Abstract:
Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima. L) is a seasonal crop in Sri Lanka. Due to its seasonality,
wastage, and rapid price fluctuation, is a common sight in the market. In view of increasing
the consumption of pumpkin as a beverage, this study was focused on developing a
novel Ready-To-Serve (RTS) beverage using pumpkin flavoured with fruits and spices.
A preliminary study conducted to select the most compatible fruit flavor with pumpkin.
Pineapple was selected as the most suitable flavor. The study continued to optimize the
flavor with 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of pineapple and pumpkin concentration. According
to the sensory results, the most acceptable pineapple percentage was 20%. The cinnamon
powder was added to obtain a spicy flavor. Through the third sensory evaluation, the
highest acceptability was identified with 0.9% cinnamon powder. Based on proximate
results, the novel RTS beverage contained 83.5% moisture, 0.2% ash, 0.2% protein,
16.1% carbohydrates, total sugar 16%, and 65 kcal/ 100 g energy. The pH, total soluble
solid (TSS), and titratable acidity (TA) were evaluated and no significant difference
(P<0.05) was observed during the 3-month refrigerated condition (40C). There was no
microbial colony formation observed, with cinnamon Treatment 1 (T1) and without
cinnamon Treatment 2 (T2). T1 has a total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of 1.05±0.00
(mg TE/ g DW), total phenolic compound (TPC) of 2.91±0.08 (mg GAE/ g DW), and
total flavonoid content (TFC) of 3.09±0.13 (mg RE/ g DW). Considering the results,
pineapple-flavored pumpkin RTS showed a positive perception from consumers and can
be recommended for commercial production.
