1Post Harvest Technology Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India
2Department of Food and Agricultural Processing, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India
Home Science College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai-625 001, India
*Corresponding author's e-mail: krishnakumar_meag@yahoo.co.in and address: Department of Food and Agricultural Process Engg, AEC&RI, TNAU, Coimbatore, India
Online published on 2 April, 2015.
Lime based RTS beverages were prepared using Tulsi and Arugampul herbal extract. Lime RTS beverage prepared from the selected herbs were filled in glass bottles and stored at room temperature (27±3°C) for 150 days and evaluated physicochemically, organoleptically and microbiologically at an interval of 30 days. A marginal increase in TSS, pH, and total sugars were observed in all beverages for 150 days of storage, whereas acidity and Vitamin C showed decreasing trend. The increase in microbial load for 150 days of storage was negligible and safe for consumption. Sensory evaluation indicated that all the beverages were highly acceptable throughout the storage period. Overall acceptability scores of 8.3, 8.2 and 8.0 were observed for control, Lime + Tulsi juice extract, and Lime + Arugampul juice extract respectively for 150 days of storage.
Herbal extract, Lime, RTS, Shelf life, Tulsi
