DEVELOPMENT AND QUALITY EVALUATION OF VALUE ADDED PRODUCT: MANDARIN JELLY INCORPORATED WITH SEAWEED (Gracilaria tenuistipitata).

Abstract

Mandarin fruit and Seaweed (Gracilaria tenuistipitata) are rich in nutrients. This study was aimed to create value added mandarin jelly with seaweed extract and to evaluate the physicochemical properties, microbiological analysis, and sensory attributes. Four formulations of jelly such as sample A, sample B, sample C, sample D were prepared varying the amount of mandarin and seaweed extract. Proximate composition, mineral content (Na, K, Ca, Mg, and Fe), bioactive profile, antioxidant capacity, microbiological analysis, and sensory evaluation were performed on the formulated jellies. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the results in order to determine their significance level at P< 0.05. The findings showed that the prepared jellies differed significantly (P< 0.05) in terms of moisture, protein, fat, fiber, ash, carbohydrate, net amount of energy, Na, K, Ca, Mg, and Fe, total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, antioxidant capacity, and sensory characteristics. The analysis showed the range from (26.34% -31.74%) moisture content, (64.11% -66.38%) carbohydrate content, (0.96% -2.73%) protein content, (1.06% -2.70%) fat content, (0.99% -1.65%) fiber content, (0.38% -1.11%) ash content for four formulation of mandarin-seaweed jelly where the highest value was obtained in containing maximum seaweed extract jelly. Titratable acidity was found 0.59%, 0.55%, 0.54%, 0.64% and Total soluble solid was ranged from (65ºBrix - 68ºBrix), pH ranged from (2.91-3.1) in the variations of these jelly sample. In jelly containing maximum seaweed extract, Potassium (193.83mg/100g) and Calcium (68.27mg/100g) were found higher than other minerals. Up to 15 days, the total viable count was within acceptable bounds, and after three months of storage at a cold temperature, no signs of fungal activity were seen