Abstract

SENSORY AND MICROBIAL QUALITY OF NEWLY DEVELOPED FERMENTED BEETROOT BEVERAGE

Meghana Reddy and Dr. D. Annette Beatrice and *Dr. V Bhavani

ABSTRACT

Beetroot is a nutritious vegetable that is an ideal component of healthy diet. It has a rich source of carbohydrates, a good source of protein and has high levels of important vitamins and minerals. It is a good source of dietary fibre and has practically no fat and no cholesterol. They supply the principle antioxidants which help to scavenge the free radicals. They have several therapeutic properties like immune boosting; treating anemia, circulatory disorders, cancer, and alcohol induced liver failure, digestive disorders. Beetroot as vegetable are consumed raw as well as cooked. Raw foods when modified by the activities of microorganism are called fermented foods. Fermented foods are an extremely valuable addition to the human diet for a variety of reasons. Fermentation improves the nutritional quality, lends a longer shelf life, improves digestibility and biogenic effect. There is a alarming increase in the number of soft drinks in the market, which provide empty calories leading to obesity and related metabolic disorders. The growing nutritional awareness coupled with the consumer’s desire for a healthier lifestyle has greatly impacted the evolution of juice and juice based drinks. Hence fermented beetroot beverage has been developed to provide a refreshing, healthy and thrist quenching drink to our society and at the same time provides more health benefits. Results of the study indicated that the overall acceptability of the fermented beverage was 4.0 ± 0.71 over a score of 5.0. The nutrient analysis of the fermented beetroot beverage revealed that 100 ml contains 18.03 mg of vitamin C and 124.6 mg of betacyanin. It contains 48mg of potassium and 3.9 mg of iron. Glucose and fructose present in fermented beetroot beverage was estimated to be 44.6mg, 56.8mg respectively. It contains 14 ml of sorbitol. The results of the potato disc assay revealed absence of tumor cells indicating that it has an anticarcinogenic property. The antimicrobial property can be equaled to the antibiotics Pipercillin and Nitrofurantoin. The beverage was found to be sterile, free of microorganism and pathogens for 30 days. The newly developed fermented beetroot beverage can be considered is refreshing, safe and nutritious.

Keywords: Nitrofurantoin, anticarcinogenic, antibiotics.