Nutritional content and utilization of dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) peels
2018
Reterta, A.J.E. | Trinidad, T.P.
One of the fruits that is of great interest today is Dragon fruit (Hylocereus sp). The red pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) a very nutritious fruit and may be a potential functional ingredient in the development of healthy food products. In a recent study conducted, the dragon fruit peels were found to have a higher pectin content and phytonutrients, than the flesh. For this study it aimed to characterize dragon fruit peel as a safe functional ingredient and utilize to develop a food product. First the peels were freeze-dried and was analyzed for proximate composition, dietary fiber and fermentability in vitro, phytonutrients and antioxidant activity using standard methods. Based on the gathered results, it shows that the dragon fruit peel can be an excellent source of dietary fiber (70.3g/1 00g) and contains significant amounts of insoluble (40.1g/100g) and soluble (30.2g/1 00g) fiber. The peels also produced high amounts short chain fatty acids; acetate (68.8 +- 1 A mg/g), propionate (53.8 +- 2.5 mg/g) and butyrate (32.3 +- 1/ mg/g). Dragon fruit peels are also a good source of phytonutrients such as polyphenols (459 ± 86 mg/100g), flavonoids (238 +- 10 mg/100g) and anthocyanidin (356 +- 5 mg/100g). For product utilization, jam was developed, and its physico-chemical properties were assessed. Four types of sweetener (sugar cane, honey, coco sugar and sugar palm sugar) were used to determine the most acceptable formulation. The product assessment for jam showed that the sensory evaluation and consumer acceptability resulted to a highly acceptable rating while the physico-chemical characteristics (TSS and pH) of the jack are all within acceptable levels. Data presented exhibits the potential of the peels to be a functional food ingredient for food product development. The use of food wastes such as dragon fruit peels can help in promoting produced food products that may provide health benefits.
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