Enzymatic Processing of Juice From Fruits/Vegetables: An Emerging Trend and Cutting Edge Research in Food Biotechnology

Abstract In India, a variety of agricultural products such as bananas, pomegranates, apples, cashew apples, citrus, litchi, mangos, guava, apricots, pineapples, peaches, berries, grapes, watermelons, passion fruit, carrots, amlas, and tomatoes are produced in plenty. As some of the vegetables/fruits are perishable in nature, the improvement of shelf life plays an important role. An alternative strategy adopted for the proper utilization of such fruits/vegetables is juice preparation for appropriate usage of the raw material. In modern fruit juice manufacturing, industrial enzymes are major fundamental components. The functions of enzymes in juice processing are increasing juice yield, clear and visually attractive juice production, debittering of juice, and improvement of the antioxidant and nutritional properties of juice. The use of the enzymes such as pectinase, tannase, carbohydrase, naringinase, and lipase/esterase alone as well as their blends can not only give better juice yield but also help in retaining enhanced nutrition in the juice. In this chapter, the authors will emphasize not only the cost-effective production of industrial enzymes for their selection in appropriate fruit juice production in the pure as well as mixed form, but also accentuate the titer value, shelf life, appropriate enzyme selection, and nutritional upliftment of the final product. A series of enzymes involved in these processes will include laccase, tannase, pectinase, naringinase, carbohydrase, and a few oxido-reductase along with the juice quality and sensory evaluation for maximum wide acceptability of the fruit/vegetable juices.