Physicochemical and Sensory Characteristic of Treated Sugarcane Juice

Sugarcane juice contains high sugar content which can deteriorate rapidly after the juice extraction process. In large juice industry, the deterioration of sugarcane juice can be reduced by pasteurisation and sterilisation treatment process. However, preservation techniques impart undesirable effect on sugarcane juice in terms of taste, colour, appearance and acceptability of the consumer. Therefore, in this study, the effect of pasteurisation process and addition of Spirulina platensis (S. platensis) water extract (0.2% vol/vol) were investigated for its physicochemical (pH, total soluble solid, colour and turbidity), microbiological evaluation (total plate count) and sensory characteristic of sugarcane juice. The addition of S. platensis water extract in sugarcane juice lower the pH value of tested sample contributing to the increase in the stability of sugarcane juice. The other physicochemical tests (total soluble solid, colour and turbidity) have definite correlation with the changes of pH value but not-significant (p > 0.05) in term of addition of S. platensis water extract into sugarcane juice samples. The microbiological evaluation revealed that high number of colony presence in sugarcane juice after storage for about two weeks and their number were reduced until end of testing period which may result from the depletion of nutrient and inhibition of by-product of reactions that happen in sugarcane juice sample. In terms of sensory testing, the addition of S. platensis water extract in sugarcane juice scored best as compared to control sample even though it does not give significant value (p > 0.05) compared to control sample. In conclusion, the addition of S. platensis water extract for treated sugarcane juice is significant as it improves consumer acceptability. The water extract could also acts as colouring agent in sugarcane juice without affecting the physicochemical and sensory properties of sugarcane juice.