Characteristics of juice from Palmyrah Palm (Borassus) fruit

The ancestral palmyrah palm (Borassus aethiopum Mart.) produces in the V-Baoulé region of Côte d'Ivoire, sweet and fragrant fruits in large numbers. Most of these spoil in the bush when ripe. The present work was to develop an efficient process for the extraction of juice from these fruits using a pectinase (Pectinex Ultra SP-L) at different concentrations (0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mg/kg), temperatures (25 degrees C, 35 degrees C and 45 degrees C), and for different times (30, 60, 90 and 120 min). Some physico-chemical characteristics of the juice were determined in order to evaluate the quality of the product. Treatment at 45 degrees C for 120 min at an enzyme concentration of 0.6 mg/kg was selected for highest juice yield (73.14%). The colour parameters L; a; b) fluctuated in intensity between batches of rehydrated material. Juice consistency was found to be stable at 45 degrees C at the enzyme concentrations used. There was a slight variation in pH among the different treatments. In general, the yield and quality of the juice obtained were affected by treatment temperature, enzyme concentration and maceration time.