Determination of Proximate Composition and Antioxidant Potential of Aloe Vera Gel with The Development and Sensory Evaluation of Aloe Vera Based Drinks

Abstract: Aloe vera (aloe barbadensis Miller) shrubby, xerophyte drought resistant and succulent medicinal plant, belonging to Liliaceae family that originated in South Africa. Objective: To determine the proximate composition and antioxidant potential of aloe vera gel with the development and sensory evaluation of aloe vera gel based drinks. Methods: The study was conducted at FAHS Lab, University Institute of Diet & Nutritional Sciences, The University of Lahore. Aloe vera was procured from local market and sample was selected through simple random sampling technique. The proximate analysis of aloe vera gel was performed. Evaluation of drink samples containing different percentage of aloe vera gel was proformed. Statistix 8.1 was used for data analysis procedure. Results: Aloe vera gel powder contained 98.06±0.03% moisture content, 0.05±0.02% crude fat content, 0.25±0.03% ash and 1.4±0.04% crude ber. It also contained 0.16±0.04% crude protein and 0.08±0.03% Nitrogen Free Extract (NFE). Conclusions: The study concluded that Aloe Vera gel contains good proximate composition, its extracts having higher antioxidant activity and addition of aloe vera gel extract in drinks increased its sensory and nutritional quality. Key words: Aloe vera, Antioxidant, phenolic content, Potential, Proximate analysis, Sensory evaluation.