Optimization of a fruit juice cocktail containing soursop, pineapple, orange and mango using mixture design

A simplex lattice mixture design was used to optimize the formulation of a juice cocktail containing soursop, pineapple, mango and orange, based on physicochemical and sensory attributes of the cocktail. In this study, juice from soursop, pineapple, mango and orange were the components. Physicochemical and sensory parameters were determined using standard methods. Mixture regression models explained up to 99% of the variability in the experimental data. Cox response trace plots generated from the fitted models indicated that pH of the cocktail (ranging from 4.0 to 4.2) was greatly influenced by orange, pineapple and soursop. Increasing amounts of soursop juice resulted in a reduction in degrees Brix and b* value, which indicates yellowness. Whereas taste of the cocktail was positively influenced by all the components, only extreme amounts of soursop or high amounts of either pineapple or mango enhanced product likeness. Results of the optimization indicated that high amounts of pineapple juice is required to achieve the best cocktail containing these four fruit components. The study demonstrates the potential of utilizing soursop in a juice cocktail together with popular tropical fruits. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of African Institute of Mathematical Sciences / Next Einstein Initiative.