Evaluation of bioactive compounds, radical scavenging activity and sensory quality attributes of tropical fruit juice blends

Fruit juice blends encompass the flavour and nutritional properties of the fruits used for their preparation, which give them distinct and unique phytochemical composition and flavour attributes. This research was carried out to evaluate the effect of blending tropical fruits such as mango (Mangifera indica), acerola (Malpighia punicifolia), cashew apple (Anacardium occidentale), guava (Psidium guajava) and Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis) on their sensory properties as well as the level of bioactive compounds and antioxidant potential. The blended beverage was pasteurized, followed by storage at 5 +/- 2 degrees C for three months. Results revealed that the highest overall acceptability score was recorded for the blend containing mango and acerola (8.0). Even after three months of storage, the blend containing mango and acerola had significantly higher ascorbic acid (159.49 mg100g(-1)), which was almost six times higher than the one blended with Indian gooseberry. The combination of mango and cashew apple had the highest initial total carotenoids (1.46 mg100g(-1)), followed by the one containing mango and acerola (1.31 mg100g(-1)). The blend of mango and Indian gooseberry had the highest total phenolics (315.0 mg100g(-1)). The blend of mango in combination with Indian gooseberry and acerola exhibited highest DPPH scavenging activity of 2.74 mu gmL(-1) and 2.84 mu gmL(-1), respectively. The findings suggest that the tropical fruits mentioned above are valuable sources of functional nutrients in addition to their unique and diverse flavour attributes which are important factors congenial for development of functional beverages. Phenolics and ascorbic acid had stronger correlation with antioxidant activity than carotenoids.