Bayberry juice was clarified with different polysaccharide‐based clarifying agents (guar gum, locust bean gum, agar‐agar, chitosan, xanthan gum, and sodium alginate). The effects of the clarifying agents on transmittance, turbidity, protein content, antioxidant compounds and activity, color, and the dynamics of the clarification of bayberry juice were investigated. The highest transmittance at 720 nm (%) and lowest turbidity (NTU) were obtained in the juice with 1.00 g/L agar‐agar (88.2% and 23.75 NTU), 0.05 g/L xanthan gum (89.5% and 31.65 NTU), 0.10 g/L chitosan (94.6% and 15.65 NTU), and 0.10 g/L sodium alginate (96.3% and 15.30 NTU), respectively. Overall, the data suggested that sodium alginate, agar‐agar, xanthan gum, and chitosan can be used to clarify bayberry juice, although xanthan gum and chitosan were more conducive to the retention of antioxidant compounds. The dynamics of the clarification indicated that sodium alginate and agar‐agar were the most effective clarifying agents, among those tested.
Practical applications
The juices made from Chinese bayberries had many benefits. However, the raw bayberry juices were cloudy and easy to form haze and precipitation during the storage period. In our study, polysaccharide‐based clarification agents were used to obtain clear bayberry juices. The results provided effective agents for clarifying bayberry juices, confirmed the protein‐removing mechanism of polysaccharide‐based clarification agents, and further guided the industrial production of bayberry juice.