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Microwave Treatment of Coconut Inflorescence Sap (Kalparasa®): A Panacea to Preserve Quality Attributes

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Abstract

Coconut inflorescence sap, traditionally called as neera, is a natural and healthy drink obtained by tapping the unopened immature spadix of coconut. The sap tapped by using the device coco-sap chiller, developed by ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, is called Kalparasa®. The shelf life of the sap after extraction is 2–3 h in atmospheric condition. Farmer producer companies and palm sap processing industries require suitable preservation techniques to maintain the physico-chemical properties of the coconut sap. Hence, the effect of microwave power level (600 and 900 W) and exposure time (30, 60, 90, and 120 s) on the physico-chemical properties of Kalparasa stored under refrigerated conditions was investigated. The physico-chemical properties of microwave-treated Kalparasa including pH, TSS, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, total sugar, reducing sugar, and polyphenols were analysed at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, and 16 days after storage. The results reveal that the microwave treatment and storage period had a significant effect (P < 0.001) on the physico-chemical properties of Kalparasa. Furthermore, it was deduced that a combination of high power (900 W) and exposure time (120 s) maintains the physico-chemical quality of Kalparasa up to 16 days of storage under refrigerated conditions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of ICAR-Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Project No: 1000767018). We would like to thank Dr. Sandip Shil, ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute Research Centre, West Bengal, India, for the statistical analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physiology, Biochemistry and Post Harvest Technology Division, ICAR –Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, 671 124, India

    R. Pandiselvam, K. B. Hebbar, M. R. Manikantan, Shameena Beegum & S. V. Ramesh

  2. Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, 580 005, India

    B. K. Prashanth

Authors
  1. R. Pandiselvam
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  2. K. B. Hebbar
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  3. M. R. Manikantan
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  4. B. K. Prashanth
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  5. Shameena Beegum
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  6. S. V. Ramesh
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Contributions

RP, KBH, MRM, and BKP designed and conducted the experiments and analysed the data. SB and SVR contributed for biochemical experiments and drafted the manuscript, and RP and MRM contributed to the final version.

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Correspondence to R. Pandiselvam.

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Pandiselvam, R., Hebbar, K.B., Manikantan, M.R. et al. Microwave Treatment of Coconut Inflorescence Sap (Kalparasa®): A Panacea to Preserve Quality Attributes. Sugar Tech 22, 718–726 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-020-00828-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-020-00828-9

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