Effect of high shear homogenization on quality characteristics of bael fruit pulp

Response surface methodology was used to investigate the influence of high shear homogenization speed(A:3000-12000 r/min)and processing time(B:30-120 min)on bael fruit pulp quality parameters.The experimental results were best fitted in the suggested quadratic model to delineate and envision the responses in terms of color(values of L^(*),meaning brightness to blackness,1oo-0;a^(*),meaning green-a^(*)to red+a^(*);and b^(*),meaning blue-b^(*)to yellow+b),total soluble solids,ascorbic acid,viscosity,andβ-carotene content with the highest coefficients of determination(R2)ranging from 0.80 to 0.99.Significant(P<0.05)change in the L^(*)value,total soluble solids,ascorbic acid,andβ-carotene content was found with change in homogenization speed.The interaction effect of homogenization showed a significant difference in a^(*)value and total soluble solid content of the pulp.The best homogenization conditions were determined via multiple response optimization as 10682 r/min speed and 43.18 min process time.The quality parameters of the pulp at optimized conditions were observed as L^(*)15.35,a^(*)4.51,b^(*)10.25,ascorbic acid 18.64 mg/100 g,viscosity 5349 cP,andβ-carotene 4.14μg/100 g.In addition,total phenolic content,flavonoid content,and antioxidant content of homogenized bael fruit pulp was found to significantly(P<0.05)increase from(83.76±1.24)to(119.21±1.35)mg gallic acid equivalent(GAE)/100 mL,(147.39±0.69)to(156.10±1.11)mg quercetin equivalent(QE)/100 mL,and(41.77%±0.60%)to(66.53%±0.41%),respectively.Consequently,this strategy could be used in fruit processing industries to process highly fibrous fruits and nonuniform-textured fruit pulptoavoid sedimentation whileretaining functionality.