composition affected the sensory acceptance of the beverages. Our findings indicated the fruit beverages with coconut water have functional attributes, sensory acceptance and can be used as one more option for beverages category.