Sensory acceptability and shelf life of prebiotic pineapple juice with gum arabic (acacia senegal) addition

Gum Arabic (GA) is a soluble dietary fibre exudate attained from Acacia Senegal has potential as a prebiotic agent in foods. This study was conducted to develop prebiotic pineapple juice using four different percentage of GA (Acacia Senegal) (0%, 4%, 8% and 12% of GA) in the juice. Sensory evaluation was conducted using an acceptance test and the most accepted formulation was chosen based on colour, odour, viscosity, taste and overall acceptability attributes. From this study, the sample with 4% of GA incorporation in the pineapple juice was selected and further analysed for its physicochemical and microbiological properties during chill storage (4 ± 1°C) for 9 weeks. Results showed that this sample retained the physicochemical quality for 9 weeks of storage except for redness, yellowness, turbidity and pH. At the end of the storage period, the mean of total plate count (TPC) and mould and yeast count (MYC) were recorded as 0.25 log CFU/ml and 3.83 log CFU/ml, respectively. However, the microbial loads were maintained at an acceptable level until two months (8 weeks) of chill storage. As a conclusion, the development of prebiotic pineapple juice by adding 4% of GA was feasible due to its high sensory acceptance and ability to retain its overall quality during chill storage.