Evaluation of Effect of Tapping Frequency and Lime Coating on the Biochemical Changes and Fermentation Rate of Coconut Inflorescence Sap

Fresh coconut inflorescence sap is a nutrient-rich product that is naturally obtained from the inflorescence of coconut palms ( Cocos nucifera L.). The present research work aimed at finding the optimum time of tapping to study the mechanism of fermentation by comparing the biochemical changes in fresh coconut sap collected at different time with and without lime coating. In this study, saps collected overnight and also during the day time at regular intervals by traditional tapping method were used for the analysis. The physicochemical quality attributes namely pH, TSS, titratable acidity, reducing sugar, total sugars, protein content, total phenols, alcohol content, color, and turbidity were analyzed. Also, all the samples were immediately analyzed for microbial quality including yeast, lactic acid bacteria, and total plate count to understand the fermentation kinetics. It was observed that the pH was higher in the sap with and without lime addition collected at 9 A.M. of about 9.18 ± 0.25 and 6.52 ± 0.25, respectively. There were slight changes in the TSS of the sap with and without lime addition which lies in the range of 14.64 ± 0.43°B to 15.86 ± 0.24°B for all the samples. The sap with lime had the minimum alcohol amount (0.028 ± 0.52%), but the sap without lime had higher alcohol content (4.385 ± 0.78%). The results revealed that the total plate count shows an increasing trend in sap without lime addition and recorded a maximum value of 7.30 log CFU/ml. In sap with lime addition, the total plate count was comparatively less ranging from 5.94 log CFU/ml to 6.48 log CFU/ml. This study revealed that the coconut inflorescence sap collected at 6.00–9.00 A.M. resulted in optimal quality of the sap.