Improving the Recovery of Dry Matter and Bioactive Compounds from the Fibrous Strands By-Products of Pumpkin (Cucurbita Moschata) by Enzyme Method

Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) is a popular vegetable grown in many parts of the world, including Vietnam. Most of food processing technology uses only the fresh and omits by-products. In particular, the fibrous strands of pumpkin have been proven to have many beneficial nutritional values for human health. The purpose of the study was to improve the recovery of dry matter and beneficial compounds from the fibrous strands by combining two enzymes Cellulase (C) and Pectinase (P). Investigate the influence of extraction conditions including C/P enzyme ratio (0/0, 0/1, 1/0, 1/2, 2/1); hydrolysis temperature (35 – 55oC); enzyme concentration (0.05 – 0.2%) and hydrolysis time (30 – 150 minutes) were studied. Besides, the ratio of dilution of raw materials/water is 1/2; The natural pH of raw materials. The obtained results show that, with the condition that the C/P enzyme ratio is 1/2; hydrolysis temperature 45oC; 0.15% enzyme concentration and 90 min hydrolysis time gave the highest extraction efficiency. With this condition, the recovery efficiency of dry matter, total polyphenols, ABTS antioxidant activity and β-carotene, respectively, were significantly higher than those of the control sample without using enzymes. This research result opens the possibility of effective application of pumpkin by-products, avoiding waste and improving the value of this vegetable