Development and Stabilization of Value-Added Functional Drink Using Melon By-Product Agricultural Waste

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is a widely grown horticulture crop in many parts of the world widely known for its nutritive properties. Processing of melon leads to the production of a wide range of natural end-user products and produces a significant quantity of underutilized by-products about 35%, which are made up of 3–7% of seeds and 25–44% of peels. The objective of the present research is the development of a value-added drink to effectively utilize melon by-products which are considered an excellent source of antioxidants and bioactive compounds using varying concentrations of peel and seed powder (5 and 10%) and their extracts (1 and 3%) alongside control treatment for comparison purpose. The prepared value-added drinks were stored for 3 months at 4±1°C and analyzed at 15-day intervals for physicochemical characteristics, bioactive components, antioxidant indices, and sensorial evaluation. A significant (p