Debittered and antioxidant rich pomegranate juice

Fresh and dry fruits are good food as well as good medicine also. The pomegranate, affectionately known as the "jewel of winter," has recently been acclaimed for its health benefits, in particular, for its disease-fighting antioxidant potential. Pomegranate juice is rich in antioxidant and vitamin C as compared to the same amount of apple juice, which contributes for its free radical scavenging and anti ageing activities. It is used in folk medicine (to treat inflammation, sore throats, and rheumatism) for centuries in India.

The low consumption of pomegranate juice in the international market is due to the additives, used for preserving the sensory properties and the high astringency of the juice. In this sense, development of an external market, as well as the increasing of the internal consumption, depends on the technological improvement of the processes for reducing the astringency, for clarifying and concentrating the juice.

Effect of enzymatic treatment on physical and chemical parameters of fruit juice

S. No.	Parameters	Non-treated juice	Treated juice
1.	Ascorbic acid (mg/100ml)	23.00	21.00
2.	Total sugar (%)	14.30	15.71
3.	Protein (%)	1.05	0.97
4.	pH	4.1	4.0
5.	Viscosity (Centipoise)	9.50	10.00
6.	Titrable acidity (ml of 0. 05 N NaOH	5.20	5.00

Name of the element	mg/ L in Non-treated juice	mg/ L in treated juice
Fe	1.30	1.29
Al	2.1	1.99
Cu	0.14	0.19
Zn	0.397	0.372

Salient features of development

• Technology on debittered pomegranate juice has been successfully developed, which can take care of the bitterness as well as the excess tannin content of the juice, which has health hazards.
• Compared to conventional juice processing, the practice of adding gelatin is avoided, which is well taken by the vegetarian community.
• The processed juice retained its original taste, flavour, color and quality.
• The addition of different additives such as salt, pepper and other natural additives is avoided and kept open to the technology buyer for addition if desired.
• Because of the addition of enzymes for specific biodegradation, the quality of juice is enriched with antioxidant property as compared to the conventional and commercially available juice.
• The macro and micronutrient content of the juice is unaffected with the treatment.
• The Rind and Rag can be separately used in the cosmetic industry for their valuable ingredients.
• The time of processing is fast and can be completed within 3-4 hours.
• No hazardous by-products are formed during the processing of the juice.
• The process is less labor intensive and further automation is possible.

Suggested minimum plant capacity: 3000 MT per annum
Likely investment: ~ Rs.14 crores
Product cost: Rs. 250/- Rs. 96.00/Litre (Without any water addition)

The technology has been filed for Indian patent and is ready for transfer. For further queries please contact:

Prof. R. Banerjee
Microbial Biotechnology & Downstream Processing Laboratory
Agricultural & Food Engineering Department
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur – 721 302
Phone Number: +91-3222-283104/283105(R)
Email: rb@iitkgp.ac.in / rin_tuin@yahoo.com