Processing efficiencies of leaching and centrifugal extraction methods on nutritional composition of Masau juice

Author

Matumbe, Hendrix

Title

Processing efficiencies of leaching and centrifugal extraction methods on nutritional composition of Masau juice

Abstract

Ziziphus mauritiana (masau) is an abundant fruit in Zimbabwe with significant functional nutrition potential, yet its juice processing methods to finished food products remain underexplored. This study was aimed at optimizing the centrifugal extraction and leaching techniques on their fruit juice yield extraction and nutritional composition. A Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with a Central Composite Design (CCD) was employed to systematically investigate the key processing parameters. For centrifugal extraction, the parameters evaluated were G-forces in the range (500 – 3000g), temperature (20 – 60 °C), extraction time (5 – 30 minutes), and water volume (50 – 200 ml). During the leaching capabilities the sieve aperture size ranged from 0.5 – 2 mm and however temperature, time, and water volume were maintained within the same ranges. Statistical comparison on the extraction techniques was determined through Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). It was recorded that there was a significance difference on the extraction methods primarily based on varying the values of parameters, producing the significance of the quadratic models as p < 0.05. The best results demonstrated that centrifugal extraction consistently yielded a masau juice recovery of 76.8% with a total phenolic content of 220 mg GAE/100 ml, antioxidant activity of 85.4% DPPH inhibition, total soluble solids of 15.0 °Brix. Conversely, the leaching method only competitively had highest extraction and yield on Vitamin C at 37.8 mg/100 ml. From the RSM analysis, concluded that, the recommended optimized centrifugal extraction method parameters are: 2200 G centrifugal forces, temperature 35°C, extraction time of 18 minutes, and water volume (140 ml) for industrial applications at a pilot scale. These values can be used as fundamental data base in kinetic studies to scale-up for commercial purposes. The values were arrived at using the RSM model that indicated optimized efficiency and overall product quality, while leaching may be considered alternatively for Vitamin C extraction.

Date

June 2025

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Ziziphus Mauritiana (Masau)

Centrifugal Extraction

Response Surface Methodology

Nutritional Composition

Total Phenolic Content

Vitamin C

Supervisor

Prof. C. J. Zvidzai