Prevention of Enzymatic Browning by Chemical Treatment on Etlingera elatior Puree Processing

Abstract Simplex-centroid mixture design has been applied to investigate the effectiveness of chemical formulation prior to prevent enzymatic browning on Etlingera elatior puree as well as to study its antioxidant properties and consumer acceptance on the product by using a 9-point hedonic scale analysis. Formulation consists of four different food grade chemicals (Ascorbic acid, Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), Citric acid, and Benzoic acid). Spectrophotometric was used to assay the polyphenol oxidase enzyme (PPO) activity, by measuring the initial rate of quinone formation, as indicated by increase in absorbance value. Antioxidant properties of puree samples were measured through scavenging activity (DPPH), total phenolic content and total flavonoid content. Total color different (ΔE) of processed Etlingera Elatior were determined by Hunter L*a*b*. Optimization suggested a chemical formulation containing 50% ascorbic acid and 50% citric acid as the best proportion prior to its ability in enzyme inhibition, antioxidant characteristics and consumer acceptance.