Formulation and characterization of bael pulp powder from locally grown bael fruit (Aegle marmelos L.) in Dinajpur, Bangladesh

Human diets necessitate the inclusion of fruits. They serve as both a lucrative commercial commodity and a vitally needed dietary staple. Bael (Aegle marmelos L.) is a seasonal fruit, thus in order to make it more widely available, this research concentrated on manufacturing pulp powder and examining its physical and chemical characteristics as well as the sensory assessment of instant drinks manufactured from pulp powder. In this study, Bael pulp was categorized according to its seed and gum components, dried in a hot air oven, powdered, and analyzed for functional properties, nutritional composition, and sensory profile of the prepared drinks. Protein content was found to be 10.21, 10.21, and 11.08% for sample I, II, and III, respectively, indicating a high amount of protein in Bael fruit. The results showed that the Bael fruit contains a high amount of carbohydrates, fiber, minerals, vitamin C and a low percentage of fat. These phenomena indicate that Bael powder contains high nutritional value. Again, the analysis of the physical and functional properties of the Bael powder sample showed that the bulk density and swelling power were increased in the order of Samples I, II and III, but in contrast, an almost reverse result was obtained for the particle density and percent porosity shown. The overall acceptance of the prepared drinks was performed for samples I, II and III by sensory evaluation and we found that the samples were least, moderately and highly accepted.