Quality characteristics and antioxidant capacities of oriental melon wine depending on pretreatments

Abstract

Oriental melon (Cucumis melo L. var. makuwa) has been widely consumed as various processed foods, such as dried products, jelly, wine, juice, and vinegar, in Asian countries. In fruit processing, blanching and pressure treatments affect its quality, such as antioxidant activities, sensory characteristics, and etc. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of blanching and pressure pre-treatments on oriental melon wine-making (BP, blanching and pressure filtration; BNP, blanching and non-pressure filtration; NBP, non-blanching and pressure filtration; and NBNP, non-blanching and non-pressure filtration). Physicochemical properties and antioxidant capacities by α, α-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, and total phenolic and total flavonoid contents were measured for comparison of the different pre-treatment methods. After the aging process, the alcohol contents and pH values showed no statistical differences, whereas the amount of soluble solids, reducing sugar, and titratable acidity were slightly different among the pre-treatments (p<0.05). The samples with blanching pre-treatment showed higher antioxidant capacities than those of other pre-treatments. In the sensory evaluation, the BNP was the best in overall acceptability. Thus, this study showed that the blanching treatment enhanced the antioxidant capacities and sensory qualities of the oriental melon wine.