Comparative Studies on Microbiological and Nutritional Qualities of Juice Produced From Pineapple

Abstract

Analyses of juices (freshly prepared and packaged) produced from Cayenne and Red Spanish varieties of pineapple to determine their microbiological and nutritional qualities were carried out. Bacteria isolated were species of Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas and Micrococcus while fungi isolates were species of Aspergillus, Fusarium, Mucor, Rhizopus and Penicillium. The juice from the mixture of both varieties of pineapple had the highest total viable counts (TVC) of 4.6 x 102cfu/ml. The red Spanish variety had 3.8 x 102 while juice from cayenne had 3.1 x 10 The highest coliform count of 5.0 x 101 was obtained from cayenne variety. However, no coliform was found in both red Spanish and the mixed pineapple juices. The mould and yeast counts in the samples were low (1.0-4.0 x 102). Analysis of nutritional qualities of the juice revealed that the discoloration in the three juice samples was faint yellow before pasteurization and later turned deeper yellow after pasteurization. It was observed that cayenne juice had higher pH, Total solid, Vitamin C and Brix contents than either red Spanish or the mixture of the juices. Similarly red Spanish juice had higher total titratable acidity and protein than cayenne and mixed fruit juices. However, the mixed fruit juice contained moderate amount of Vitamin C and Brix (sugar). The results obtained suggest that cayenne pineapple juice had poor microbiological quality but rich in nutrients.