Simultaneous Extraction and Pasteurization (SEPA) of a drink from “blood root” (Justicia secunda) leaves part 1: kinetic studies

Abstract

Juice produced from the leaves of Justicia secunda is claimed to have potentials for treating anemia but is highly perishable while the production conditions are not yet mastered. Meanwhile in juice production from fruits or vegetables, key processing steps include extraction and pasteurization which are usually carried out separately with an attendant consequence on the production cost. This work was aimed at combining these unit operations in order serve time and energy. The effect of Conventional Extraction followed by Pasteurization (CEP) in comparison with Simultaneous Extraction and Pasteurization (SEPA) on the Vitamin C content of the juice was investigated. Kinetic models indicated that, the variation of Vitamin C occurred in two phases; a first phase corresponding to the accumulation of Vitamin C in the extraction medium and a second phase corresponding to its degradation. Average Vitamin C in the juice from the SEPA process was significantly greater than that from the CEP process. Major gains from the SEPA process include gain in energy, reduction in processing times and higher retention of Vitamin C in the juice.

Simultaneous extraction and pasteurization of a drink from “Blood Root” (Justicia secunda) leaves stabilized with a natural preservative: Optimization and storage

“…Sampling and sample preparation was done following the procedure recently described by Neba et al (2020).…”

“…Variables were pasteurization temperature, pasteurization time, and the quantity of powdered ginger extracts. The selection of the domains of the factors pasteurization temperature x 1 (60-90 C); the quantity of powdered ginger, x 2 (1-3g) and pasteurization time x 3 , (10-30 min) was based on our previous work (Neba et al, 2020)…”

“…1. The vitamin C content of the samples was determined following the method described by Mussa and El Sharaa (2014) and used by Neba et al (2020).…”

“…Figure 3b, the quantity of vitamin C was highest within the first few minutes of heating and then reduced to significantly lower values as heating time and temperature increased. It is possible that continuous heating at high temperatures results in the degradation of vitamin C because it is thermally labile (Mercali, Jaeschke, Tessaro, & Marczak, 2012;Neba et al, 2020;Zhang, Han, Xia, & Gao, 2016). That is, the high temperature with long SEPA time had negative impact on the vitamin C concentration of the SEPA drink (Mazur et al, 2014.;Patras, Brunton, Tiwari, & Butler, 2011).…”

“…These two-unit processes are as of now operated separately which increases the cost and energy consumption of the entire process. In a previous study, we demonstrated that combining these unit operations in a process known as "simultaneous extraction and pasteurization (SEPA)" applied to the processing of blood root juice presented a number of advantages compared to the single processes including: 80% reduction in processing times, about 27% gain in vitamin C, and significant reductions in energy consumption (Neba, Ngwa, Anuanwen, & Nde Bup, 2020). However, the optimum parameters for processing this juice are still unknown.…”