029_HANDB OF FRUITS_AND PROSESSING_2006_688

32 Tropical Fruits: Guava, Lychee, and Papaya 611

as a highly flavored squash during the peak season processing time in boiling water to less than 10 min
(Sethi, 1985; Jain et al., 1988). have also been suggested (Chakravorty et al., 1974).
Shortening the lapse of time between peeling and
Canning of Lychee heating and immersing the lychee flesh in sodium
bisulfite solution prior to heat processing are also
Canning of lychee fruits is another important preser- known to reduce the extent of pink discoloration
vation method for preparing value-added products. (Hwang and Cheng, 1986).
The general canning process for lychee fruits involves
washing, peeling, pitting, and filling into enameled Lychee Juice
cans. About 30 Brix syrup is added as a packing
medium to improve the flavor, and to lower the pH to Juice from Lychee fruits is used for preparing juice
3.8, 0.1–0.2% citric acid is added. The filled cans blends or diluted into juice drinks, which are popu-
are exhausted to an internal temperature of 80◦C, lar among consumers in Taiwan, China, Japan, South
vacuum sealed, processed in boiling water for 12 Africa, and in many Southeast Asian countries. The
min, followed by rapid cooling to room temperature. fruits for juice extraction are delivered to the factory
Alternately, a high-speed spin cooker at 90.6◦C for shortly after harvesting, without much postharvest
2–3 min can be used for obtaining a better quality treatment. Peeling is a necessary step prior to juice
product (Luh et al., 1986). Pink discoloration could extraction to avoid a bitter taste coming from the peels
be reduced and better texture maintained in canning, (Redlinghuys and Torline, 1980). As hand peeling is
if sugar content in syrup (containing 0.2% citric acid) labor intensive and as it delays production, lowers
was similar to that of the lychee fruit flesh (Wu and juice quality, and leads to microbial spoilage, now
Chen, 1999). Using syrup containing sugar mixtures mechanical peeling has become a favorite. Pitting of
in the same ratio as found in lychee flesh, canned peeled fruit is not necessary. The peeled fruits are
lychee with higher quality flesh could be produced directly fed to a two-stage, paddle-type pulper fin-
than by using sucrose alone. isher for juice extraction. By adjusting the clearance
between the paddles and screen, the amount of bro-
Pink discoloration in canned lychee is a serious ken seeds is reduced to less than 2%, and these seed
problem and has been studied in several laboratories. fragments can be removed from the juice by the fin-
The sterilization temperature and pH have strong ef- ishing screen. As the acidity is low in lychee fruits,
fects on this pink color development (Wu and Fang, pH of extracted juice is adjusted to 4.0 by adding cit-
1993). Pink discoloration in canned lychee is due ric acid prior to pasteurization at 95◦C for 30 s. The
to the hydrolysis of condensed tannins to catechin pasteurized single-strength juice can either be hot-
and leucoanthocyanin, which further degrades to an- packed in 20-l tin cans or be frozen in 20-l plastic
thocyanin. The cultivar and maturity stage are also drums. Lychee juice may also be vacuum concen-
reported to influence the discoloration (Hwang trated to double strength, shipped overseas as frozen
and Cheng, 1986). Flavanone-3-hydroxylase and concentrate at temperatures lower than −18◦C. Tai-
dihydroquercetin-4-reductase from lychee flesh play wan, South Africa, and China are the major producers
a key role in the biosynthesis of leucoanthocyanin of lychee juice in the world.
(Wu, 1992). According to Wu, the flavonones in ma-
ture lychee are converted to eriodictyol-containing FUTURE RESEARCH NEEDS
compounds and then hydrolyzed by flavonone-3-
hydroxilase to dihydroquercetin-containing com- Fresh lychee fruit is most valued for its excellent
pounds. These compounds are further reduced to flavor and textural qualities, but the maintenance of
leucocyanidin-containing compounds by dihydro- market quality of fresh lychees is particularly a seri-
quercetin-4-reductase and during heat processing, ous problem for the fruit handlers when the fruit has
these are finally converted into cyanidin-containing to be shipped great distances. Desiccation of fruits
colored compounds. However, during the storage with its accompanying loss of red color of fruit skin
of canned lychee, leucocyanindin-containing com- and the development of pericarp browning can occur
pounds may also develop through some other path- very quickly. The development of browning renders
ways, in addition to the above (Hwang and Cheng, the fruit unsaleable and results in commercial loss to
1986). To prevent pink discoloration in canned ly- the fruit handler. The chemical changes that lead to
chee, addition of 0.1–0.15% of citric acid to the browning of pericarp need to be further investigated
packing medium (30 Brix syrup) and restricting the

612 Part III: Commodity Processing

for improving the shelf life of fresh fruit. Pink dis- Table 32.5. Major Papaya Fruit Producing
coloration in canned lychee is another problem that Countries of the World
needs to be tackled to enhance the scope of produc-
ing value-added products from lychee. The lychee Country Production, 000 Tons
trees are environmentally exacting, and reach fruiting
stage very slowly from seed, and most seedlings do World 5444
not produce fruits of commercially acceptable qual- Brazil 1450
ity. Therefore, the development of good quality culti- Nigeria 748
vars and establishment of an industry have been slow India 644
to develop. Nevertheless, concerted research efforts Mexico 613
with this crop have to be continued, to evolve good Indonesia 470
cultivars for the successful growth of the lychee pro- China 152
cessing industry. Thailand 119

Source: FAO, 2001.

Section 3: Papaya the world. Papaya attains a height of about 10 m under
favorable growing conditions. The plant is dioecious,
INTRODUCTION with either male or female flowers, though trees with
hermaphrodite flowers also occur (Samson, 1986).
Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is native to Central The fruit is a large, fleshy, hollow berry with small
America but is now distributed throughout the tropi- numerous seeds and weighs around 0.5–2.0 kg. Now,
cal areas of the world. The fruit is mostly consumed some cultivars have been developed with seedless
fresh, but the immature is cooked or used in preserves, fruits. Apart from Waimanalo, Solo is another impor-
sauces, and pies. A number of acceptable products tant commercial variety of papaya, which produces
are being prepared by drying, canning, pickling, and hermaphrodite and female plants. The fruits from
preserving. From the raw fruit latex, papain enzyme this variety have excellent quality for fresh consump-
is produced, which finds extensive uses in the food tion as well as for processing. Hortus Gold of South
and pharmaceutical industry. Latex production is la- Africa, Improved Peterson of Australia, Betty, Solo
bor intensive, and the papain manufacturing industry Blue Stem, Red Rock, Cariflora of Florida (Conover
is mainly confined to those areas where cheap labor et al., 1980), Semank of Indonesia, Sunny Bank,
is available. Apart from being an excellent source of Guinea Gold, Hybrid-5 of Queensland, are other im-
ascorbic acid, the fruit is also a good source of provi- portant cultivars. Washington, Honey Dew, Coorg
tamin A, some B complex vitamins, and many phy- Honey Dew, Pusa Delicious, Pusa Majesty, Pusa
tochemicals having antioxidant properties (Murcia Giant, Pusa Nanha, Pusa Dwarf, CO1, CO2, CO4,
et al., 2001; Leong and Shui, 2002). Pureed papaya CO5, and CO6 are grown extensively in India. Pusa
is a good source of ␤–carotene and iron for the lac- Giant is well suited for canning (Muthukrishnan and
tating women (Ncube et al., 2001). Brazil, Nigeria, Irulappan, 1985). Panama Red and Solo No.1 are
India, Mexico, Indonesia, China, and Thailand are commercially grown in Taiwan. Solo 62/3, Sunrise,
the leading producers of papaya (Table 32.5). How- and Solo cultivars are popular in Trinidad. About 10–
ever, USA, Taiwan, Puerto Rico, Peru, Bangladesh, 15% of male trees are planted for pollination of fe-
and Australia are also producing sizeable quantities male trees in a dioecious planting.
of this fruit (FAO, 2001).
PHYSIOLOGY AND RIPENING
CULTIVARS
Papaya trees are fast growing and prolific fruit
Papaya is a rapid-growing, hollow-stemmed and bearers. The first fruit is ready in 10–14 months
short-lived perennial tree, belonging to the family from the time the plants are transplanted into the
Caricaceae, which is usually propagated from seeds. orchard (Sommer, 1985). Most cultivars in India
Because of open pollination, papaya is a notoriously take about 135–155 days from pollination to fruit
difficult crop to maintain as a pure or true cultivar. maturity (Selvaraj et al., 1982a, b), and 168–182
This family includes 4 genera and about 20 species days in Hawaii. However, in a warm, hot climate,
of Carica native to tropical and subtropical areas of “Washington” papaya takes 145–150 days to reach
the skin-color-turning stage (Ghanta et al., 1994). The

32 Tropical Fruits: Guava, Lychee, and Papaya 613

fruit weight (Selvaraj et al., 1982a, b; Ghanta et al., 70 min, with the areas of the flesh failing to soften
1994) as well as fruit length (Ong, 1983) shows a typ- (Paull and Chen, 1990). Disruption of the softening
ical double sigmoid type of growth curve. Increased process varied with the stage of maturity and harvest
fruit numbers could be attributed to improved fruit set date. The respiratory climacteric and ethylene pro-
and retention induced by the application of boron, and duction were higher and occurred 2 days earlier in
to increased production of indole acetic acid (IAA) the injured fruit than in the noninjured fruit that was
induced by zinc application. IAA is known to affect exposed to 49◦C for only 30 min. Skin degreening
flower production and fruit set in papaya (Kavitha and internal carotenoid synthesis were unaffected by
et al., 2000a). The application of these two minerals the heat treatments. Exposure of ripening fruits to ei-
is also known to affect the biochemical and qual- ther 42◦C for 4 h or 38–42◦C for 1 h followed by
ity characters of this papaya cultivar (Kavitha et al., 3 h at 22◦C resulted in the thermotolerance to expo-
2000b). Treatment with zinc and boron produced sure to the otherwise injurious heat treatment of 49◦C
higher levels of TSS, total sugars, reducing sugars, for 70 min. Although several physical methods such
and nonreducing sugars (approx. 12.9%, 6.6%, 5.6%, as reflectance measurement, delayed light emission
and 1%, respectively). The TA and ascorbic acid in intensity, and body transmission spectroscopy have
these treated fruits averaged approximately 0.29% been tried to measure fruit maturity, but subjective
and 47.1 mg/100 g. Similarly, uptake of calcium by evaluation based on skin color change is usually used
“Sunset” papaya (Carica papaya L.) fruit plays an to judge the maturity (Calegario et al., 1997). Once
important role in its ripening process. Mesocarp Ca the major accumulation of TSS and DM has occurred
concentration of about 130 ␮g/g of fruit weight was after 120 DAA, and papaya fruit does not accumulate
associated with slower fruit softening rate than in fruit starch, commercial fruit quality is ensured if these
with a lower Ca concentration (Yunxia et al., 1995). fruits are harvested at 145 DAA, when the first yel-
low coloration appears in the peel and the seeds turn
Yield and quality of papaya fruits are greatly in- black. Softness to touch is another indicator used as
fluenced by NPK fertilizer application. Use of N at a ripening index. Among the physicochemical deter-
200 g, P at 50 g, and K at 100 g per tree was found to minants, pH and TSS (Brix) are very good indicators
be the most effective dose for increasing fruit yield of ripening of the papaya fruit (Camara et al., 1993).
and quality (ascorbic acid, TSS, and sugar contents) Change of latex color from white to watery, is another
of mature papaya fruits (Lavania and Jain, 1995). index of maturity of papaya fruit (Akamine and Goo,
Application of micronutrients during fruit growth 1971).
and ripening are known to influence the fruit quality
(Chattopadhyay and Gogoi, 1992). Micronutrients The chemical composition of papaya fruit with
(B, ZN, Cu, Fe, and Mn) affected TSS, maximum lev- respect to sugars, organic acids, amino acids, vita-
els (11.2%) were found in fruits treated with 40 ppm mins, and minerals change during ripening. At har-
of boron. Treatment with 40 ppm of boron also in- vest, water content varied from 87% to 97%, carbo-
creased total sugars (7.69% versus 6.6%) and ascor- hydrates from 2% to 12%. The DM, which was 7% at
bic acid (65.63 versus 60.84 mg/100 g pulp). Treat- 15 days after pollination, increased to 13% at harvest.
ment with B, Cu, and Zn (all 40 ppm) reduced TA. Alcohol-insoluble solids, starch and several minerals
Carotene content was found to be higher in treated decreased, whereas total sugars increased during this
fruits (2.07–2.33 versus 2.01 mg/100 g). They rec- time. The total and nonvolatile acidity decreased to a
ommended a combined foliar application of these mi- minimum at the fully ripe stage of harvest (Selvaraj
cronutrients (40 ppm of each) to obtain good quality et al., 1982a). The organoleptic qualities, volatile pro-
papaya fruits. files, and lipid content of papaya have been shown
to be highly dependent on the degree of fruit ma-
Various hydrolases play an important role in the turity (Blakesley et al., 1979). Soluble sugars accu-
modification of cell walls and softening of tropical mulate mainly when papaya fruits are still attached
fruits. Lazan and Ali (1993) have reviewed the bio- to the plant. Sucrose synthesis still occurs even af-
chemistry of softening process (depolymerization of ter harvest, as sucrose-phosphate synthase activity is
pectin and hemicellulose), activity of cell wall hy- highly correlated to sucrose content. Sugar content
drolases, role of PG, and ␤–galactosidase in mango and sweet sensory perception are dissociated, while
and papaya softening, and the isolation of the ␤– pulp softening has a strong correlation with sweet-
galactosidase gene from mango and papaya. Meso- ness, probably due to the easier release of cellular
carp softening during papaya ripening was impaired contents in fully ripe tissues (Gomez et al., 2002).
by heating at 42◦C for 30 min followed by 49◦C for

614 Part III: Commodity Processing

Ethylene Production Table 32.6. Nutritional Value of Papaya (Per
100 g of Edible Portion of Raw Fruit)
Papaya, being a climacteric fruit, shows a typical
respiratory and ethylene production pattern during Constituent Content
ripening. Respiration rises to a maximum at the onset
of ripening (the climacteric peak) but subsequently Water, g 88.7
declines slowly. Respiratory climacteric is just pre- Food energy, kJ 165
ceded with a similar pattern of increased ethylene Protein, g
production (Paull and Chen, 1983). The climacteric Fat, g 0.6
peaks in four papaya cultivars (Coorg Honey Dew, Total carbohydrates, g 0.1
Pink Flesh Sweet, Sunrise, and Washington) have Fiber, g 10
been observed between 120 and 150 DAA, when Ash, g 0.9
the fruit skin color started to turn yellow (Selvaraj Calcium, mg 0.6
et al., 1982b). An increasing trend of mitochondrial Phosphorus, mg 20
protein and RNA content until harvest maturity are Iron, mg 16
associated with an increased synthesis of enzymes re- Sodium, mg 0.3
sponsible for catalyzing the ripening process (Pal and Potassium, mg 3
Selvaraj, 1987). Ethylene-forming enzyme (EFE) ac- Vitamin A, IU 234
tivity has been observed to be at the maximum in Thiamine, mg 1750
the exocarp of three-fourth ripe papaya fruits, but Riboflavin, mg 0.04
the EFEs in the mesocarp and endocarp were more Niacin, mg 0.4
heat sensitive than the EFE in the exocarp (Chan, Ascorbic acid, mg 0.3
1991). Slicing and deseeding increases respiration, 56
ethylene production, skin degreening, and flesh soft- Source: USDA, 1968.
ening (Paull and Chen, 1997). Fruit with 60–80% skin
yellowing had higher initial ethylene production,and of the fruits harvested from other months of planting.
respiration than that of the other ripening stages. A typical composition of ripe papaya fruit is pre-
Ethylene production and respiration of halved and sented in Table 32.6.
deseeded fruits declined rapidly within 1 day during
storage at 4◦C. Fruits with 55–80% skin yellowing Sugars
and less than 50 N flesh firmness, had more than 50%
edible flesh and easily removable seeds. Such fruits Among the carbohydrates, sugars are the major con-
were suitable for minimal processing when combined stituents of papaya fruit but amounts vary consider-
with low storage temperature of 4◦C. ably depending on the cultivar and agronomic con-
ditions. Indian cultivars have higher sugar content
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION (10–10.2% TSS) than the papaya cultivars being
grown in the United States (5.65–7.1%) (Pal and
Papaya is a common dessert, used in fruit salads and Subramanyam, 1980; Madhav Rao, 1974). Presence
is enjoyed throughout the tropical countries. The raw of invertase enzyme in papaya resulted in the dis-
fruit is also used as a vegetable for cooking. Papaya crepancies in nonreducing sugar contents reported by
is a wholesome fruit, rich in sugars, and vitamins C, different researchers (Chan and Kwok, 1975). They
A, B1, and B2. Papaya is second only to mango as a inactivated this enzyme with microwave heating be-
source of ␤-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A. The fore sugar extraction and reported papaya fruit to
physicochemical quality of papaya fruits (such as, have 48.3% sucrose, 29.8% glucose, and 21.9% fruc-
mean fruit weight, pulp yield, pulp–peel ratio, TSS as tose of the total sugar content. Frederich and Nichols
Brix, vitamin C, and total carotenoids) is influenced (1975) have reported that the papaya contained 30
by various agronomic practices, planting time of the calories, 10 g carbohydrates, 1.1 g fat, 0.6 g protein,
year being an important parameter (Singh and Singh, and 0.9 g crude fiber per 100 g of fruit flesh. Slightly
1998). September planting produced heavier mean different values reported by Munsell (1950) for 100 g
fruit weight (2.30 kg), maximum TSS (11.2 Brix), of papaya fruit flesh are 88.6–89.3% moisture and
vitamin C (74.55 mg/100 g) and total carotenoids 0.6–0.7 g crude fiber. In addition to invertase, pa-
(1152.50 mg/100 g), higher pulp–peel ratio, than that paya also contains other enzymes such as papain, es-
terase, PG, myrosinase, and acid phosphatase, which
play important roles in the quality and stability of

32 Tropical Fruits: Guava, Lychee, and Papaya 615

processed products made from papaya (Jagtiani et al., ripeness, and this change is considered mainly due to
1988). an increase in the carotene content and a decrease in
chlorophyll. The total carotenoids content increases
Acids and Volatiles many folds from the mature green stage to nearly
4 mg/100 g at the fully ripe stage of maturity (Selvaraj
The pH of papaya pulp ranges between 5.5 and 5.9 et al., 1982b; Birth et al., 1984). Carotenoids con-
and it is low in acidity. The TA, as citric acid, is re- tents differ between the yellow- and red-fleshed pa-
ported to be 0.099% (Jagtiani et al., 1988). Citric and paya fruits (Cynthia et al., 2000). The red-fleshed pa-
malic acids are the major acids with smaller quanti- paya has 63.5% of the total carotenoids as lycopene,
ties of ascorbic acid and ␣–ketoglutaric acid (Chan which is absent in yellow-fleshed fruit (Yamamoto,
et al., 1971). Apart from contributing flavor to the 1964). Munsell (1950) has evaluated two samples of
fruit, these acids may be used as a substrate in res- Guatemalan papaya to contain 0.025 and 0.030 mg of
piration when sugars have been exhausted. Among thiamin, 0.029 and 0.038 mg of riboflavin, and 0.238
the 106 volatile compounds in papaya, linalool is the and 0.399 mg of niacin per 100 g of fruit, but Asenjo
major constituent having odor characteristic to that et al. (1950) found niacin to range between 0.17 and
of fresh papaya. Linalool was found to be formed 0.64 mg with an average of 0.320 mg per 100 g of
by the enzymic activity during cell disruption. The papaya fruit.
compounds that are significant to papaya flavor in-
clude a major volatile component, linalool; sev- Papaya fruits are also good sources of many min-
eral esters, because of their fruity flavors; lactones erals (K, Mg, and B) in human diet (Hardisson et al.,
(␥ -hexalactone, ␥ - and ␦-octalactones); and ␤- 2001). The most abundant mineral is potassium,
ionone, because of their flavor threshold. Another which is found combined with various organic acids.
major constituent, benzyl isothiocyanate, has a pun- Awada and Suehisa (1973) reported the following
gent off-flavor. Butyric, hexanoic, octanoic acids, minerals (in %) in papaya flesh from Hawaii: N, 0.12;
and their respective methyl esters are the other com- P, 0.01; K, 0.21; Ca, 0.03; and Mg, 0.02. Munsell
ponents responsible for off-flavor in papaya puree (1950) analyzed two samples of Guatemalan papaya
(Flath and Forrey, 1977). Among the 18 additional (per 100 g flesh): N, 0.11 and 0.097 g; P, 1.8 and
compounds reported by Macleod and Pieris (1983), 15.5 mg; Ca, 18.3 and 17.5 mg; Fe, 0.25 and 0.42 mg;
methyl butanoate was found to be responsible for and ash, 0.46 and 0.57 g.
the sweet odor of some papaya fruits. Volatile aroma
compounds emanating from fresh-cut papaya cv. Pectin
Solo over a 3-day storage period at 20–22◦C were
found to be linalool (sweet + flowery) and ben- Reduced firmness or softening of the fruit observed
zaldehyde (almond), with smaller quantities of cis- during the ripening process is due to the hydrolytic
and translinalool oxides, cyclohexane, hexanoic acid, change of protopectin to pectin. The enzymatic
and benzenemethanol (Mohammed et al., 2001). demethylation and depolymerization of protopectin
After this storage period, the relative amounts of lead to the formation of low molecular weight com-
these compounds changed by nearly 50%, with pounds with less methoxyl groups, which are in-
benzyl acetate being the dominant aroma volatile sufficient to maintain the firmness of fruit. In these
component. textural changes, PG and PME enzymes play an im-
portant role (Kertesz, 1951). Loss of firmness is not
Vitamins and Minerals uniform in papaya fruit, as sometimes the fruit be-
comes soft before the complete development of TSS
Ascorbic acid present in fruits is more stable in the (Pelag, 1974). During the ripening process, water-
acidic medium of natural fruit juice than in vegeta- soluble pectin content increases, reaching a maxi-
bles. Furthermore, fruits are always eaten as fresh, mum 2 days after the fruit starts to ripen. The in-
thereby avoiding the destruction caused by cooking crease in water-soluble pectin corresponds well with
required for vegetables. During the development of the decrease in protopectin of papaya fruit during
papaya, ascorbic acid increases gradually, reaching ripening (de Arriola et al., 1975). ␤-galactosidase-
the maximum value of 55 mg/100 g at fully ripe I is undetectable in immature fruits but appears to
stage of maturity (de Arriola et al., 1975). The change specifically accumulate during ripening (Ali et al.,
in outer color of the skin of fruit is an indicator of 1998). ␤-galactosidase-II is present in developing
fruits, but its levels seem to decrease during ripening.

616 Part III: Commodity Processing

␤-galactosidase-I seems to be an important softening POSTHARVEST HANDLING
enzyme, its activity increases four- to eightfold dur- AND STORAGE
ing early ripening stages. ␤-galactosidase-II may also
contribute significantly to the softening of papaya The increased export of papaya fruit from the grow-
fruit because of its ability to catalyze increased sol- ers to the consuming countries has made the stor-
ubility and depolymerization of pectin as well as age properties of fresh fruit more important. Papaya
the alkali-soluble hemicellulose fraction of the cell fruit is highly perishable and is susceptible to fun-
wall. The degree of methyl esterification of pectin gal attack during storage and transportation. Under
molecules has been reported to be inversely related to cold storage, apart from the commonly encountered
the firmness values for green (95.42 N), intermediate chilling injury (Wills, 1990), papaya fruit also suffers
(50.70 N), and ripe (9.61 N) papaya fruits (Manrique from inability to ripen properly, lack of flesh color
and Lajolo, 2002). Hemicellulose modification and development, persistence of green color in skin, loss
pectin hydrolysis are involved in the softening of pa- of firmness, and increased susceptibility of fruit to
paya fruit, the latter apparently being more impor- fungal attack. A range of storage temperatures has
tant during the late phase of fruit softening (Paull been suggested for different cultivars of papaya har-
et al., 1999). The variety of fruit, the growing con- vested at the color break stage of maturity. Papaya
ditions and the state of development at the time of fruit stored at 30◦C has a maximum shelf life of only
harvest influence the chemical composition of pectin 7 days (Maharaj, 1988). Papaya at 10–15◦C can be
(Lassoudiere, 1969a, b). stored for 16 days (Aziz-Abou et al., 1975). de Ar-
riola et al. (1980) have recommended 12◦C as an
Pigments optimum temperature for 2 weeks of shelf life. Stor-
age at a temperature lower than 10◦C causes chill-
During ripening, the color of papaya flesh turns ing injury to papaya fruit, though the tolerance to
yellow or reddish. The carotenoids content (as ␤- temperatures below 10◦C varies with the maturity
carotene) showed a five- to tenfold increase in yellow- of the fruit and the duration of exposure (Ali et al.,
fleshed cultivars as the green ripe fruit matured to 1993). Papaya fruits are shown to ripen satisfactorily
full ripe stage (Selvaraj et al., 1982a, b). However, in at temperatures between 20◦C and 25◦C but storage
red-fleshed cultivars the change of color was due to above 32.2◦C leads to delayed coloring and ripen-
the marked increase in lycopene content (Bramley, ing, rubbery pulp texture, latex oozing, and surface
2000; Sesso et al., 2004). The major difference be- bronzing (An and Paull, 1990). The deterioration of
tween yellow- and red-fleshed cultivar is the total cut fruits is not due to injury caused by cold stor-
absence of lycopene in the yellow-fleshed papaya. age but due to the activities of several membrane and
Various carotenoids such as ␤-carotene, lycopene, cell wall hydrolases, ethylene biosynthetic enzymes,
␤-cryptoxanthin, and ␤-zeacarotene are present in and cell wall polyuronide degradation during low-
varying amounts in different cultivars (Chan, 1983; temperature storage of papaya (Karakurt and Huber,
Irwig et al., 2002; Cano et al., 1996; Wilberg and 2003). Paull et al. (1997) have reviewed the available
Rodriguez-Amaya, 1995a, b; Bhaskarachary et al., information on the storage and handling of papaya
1995; Sugiura et al., 2002). Carotenoids, which (C. papaya L.), with special reference to their effects
are relatively heat stable, showed higher retention on fruit quality and losses during marketing cover-
than anthocyanins after blanching and drying in ing aspects such as papaya postharvest losses; cur-
fruits (Sian and Soleha, 1991). Levels of carotenoids rent handling practices; factors affecting fruit qual-
and anthocyanins decrease progressively in pineap- ity (maturity, abrasion/impact, storage temperature,
ple and papaya as blanching temperature and time ethylene treatment, ripening conditions, heat treat-
increased. Pretreatment with sodium metabisulfite ment, diseases, and nonpathological disorders); mar-
prevented the oxidation of carotenoids but caused ket preferences, fruit quality parameters, and obser-
bleaching of anthocyanins. Orthophosphoric acid vations in the market chain (Fig. 32.1).
also changed the color intensity of anthocyanins but
showed no effect on carotenoids. Carotenoids are Low-oxygen (1–1.5%) conditions during low-
more protected in a system in which a higher mois- temperature storage benefit papaya fruits only
ture level is maintained by glycerol and sugar. An- slightly. The best atmosphere for maintaining con-
thocyanins, however, are stable only within a certain sumer acceptability and market quality of papaya
range of moisture contents. fruit during storage for 14 and 21 days has been
suggested to be 1% O2 and 5% CO2 (Hatton and

32 Tropical Fruits: Guava, Lychee, and Papaya 617

20Weight loss (%) the loss of water and firmness (Gonzalez-Aguilar
Control et al., 2003).
Waxed
Use of chemicals and ionizing irradiations to retard
15 Nutri-save the ripening of fruits are other methods of preserva-
Cling-film tion. Papaya fruits treated with gibberellic acid, vi-
CA-control tamin K, silver nitrate, and cobalt chloride showed
extended shelf life without any adverse effect on eat-
10 ing quality (Mehta et al., 1986). They attributed this
improved shelf life to decreased rate of respiration
5 due to lowered succinate and malate dehydrogenase
activity in the TCA cycle. Use of a combination of hot
0 water treatment with irradiation (75 krad) extended
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 the shelf life of papaya fruits by an additional 8 days
Storage time (days) over the untreated controls, when stored at 20◦C
(Brodrick et al., 1976). Gamma irradiations alone
Figure 32.1. Weight loss of papaya during storage at at 100–150 krad extended the shelf life of “Solo”
16◦C under modified and controlled atmospheric papaya by an additional 3 days over the controls
conditions. (Source: Maharaj, 1988.) (Chye et al., 1980). Irradiated fruits exhibited reduced
fungal infection, possibly due to the production of
Reeder, 1968). Storage of papaya fruit with 1.5–2.0% chlorogenic acid in the skin of fruit through the in-
O2 and 5% CO2 at 16◦C showed the lowest weight creased activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase en-
loss, negligible changes in firmness, and a longer time zyme. Although a lower dosage of gamma irradia-
of ripening with slower color development (Maharaj, tion extended the shelf life, it decreased the ascorbic
1988). He found cling film wrapping of papaya fruits acid contents in papaya fruits. On the other hand,
to be very effective in reducing weight loss during higher irradiation dosages caused an excessive soft-
storage. Fruit waxing reduced weight loss only by ening of fruit and increase in POD activity (Zhao
14–40% compared with that of 90% for plastic cling et al., 1996; Paull, 1996). The firmness of irradiated
film. If CO2 level in controlled atmosphere exceeds fruits was retained at least for 2 days more than the
7%, sometimes off-flavors are developed in waxed control, and the irradiated fruits also had a slower
and wrapped papaya fruits at the fully ripe stage of rate of firming (D’Innocenzo and Lajolo, 2001). In-
maturity (Paull and Chen, 1989). Waxing serves two cidence and severity of peel scald was increased by
purposes: it reduces the weight loss and improves the irradiation, regardless of storage and ripening regime
fruit appearance to the consumers. Fruits coated with (Miller and McDonald, 1999). However, degree of
Fresh Mark wax 51V (Fresh Mark Chemical Co., severity was dependent on fruit maturity at the time
Florida, USA) were successfully stored for 29 days of irradiation. Irradiation at quarter yellow stage of
before the onset of fungal infection (Maharaj and maturity causes the most serious incidence and sever-
Sankat, 1990). Seal packaging is reported to mod- ity of scald. Mature green fruit ripened at 25◦C with-
ify both internal O2 and external (in-package) atmo- out storage had the lowest incidence of hard areas in
spheres. A significant reduction in internal O2 and the fruit pulp (“lumpy” fruit). Quarter yellow fruits
a concomitant decrease in internal ethylene concen- generally were only second to the irradiated mature
tration are instrumental in delaying the ripening of green fruits stored at 10◦C in incidence of lumpiness.
sealed papaya fruits (Lazan et al., 1990). Use of
methyl jasmonate vapor enhanced postharvest qual- TSS (Brix), cellulase activity, and ethylene pro-
ity of papaya by reducing the loss of firmness, fun- duction were not affected by irradiation treatment
gal decay and development of chilling injury, and of papaya fruits. The activities of PG, PME, ␤-
increased retention of organic acids. Modified atmo- galactosidase, cellulase, and 1-aminocyclopropane-
spheric packaging inhibited yellowing, together with 1-carboxylate oxidase correlated to changes in firm-
ness. Evidently, irradiation had no direct effect on
firmness but acted by altering the ripening-induced
synthesis of cell wall enzymes, mainly the PME.
POD, PPO, and catalase enzymes are important dur-
ing ripening as well as during frozen storage of pa-
paya pulp. The POD reactivation in frozen papaya

618 Part III: Commodity Processing

tissues could be important during processing and adding sucrose (Chang et al., 1965) or by lowering
could lead to undesirable changes in quality, espe- the pH of puree to 3.4 inhibits gelation (Brekke et al.,
cially in development of off-flavors (Cano et al., 1973). To inactivate the enzymes and to stabilize the
1995). The use of gibberellic acid (150 ppm) was puree against deterioration in quality during frozen
found to be very effective at reducing physiological storage, the acidified puree is heated at 96◦C for
loss in weight, TSS, and total sugar contents and in 2 min and cooled quickly to 30◦C, packed and stored
maintaining fruit firmness during storage of papaya at −23◦C or below. Before freezing for storage, the
fruits for 12 days at 30◦C ± 2◦C and 60–70% rel- puree is passed through a 0.5-mm screen to remove
ative humidity. Further ripening parameters such as fruit fibers. Brekke et al. (1972) have developed a
color and total carotenoid content were delayed, thus process to produce high-quality puree free from off-
increasing the shelf life by an additional 4 days over flavor and gelation problems. Microwave treatment
that of control papayas (Ramakrishna et al., 2002). of papaya puree produced a small change in qualita-
tive and quantitative composition of carotenoid pig-
PROCESSING OF PAPAYA ments, without significant alterations to the original
color of the fruit puree (de Ancos et al., 1999). De-
Papaya trees grow fast, start bearing fruit in less oxygenation by glucose oxidase mixed with catalase
than a year and are prolific bearers of fruits. All was found to retain the color, flavor, and ascorbic acid
these qualities make papaya an important fruit crop content of aseptically packaged papaya puree after a
for the processing industry. Besides consumption storage period of 9 months at ambient temperature
as a fresh fruit, papaya has many applications as a (Chan and Ramanajaneya, 1992).
food material. As a consequence, a number of pro-
cessed food products, such as puree, jam, jelly, can- Papaya puree can be sold as such or it can be
died fruit, juice, mixed beverages, baby foods, nec- utilized as a raw material for other processed prod-
tar, canned slices/chunks, concentrate, powder, dried ucts. When it is sold as puree, it is usually canned
slices/chunks, have been prepared from papaya on or frozen. Puree prepared from varieties grown in
a commercial scale. Some of these products will be Hawaii was reported to contain 11.5–13.5% TSS,
discussed in more detail below. 50–90 mg/100 g ascorbic acid, 3.5–3.9 mg/100 g
carotenoids, and 84–88% moisture content (Brekke
Papaya Puree et al., 1973). The degradation of carotenoid pigments
and visual color varies linearly with the temperature
Papaya puree is the major semiprocessed product of processing and is therefore suggested to be used
that finds use in juices, nectars, fruit cocktails, jams, for on-line quality control of papaya puree (Ahmed
jellies, and fruit leather. The initial step for the man- et al., 2002).
ufacture of puree is the removal of skins and seeds.
A lye-peeling technique involves the use of hot caus- Canned Papaya Products
tic soda solution of 10–20% concentration, followed
by water washing (Cancel et al., 1970). Machines Canned papaya chunks or slices are some of the pop-
have also been developed for the removal of skins ular ingredients employed for the preparation of fruit
and seeds (Brekke et al., 1973; Chan, 1977). Ear- salads. Although fully ripe, soft papaya fruits are
lier, the processing of papaya into puree was difficult ideal for fresh consumption, but they are not suitable
mainly due to product gelation and off-flavor devel- for canning purposes. For canning, only the green
opment. The development of undesirable odors due mature or semiripe papaya fruits are used. Lynch
to the presence of butyric, hexanoic, and octanoic et al. (1959) have described a canning procedure for
acids and their methyl esters was observed in puree papaya slices or chunks. Papaya fruits are washed,
prepared by commercial methods. In an improved peeled, and deseeded manually. The peeled fruits are
method for processing puree, acidification and heat diced in 2-cm cubes. About 300 g of cubes are filled
inactivation of enzymes prevented the development into No.2 cans (307 × 409). Hot 40 Brix syrup con-
of these unpleasant odors and flavors (Chan et al., taining 0.75% citric acid is poured over these cubes,
1973). A number of treatments have been developed leaving 0.8-mm headspace. The filled cans are ex-
to prevent gelation in puree. Gelation develops due to hausted in steam or hot water at 71◦C, and sealed and
PE activity, which can be prevented by heat treatment processed in boiling water for 10 min. For ensuring
of pulp. Increasing the TSS of puree to 26 Brix by the inactivation of PE enzyme, Nath and Ranganna
(1981) have recommended thermal processing of

32 Tropical Fruits: Guava, Lychee, and Papaya 619

3-cm papaya cubes in 21/2 size cans (hot filled with a thick consistency, which usually corresponds to
syrup at pH 3.8) at 100◦C for 16.2 min so as to achieve a TTS of 65–68 Brix. The jam is filled hot into
a F-value of 1.33 or D-value of 2.5 during the canning clean, dry, and sterilized glass jars, sealed airtight
process. For the establishment of required thermal and cooled, labeled, and stored. For the preparation
processing time for canned papaya puree, the use of of jelly, a clarified fruit extract from papaya pulp is
destruction studies with Clostridium pasteurianum mixed with the sugar, and the mixture is cooked to
conducted at the same temperature used for the inac- obtain satisfactory sheeting test or to a temperature
tivation of resistant portion of PE enzyme has been of 106.5◦C. The product is filled hot in dry, steril-
recommended (Dos-Amagalhaes et al., 1996). ized glass jars, sealed airtight and cooled (Lal and
Das, 1956). Recently, reduced calorie tropical mixed
Candied Papaya fruit jams using low methoxyl pectin, acesulfame-K,
and sorbitol have also been made from pineapple, pa-
Fully mature but unripe fruit is hand peeled, de- paya, and carambola mixtures (Abdullah and Cheng,
seeded, and cut into 0.5–1.0 cm cubes. These cubes 2001). The most acceptable single fruit was pineap-
are soaked in 4% brine solution for 2 weeks, af- ple, followed by papaya, but the papaya had the best
ter which they are taken out and leached in run- color among all these jams.
ning tap water to remove the salty taste. The fruit
is boiled in 25 Brix syrup for a few minutes and Juice, Concentrate, and Nectar
then allowed to stand overnight. The sugar content
of syrup is increased by 10% by boiling the mixture Juice and nectar are prepared from papaya puree, ei-
of fruit/syrup and allowed to stand overnight. This ther alone or in combination with other fruit juices
process is repeated for 5 days until the syrup concen- of different flavors to formulate exotic beverages. A
tration reaches between 70 and 75 Brix after stand- number of formulations have been suggested by vari-
ing. Other fruit essences such as orange, pineapple, ous researchers (Benk, 1978; Brekke et al., 1973; Ro-
raspberry, and strawberry are added to the syrup and driguez and de George, 1972). Nectar is a RTS bever-
allowed to stand overnight. At this stage a translucent age, which is prepared from thin pulp with sugar and
candied papaya is obtained, which can be rolled in citric acid. The final product has TSS of 15–20 Brix
powder sugar to prevent stickiness. The candied pa- and a mild acidic taste. The pulp is mixed with sugar
paya finds extensive use in baked products, ice cream, (1.5–2.0 kg/kg pulp) and citric acid (12.5–17.5 g/kg
and confectionery formulations. The papaya fruit can pulp), color and flavor if required. The nectar is fil-
also be cut into 7.5-cm cubes and pricked with a fork. tered and heated to 85–88◦C, filled in plain or lac-
These pieces are soaked in 1.5% lime solution for quered cans and cooled in running water to about
3–4 h and then washed in fresh water. The remain- 38◦C. The cans are allowed to dry under ambient
ing process of boiling in syrup is the same as ex- conditions to prevent rusting. Storage time and con-
plained above. The finished product pieces are crisp, ditions affect the chemical composition and flavor of
juicy, and almost transparent. This product is packed nectar, juices, and beverages. The type of container
in sterilized wide-mouthed containers for long-term and diffused sunlight do not have significant effect on
storage (Kumar, 1952). the darkening reactions (Payumo et al., 1968). How-
ever, the storage temperature is an important factor in
Jam and Jelly determining the shelf life and quality of these prod-
ucts. After 50 weeks of storage at 38◦C, 100 ppm of
Fully mature and ripe but firm fruits are used for the Fe and 400 ppm of Sn were found in the enamel-lined
preparation of jam and jelly. The fruits are peeled and canned juices. The metal migration can be stopped
seeds and inner white rind are removed. The fruit is at storage temperatures of 13–24◦C (Brekke et al.,
cut into thin slices and cooked with little water to 1976). Ascorbic acid decreases the color darkening
soften. The cooked slices are mashed, mixed with of juices stored either at room or at refrigeration tem-
equal weight of sugar, and the mixture is cooked. peratures. Readings for color density were three times
Citric acid at the rate of 5 g/kg of pulp is added to lower in samples that were refrigerated and/or treated
improve the sugar–acid ratio and it also helps in the with ascorbic acid than those of untreated controls
production of inverted sugars, which prevent sugar (Payumo, 1968).
crystallization in jam during storage. The cooking of
fruit pulp/sugar mixture is continued until it attains Squash formulations based on mango–papaya
juice blends are prepared using sugar, citric acid, and

620 Part III: Commodity Processing

water. Among the mango–papaya blended squash mango pulp was rated as excellent and was character-
formulations, the one containing 75 parts of mango ized by higher acceptability. In another study, Imungi
and 25 parts of papaya was found to be the most ac- and Choge (1996) prepared nectar formulations by
ceptable in terms of color, appearance, flavor, and blending mango and passion fruit purees with papaya
taste attributes even after 90 days of storage at room puree and pear juice. Based on the cost of ingredi-
temperature (Saravana-Kumar and Manimegalai, ents and sensory scores of nectars, blends of passion
2001). Pretreatments given to papaya such as blanch- fruit + papaya (10:90), mango + papaya (10:90),
ing was found to be the most effective in affecting the passion fruit + pear (50:50), mango + pear (50:50),
shelf life quality of papaya squash. Sulfur fumes and and pear + papaya (10:90) were considered as the
citric acid influenced the taste and color of the fi- most acceptable in order of preference.
nal product (Sheeja and Prema, 1995). RTS beverage
from the guava-papaya blends can be prepared using Dried Papaya Products
15% pulp, TSS of 14 Brix, and 0.3% acidity (as citric
acid) and processing at 90◦C for 20 min. After a stor- A number of low-moisture products such as fruit
age period of 6 months at room temperature, the RTS leather, powder, toffees, chunks, rolls, and slices have
beverage from pure guava had the highest vitamin C been prepared from papaya puree, which finds their
content (28.1 mg/100 g), whereas carotene content places in food commodity market. Siddapa and Lal
was highest (441.6 ␮g/100 g) in pure papaya bever- (1964) have patented a process for drying mixtures
age (Tiwari, 2000). Sensory quality score of guava– of papaya juices, previously concentrated, with sugar
papaya (70:30) blend was the highest due to better and other additives. A procedure for the dehydration
consistency and flavor, and it also had fair amounts of ripe papaya slices after steeping in 70 Brix syrup
of vitamin C (24.7 mg/100 g) and carotene (303.7 containing 1000 ppm of SO2 was standardized to give
␮g/100 g). For the preparation of papaya concentrate, the best quality product (Mehta and Tomar, 1980a, b).
puree is treated with pectolytic enzyme (0.05–0.02%) Slices from peeled and deseeded papaya fruit can be
for about 1–2 h at a temperature of 50–60◦C to re- dried at 65.5◦C to a moisture content of 8–10%. The
duce its viscosity (Sreenath and Santhanam, 1992). dried slices are then ground to pass through 20-mesh
The use of hydrolytic enzymes permits preparation of screen. This product retained red color and much of
papaya juice free from suspended matter, with a low the papaya flavor, though 5% of the ascorbic acid
viscosity and with a flavor similar to that of the fresh was lost, which can be minimized by using a vac-
fruit (Hermosilla et al., 1991). The depectinized puree uum drier. The pulp can also be dried after adding
is concentrated in a vacuum concentrator up to three- 5–7.5% sugar, 0.5% citric acid, and 0.3% potassium
fold, packaged, and stored at frozen temperatures. metabisulfite. This mixture is spread on greased trays
About 5.5% and 14.3% loss of ascorbic acid during in 1 cm thickness layer and dried in cabinet drier at
pulping and concentrating steps was observed, re- 55–60◦C. The dried product develops a leathery con-
spectively. About 10–15% losses in carotenoids and sistency, is rolled and cut into desirable sizes. This
40% in ascorbic acid contents during concentration fruit leather has a shelf life of about 8 months when
operations were observed (Chan et al., 1975; Janser, stored at 24–30◦C (Ponting et al., 1966). Papaya tof-
1997). fee is a product similar to fruit leather and can be pro-
duced from puree. The pulp is first concentrated in a
Blending of fruit juices could be an economic req- steam-jacketed kettle to a third of its original volume.
uisite and blending also helps to improve the ap- Then glucose, skim milk powder, margarine, essence,
pearance, nutrition, and flavor of finished products and color are added. The mixture is cooked to reach
(Kalra et al., 1991). About 25–33% of papaya pulp a final TSS of 82 Brix. Cooked mass is spread on
(being richer in ascorbic acid than mango) could be previously greased hard trays to a thickness of 0.33–
incorporated in mango without affecting the qual- 0.50 cm. After cooling for 2 h, the sheet is cut into
ity, nutritive value, and acceptability of the blended toffees and dried at 50–55◦C to a final moisture con-
beverage. Papaya, being cheaper than mango, could tent of 5–6%. The toffees are wrapped and packed
be blended with Dashehari, Chausa, or other vari- in airtight jars or tins (Chan and Caveletto, 1968).
eties of mango in the preparation of economically vi- Papaya fruit bars when stored at room temperature
able blended beverages. Nectar prepared from papaya for 9 months retained 54%, 46%, and 43% of total
alone has an unpleasant aftertaste, whereas adding carotenes, ␤-carotene, and vitamin C, respectively,
mango enhances nectar acceptability significantly and were judged to have superior texture and aroma
(Mostafa et al., 1997). A blend of 15% papaya + 15%

32 Tropical Fruits: Guava, Lychee, and Papaya 621

with fewer physicochemical changes (Aruna et al., with increasing levels of preservatives up to 680 ppm
1999). For cheese product containing fruit blends, of metabisulfite and 826 ppm of sodium benzoate
optimal ratio of papaya puree to pineapple puree exhibited good storage stability up to 90 days at 2◦C
was 2:1 with 2% pectin and processed to 77–80 Brix and ambient temperature (Vijayanand et al., 2001).
(Barbaste and Badrie, 2000). Sensory analysis indi- O’Connor-Shaw et al. (1994) studied the shelf life of
cated a significant preference for the blended fruit minimally processed (peeled, deseeded, and diced)
cheese. Shelf life of these products at 4–5◦C was honeydew melon, kiwifruit, papaya, pineapple, and
around 8 weeks. cantaloupe when stored at 4◦C. Both the length of
shelf life and type of spoilage were related to fruit
Most of the dried products prepared from papaya species. Minimally processed fruits had longer shelf
fruit suffer from undesirable darkening effects. To life at 4◦C than at temperatures recommended for the
overcome these defects, less severe treatments have whole fruit, if these were greater than 4◦C. Spoilage
been tried. Freeze-drying is one such method that of kiwifruit, papaya, and pineapple pieces stored at
produced good results to reach a moisture content of 4◦C was found to be not due to microbial growth.
as low as 3% in the finished papaya powder. Although Lopez-Malo et al. (1994) have produced shelf-stable
ascorbic acid does not significantly affect differences high-moisture minimally processed papaya slices.
during freezing, 15–20% reduction is observed af- The moisture and soluble solids contents, pH, and
ter freeze-drying. Storage of freeze-dried powder in aw remained almost constant in treated papaya slices
glass jars did not show significant adverse effects on during storage. These slices also remained microbio-
the quality or composition of finished products after logically stable, due to the sucrose hydrolysis, which
3 months (Salazar, 1968). Carotenoids were found to reduced aw in the product. Ascorbic acid decreased
be most stable in freeze-dried powder at aw of 0.33 during processing and storage at 5◦C and 25◦C. The
(6–7% moisture content) and were recommended total potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate
for the storage of freeze-dried papaya (Arya et al., concentrations decreased to 62% and 66% and 40%
1983). and 60% of their initial concentrations. No differ-
ences were observed in sensory properties of samples
A combination of osmotic dehydration and freez- stored at 5◦C or 25◦C. Minimally processed papaya
ing has been investigated for the preservation of pa- slices had good acceptability even after 5 months of
paya slices (Moyano et al., 2002). When fast freezing storage at 25◦C. The use of vacuum osmotic dehy-
with liquid nitrogen (−63◦C for 10 min) is used then dration (VOD) techniques for the production of high-
the osmotic drying conditions should be 65 Brix at moisture minimally processed papaya has also been
20◦C for 60 min, and this combination gives a highly reported (Tapia et al., 1999). It was possible to ob-
acceptable finished product. The ability to predict tain minimally processed papaya (aw 0.98, pH 3.5)
moisture and sugar contents accurately is useful for by applying vacuum osmotic drying for just 10 min
producing good quality papaya products by osmotic when sucrose syrup contained 7.5% citric acid, or by
dehydration. Two models have been developed by applying pulsed VOD treatment (vacuum pulses for
Mendoza and Schmalko (2002) to predict the con- less than 15 min followed by osmotic drying for less
tents of moisture and sugar during osmotic drying than 45 min) when the citric acid concentration in
of papaya slices. The osmotic (60 Brix, 60◦C)—air- sugar syrup was 2.5% or 5%.
drying (60◦C) method has been shown to save 8 h
in drying papaya cubes from 6.58 to 0.24 kg wa- BY-PRODUCTS FROM PAPAYA
ter/kg DM as compared to the sample air-dried us-
ing the air-drying (60◦C) method (Kaleemullah et al., Papain
2002). The removal of moisture from papaya cubes
increased with the increase of syrup temperature. Papain is the major by-product from dried latex de-
rived from papaya fruit, which contains a protein-
Minimally Processed Products hydrolyzing enzyme. This enzyme has a number
of specific technological applications such as in
Minimal processing is based on a combination of food, meat tenderization, beverages, and animal
mild heat treatment (blanching), aw reduction, pH feeds; pharmaceutical industry; textile industry and
reduction, and addition of potassium sorbate and detergents; paper and adhesives; medical applica-
sodium metabisulfite. This process is also known tions; sewage and effluent treatment; and research
as the hurdle technology and has been used for the
preservation of fruit slices. Papaya chunks treated

622 Part III: Commodity Processing

and analytical chemistry (Flynn, 1975; Sanchez- production are thinned on the plant so that each fruit
Brambila et al., 2002; Kaul et al., 2002). Papain is a hangs separately for easy collection of latex. Using
hydrolytic enzyme, which digests proteins into amino plastic or stainless steel knives, fruits are lanced and
acids. Papain in solution is easily oxidized by expo- the latex is collected in glass or porcelain contain-
sure to air, high temperature (above 70◦C), or sun- ers. Four to five longitudinal cuts made during the
light. Contact with metals such as iron, copper, zinc, morning hours gave the highest yield of latex. Over
and many others also inhibit this enzyme. For improv- a period of 2 weeks, this process is repeated three or
ing the stability of papain enzyme, a number of chem- four times on the untapped portions of the fruits in
icals such as ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, ery- 3–4 days intervals. The latex, which hardens within
thorbic acid, sodium erythorbate, sodium metabisul- 15 min, is then precipitated with alcohol, washed
fite, 4-hexylresorcinol, TBHQ, rutin, ␣-tocopherol, with acetone, and dried in a vacuum drier for ob-
trehalose, and sucrose have been tried (Epsin and taining good quality crude papain. The addition of
Islam, 1998). The highest percentage of enzyme ac- potassium metabisulfite (0.05%) in small quantities
tivity was retained at 55◦C for all chemicals except to the liquid latex before drying acts as a preserva-
sucrose and trehalose, which gave their best perfor- tive and improves the quality of crude papain powder.
mance at 40◦C. Among the food applications, the use The dried papain is powdered and sieved through a
of papain in chill haze removal during beer clarifica- 10-mesh sieve and stored in airtight containers.
tion as well as in the tenderization of meat has shown The yield of crude papain powder obtained from
a steady increase over the past years. There is also a raw green papaya is reported to be usually around
belief in some countries of Asia that eating papaya by 0.025% (Nanjundaswamy and Mahadeviah, 1993)
pregnant ladies results in abortion (Adebowale et al., (Fig. 32.2).
2002). Based on rat feeding studies, they suggested
that normal consumption of ripe papaya during preg- Pectin
nancy may not pose any significant risk but unripe or
semiripe papaya may be unsafe in pregnancy, as the To make papaya cultivation and papain industry vi-
high concentration of latex produces marked uterine able, the profitable use of scarred fruit is essential.
contractions. The quality of such papaya fruits does not appear to
be affected adversely but only the fruit appearance
Production of papain latex is an economically im- seems less attractive to the consumers. The green
portant alternate product of papaya cultivation. Sun fruits, whether scarred or not, are rich source of pectin
drying of latex is a cause of concern especially in (10% pectin on dry basis), which can be extracted for
the heavy rainfall areas. Nowadays, vacuum shelf use in food industry (Das et al., 1954; Varinesingh and
drying is more popular as it yields higher qual- Mohammed-Maraj, 1989). Peel is shown to be higher
ity product. Papaya cultivars differ in papain yield, in pectin content than the papaya pulp, and pectin
Red Panama (Lassoudiere, 1969a, b; Foyet, 1972), content increases at a higher rate with fruit maturity
CO6 (Balmohan et al., 1992), CO2 (Wagh et al., up to a stage (Paul et al., 1998). The integrated pro-
1992), and the line CP1512, CP1513, CP4 (Auxcilia cessing of papaya fruits for the production of papain
and Sathiamoorthy, 1995), and CP5911 (Kanan and and pectin has been found to be economical (Nanjun-
Muthuswamy, 1992) are shown to be high yielding. daswamy and Mahadeviah, 1993). This process gives
Other factors affecting the papain yield from papaya a papain yield of 0.25% and a pectin (jelly grade 200)
plants are fruit shape (Lassoudiere, 1969a, b), stage yield of 1% on fresh fruit basis. The variety of the
of maturity (Singh and Tripathi, 1957; Bhalekar et al., fruit, the growing conditions, and the stage of matu-
1992), season of tapping (Reddy and Kohli, 1992), rity of fruit are all known to influence the chemical
tapping time of the day (Lassoudiere, 1969a, b; Foyet, composition of pectin (Lassoudiere, 1969a, b).
1972), pattern of tapping (Madrigal et al., 1980), and
frequency of tapping (Bhutani et al., 1963). Four re- FUTURE RESEARCH NEEDS
peated applications of the plant hormone, Ethephon
in coconut oil (at 37 mM), have shown to increase Papaya fruit is of considerable economic impor-
papain yield (Shanmugavelu et al., 1976). tance, as it enjoys domestic markets in many tropical
countries and export markets in the temperate coun-
Muthukrishnan and Irulappan (1985) have de- tries. Limited shelf life of papaya fruit under ambi-
scribed the procedure for the collection of latex ent tropical conditions, susceptibility to mechanical
as well as crude papain manufacturing process us-
ing simple equipment. Fruits grown for papain

32 Tropical Fruits: Guava, Lychee, and Papaya 623
Raw Green Papaya (20 m.t.)

Incision with Crushing, mincing, leaching
sharp knives and taking three extracts in
boiling water (at pH 4.0)
Collection of latex
Pectin extract
Drying the latex
Filtration
Papain 50 kg
(0.25%) Precipitation with AICl3

Crude pectin Figure 32.2. Flow sheet of integrated process for
the production of papain and pectin. (Source:
Filtration followed by Nanjundaswamy and Mahadeviah, 1993.)
washing with alcohol

Purified pectin

Drying

Pectin powder
(200 jelly grade)
200 Kg (1.0%)

injury during handling and transportation, pest at- production of excellent quality fruits for fresh con-
tack, and fungal diseases are some of the constraints sumption as well as for processing industry.
that need to be overcome to prevent considerable fruit
wastage. Recommended refrigerated storage temper- REFERENCES
ature varies with the variety that need to be optimized
to avoid chilling injury and to maintain desirable fla- Abd-El-Aal, M.H. 1992. Production of guava seed
vor of papaya fruit. Limited research has so far been protein isolates: yield, composition and protein
reported on the use of modified and controlled atmo- quality. Nahrung 36(1):50–55.
spheres for papaya fruit storage. Improved methods
of postharvest handling, storage, and packaging are Abdullah, A. and T.C. Cheng. 2001. Optimization of
necessary to alleviate the chilling injury in papaya reduced calorie tropical mixed fruit jam. Food
fruits. Quality and Preference 12(1):63–68.

More research is necessary in tissue culture prop- Adebowale, A., A.P. Ganesan and R.N.V. Prasad. 2002.
agation of papaya rather than depending on the pro- Papaya (Carica papaya) consumption is unsafe in
duction of plants from seeds. This newer technol- pregnancy: fact or fable? Scientific evaluation of a
ogy raises the prospects for rapid dissemination of common belief in some parts of Asia using a rat
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Science 68:327–335. and processed guava, mango and papaya.
Underhill, S.J.R. and D.H. Simons. 1993. The lychee Lebensmittel-Wissenschaft und Technologie
(Litchi chinensis Sonn.) pericarp desiccation and the 28(5):474–480.
importance of post harvest micro-cracking. Scientia
Horticulturae 54(4):287–294. Wilberg, V.C. and D.B. Rodriguez-Amaya. 1995b.
Underhill, S.J.R. and L.S. Wong. 1990. A maturity HPLC quantitation of major carotenoids of fresh and
standard for lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) Acta processed guava, mango and papaya. Lebensmittel
Horticulturae 16:245–251. Wissenschaft und Technologie 28(5):474–480.
Underhill, S.J.R. and C. Critchley. 1995. Cellular
localization of polyphenols oxidase and peroxidase Wills, R.B.H. 1990. Post harvest technology of banana
activity in Litchi chinensis pericarp. Australian and papaya in ASEAN. ASEAN Food Journal
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drying characteristics of papaya (Carica papaya L.) pp. 279–299.
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Vijayanand, P., K.K.S. Nair and P. Narsimham. 2001. influence of hot benomyl on the appearance of
Preservation of pineapple, mango and papaya stored lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.). Scientia
chunks by hurdle technology. Journal of Food Horticulturae 46(3/4):245–251.
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Vijayanand, P., A.R. Yadav, N. Balasubramanyam and Wu, M.C. 1992. Studies on Pink Discoloration of
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49:5315–5321. 461–469.
Wagh, A.N., S.P. Patil, M.N. Bhalekar, K.N. Wavhal
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different temperatures. Japanese Journal of Tropical 201:1049–1050.
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Handbook of Fruits and Fruit Processing
Edited by Y. H. Hui

Copyright © 2006 by Blackwell Publishing

33
Banana, Mango, and Passion Fruit

Lillian G. Occen˜a-Po

Introduction BANANA
Banana
Production, Consumption,
Production, Consumption, and Storage and Storage
Processed Banana Products
Mango In terms of world production, the banana (genus
Production and Consumption Musa) is one of the top three tropical fruits, along
Processed Mango Products with citrus and pineapple. The major banana produc-
Passion Fruit ers in 2003 were led by India (Fig. 33.1). However,
Passion Fruit Juice a significant quantity of banana is grown in Africa,
Juice Concentrate Central America, and the Caribbean. A distinction is
Physicochemical and Nutritional Quality of Tropical Fruits made between the “dessert” or sweet bananas (M.
Sugars and Organic Acids acuminata), which are ripened and best eaten as
Phenolic Contents such, and the “cooking” or starchy bananas and plan-
Vitamins and Minerals tains (M. balbisiana), which are cooked or processed.
Pigments Table 33.1 summarizes commercial banana cultivars.
Flavor Components In the West, unblemished banana is preferred, al-
Opportunities for Tropical Fruits most required. The U.S. consumers prefer a yellow
Trends color with green tips, hence the Dwarf Cavendish
Emerging Technologies, Products, and Packaging (M. cavendeishii) is the main variety found in the
References United States. However, this variety is not as sweet
and flavorful as the bananas available in the tropics.
INTRODUCTION Blemishes are tolerable to some extent in tropical
countries, where degree of ripeness is the main con-
The dietary message “Diets rich in fruits and veg- sideration for fresh consumption.
etables may reduce the risk of some types of cancer
and other chronic diseases” endorsed by the Food and The per capita consumption of bananas in the
Drug Administration (FDA) for food manufacturing United States is about 26.7 lbs on a fresh weight
use has promoted increased consumption of fruits and basis, down 4.5% from 2000 (USDA, 2003). How-
fruit-based products, including tropical fruits. Em- ever, banana still remains the number one fresh fruit
phasis on value-addition and consumer-driven mar- consumed by the Americans. Bananas and plantains
ket has also created interest in the use of tropical serve as a staple food in some countries of Africa,
fruit products. Further, globalization coupled with the Asia, Central and South America. In East Africa,
growing demand for tropical fruits has increased the 20 million people are believed to subsist on banana
export of these products to the West. This chapter fo- as the principal source of dietary carbohydrate
cuses on the major commercial processing of banana, (Karugaba and Kimaru, 1999).
mango, and passion fruit.

635

636 Part III: Commodity Processing

Metric Tons (x 1,000,000) 18
16
Figure 33.1. Top banana producers 14 Brazil China Ecuador Philippines
(FAO, 2003). 12
10

8
6
4
2
0

India

Table 33.1. Commercial Banana Cultivars

Cultivar Other Terms Countries Description

Dwarf Cavendish Canary Islands, Brazil, Israel, Most widespread cultivar; fruit
Somalia, South Africa, projects from the bunch, so
Giant Cavendish Williams Hybrid Guinea, Cameroon, wrapped or cut and boxed
Pisang Masak Lacatan, Bungulan Martinique for export

Hijau (PMH) Pisang Ambon, Australia, Martinique Larger fruits than Dwarf
Gros Michel Bluefields Jamaica, Philippines Distinct from the Philippine

Robusta Valery Cameroon, Burma, Thailand, Lacatan
Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Long established in Asia;
Lanka, Hawaii
widely distributed in the
Jamaica, Dominica, St. Lucia, Caribbean
St. Vincent, Grenada, Replacing PMH in Jamaica and
Samoa, Fiji Gros Michel in Central
America

Source: Knight (1980).

Bananas are cut from the plants when green and color index of banana, which ranges from 1 to 7 (1 =
are transported by ship to markets. During shipment, green; 2 = with trace of yellow; 3 = slightly more
they may undergo some ripening. The U.S. Patent green than yellow; 4 = more yellow than green; 5 =
3,950,559 (Kapoor and Turner, 1976) described a green tips at the end; 6 = completely yellow; 7 =
method to delay ripening of harvested bananas using yellow peel with brown spots of sugar), is taken into
gibberellins (A4 and A7). This postharvest treatment consideration to estimate the degree of ripening. An-
can be mixed with a fungicide such as benomyl. other measure of ripening is Brix. The ripened banana
is about 23◦Brix (Sole, 1996).
The climacteric respiration of banana (60–
250 mg/h CO2/kg fruit), and ripening due to endoge- Processed Banana Products
nous ethylene, cause a rapid conversion of starch to
sugars. Reduced temperatures and modified atmo- The year-round supply of bananas makes preserva-
spheres (1–10% O2, 5–10% CO2, or combinations of tion less economical, and the low acidity (pH 5.1)
low O2 and high CO2) delay the onset of ripening. complicates processing (canning), thus only a very
The optimum storage temperature for banana is about minor proportion of the total world banana pro-
13◦C (Taylor, 2001). Nakasone and Paull (1998) de- duction is processed (Nakasone and Paull, 1998).
scribed the treatment with about 100 ppm ethylene Bananas are extremely susceptible to enzymatic
for 24 h for ripening to a targeted color. The peel

33 Banana, Mango, and Passion Fruit 637

browning by the enzyme polyphenol oxidase, which et al. (2000) reported that polyphenol oxidase
reacts with various diphenolic compounds in the pres- decreased during osmotic dehydration of banana
ence of air. Discoloration also results from the re- chips and completely inactivated after 60–90 min at
action between metal ions (tin and zinc) and vas- 70◦C. In an earlier study, Waliszewski et al. (1999)
cular bundles loosely attached to the banana skin reported that the use of proteolytic enzymes did not
(“peel rag”). Bananas containing higher starch (green help control browning during osmotic dehydration
or unripe stage, “cooking” bananas and plantains) of banana chips.
are preferred for processing than the ripe (“dessert”)
bananas. Banana Flakes and Powder

Banana Chips Ripe fruits are utilized for producing banana flakes
and powder, while green and starchy bananas are
Banana chips can be prepared by immersing unripe dehydrated into flour. Banana powder or flour is
banana slices in a solution of browning inhibitor utilized in infant products, beverages, in baking,
(SO2, citric acid, or aluminum chloride), or alterna- and confectionery applications. The varieties Gros
tively blanched in hot water or steam before frying Michel, Cavendish, Lady Finger, Nendran, and Plan-
(Woodroof, 1975). Ammawath et al. (2001) reported tain are recommended for drying and dehydration
the effects of variety and stage of ripeness on sensory (Rodriguez et al., 1975).
characteristics of banana chips. Peeled bananas were
sliced (2 mm) and deep-fried in refined palm olein oil. Banana flakes (protein 19.7%; fat 7.65%; carbo-
Higher oil absorption and crisp chips were obtained hydrate 60.9%; starch 11.7%; dietary fiber 3.3%;
from green bananas (Pisang Abu) with higher carbo- ash content 1.3%; chemical score 80 with lysine as
hydrate content and firmness. They also had lower limiting amino acid) were prepared by mixing ba-
moisture and water activity (aw), better aroma, color, nanas with full-fat soya flour (60:40 banana:soy, dry
texture, flavor, and overall acceptability compared to basis), antioxidant solution (0.25% ascorbic acid;
Pisang Nangka with traces of yellow. 0.25% citric acid), sucrose (5%), and sodium chloride
(0.1%). The mixture was homogenized, drum dried,
In a storage study (27◦C; 2–8 weeks), significantly and stored at 4◦C (Ruales et al., 1990). Drum dry-
lower color scores for LDPE-packaged banana chips ing of banana powder is preferred because of larger
were observed, along with loss of crispness. Lam- entrainment and wall losses associated with spray
inated aluminum foil chips possessed significantly drying (Rodriguez et al., 1975).
higher rancid odor scores, but demonstrated the low-
est scores for breaking force, aw, moisture content, Muyonga et al. (2001) reported that predehydra-
and levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances tion steaming of bananas increased water uptake,
(Ammawath et al., 2002). density and solubility of banana flour, and resulted
in pastes of low bulk density, desirable for weaning
Banana chip processing in the Philippines is by os- and supplementary foods. Chemical composition of
motic drying of cooking bananas. Transverse banana banana flour prepared by freeze drying of banana
slices are soaked in sugar solution, deep fried in co- pulp was reported by Mota et al. (2000) for dif-
conut oil, and air-dried at room temperature (about ferent varieties, such as starch 61–76.5%, amylose
27◦C), or cabinet dried (60◦C) to allow for mois- 19–23%, protein 2.5–3.3%, moisture 4–6%, lipids
ture equilibration. Finished products are exported in 0.3–0.8%, ash 2.6–3.5%, and total fiber 6–15.5%.
bulk and are either repacked or incorporated in fruit Gelatinization temperature ranged from 68◦C to
trail mixes or ready-to-eat breakfast cereals. The U.S. 76◦C depending on the variety, but all increased in
Patent 3,510,314 (Lima and Lima, 1970) described viscosity during cooling.
a method to make banana chips from unripe bananas
by thinly cross-slicing (1/64 –1/32 thickness) and Banana Puree
frying in an edible vegetable oil at 190.6◦C (375◦F)
for about 1 min. Ripe banana flavor was also added Banana puree is either canned or frozen and utilized
to the fried chips. in the preparation of baby foods, beverages, jams,
sauces, ice cream, and bakery products. Fresh ba-
Mui et al. (2002) reported that banana chips sub- nana puree, prepared without freezing or heat ster-
jected to 90% air-drying followed by 10% vacuum- ilization, was described by Woodroof (1975) and
microwave drying had higher levels of volatile Lopez (1987). Ripe bananas are peeled, immersed
compounds and a crisper texture. Waliszewski

638 Part III: Commodity Processing

in sodium bisulfite solution (1.5%; 3 min), drained, prepared by aerobic fermentation of ripe bananas us-
milled (1/8 screen), pureed, then pumped through ing Acetobacter acetii.
a plate heat exchanger (93.3◦C; 1 min), and cooled
(37.7◦C; 1 min). A finisher (0.033 screen) removes Other Banana Products
seeds and any fibrous material. To extend shelf-life,
citric acid (to adjust pH to 4.1) and potassium sorbate Intermediate moisture bananas possess an astringent
(200 ppm) were added. flavor attributed to tannins located in the latex cells
of the fruit, which may be ruptured during the dehy-
When canning banana puree, the puree is filled into dration process (Shewfelt, 1986).
30-lb cans with plastic film bag liners, sealed, and
stored (2–4◦C). A process to do away with the acid- For frozen, green banana slices, the stage of ma-
ification step involved extruding ripened, chopped turity is the key in achieving a firm texture. Canned
bananas, heating to 121◦C by injecting steam, cool- banana slices are packed in heavy, acidified syrup,
ing to 2–3◦C, filling into fiber containers, and blast but can also be incorporated in canned tropical fruit
freezing (−20◦C) (Johnson and Harter, 1981). cocktails/salads, and in other baking and dairy appli-
cations.
In banana puree blanched for 7 min and pro-
cessed through high hydrostatic pressure (689 MPa; MANGO
10 min), the residual PPO activity was <5% (Palou
et al., 1999). Both microwave (3 min) and water Production and Consumption
bath (100◦C; 8 min) blanching of banana completely
retarded enzymatic browning (Premakumar and The mango (Mangifera indica L.) is regarded in trop-
Khurdiya, 2002). ical countries as the “king of fruits.” The world pro-
duction of mangoes has been led by India for the
Banana ketchup made utilizing banana puree is a past 10 years. With the exception of Mexico, Asian
popular substitute for tomato ketchup in the Philip- countries dominate world production (Figs 33.2 and
pines. It is probably better marketed as a brown ba- 33.3). However, more than half of the U.S. imports
nana sauce, instead of simulating the red color. come from Mexico. Average annual per capita con-
sumption of fresh mangoes in the United States has
Banana Juice and Essence increased to almost 2 lbs (Fig. 33.4). Generally, va-
rieties with fiber-less flesh, golden yellow color, and
Sole (1993) developed a process for banana juice pleasant mango flavor are preferred. Table 33.2 fea-
and banana essence. The juice is prepared by me- tures selected mango cultivars.
chanical peeling of whole, ripe bananas. The pulp
and parenchyma are homogenized and deaerated at The mango, a fleshy drupe, is a climacteric fruit
a vacuum-holding station (5 Hg). The mixture is where ripeness coincides with the respiratory peak.
subjected to pectinase digestion (CLAREX L, Miles
Lab., Inc.; 48.9◦C; 2 h), and the digested puree passed Africa
through a screw press to release banana juice. Sub- 10%
sequently, the juice is filtered, pasteurized, cooled,
and stored frozen. A banana essence product is also Latin
recovered in this operation. America /Caribbean

Fermented Banana Products 15%

Anaerobic fermentation of green or cooking banana Asia
puree with Saccharomyces cerevisiae produces ba- 75%
nana wine. Overripe dessert bananas can also be uti-
lized for wine making, but sugar has to be added Figure 33.2. World production of mangoes (FAO,
to increase soluble solids. Beer is brewed from ba- 2003).
nanas and plantains in Uganda and Tanzania. Juice,
squeezed from ripened beer bananas (Bluggoe or
Kivuvu), is fermented with sorghum and distilled
to produce “waragi” (Nakasone and Paull, 1998;
Karugaba and Kimaru, 1999). Banana vinegar is

33 Banana, Mango, and Passion Fruit 639

Metric Tons (x 1,000,000) 12
10
8 China Thailand Mexico Pakistan Figure 33.3. Mango producers in the
6 world (FAO, 2003).
4
2
0

India

2.5

Pounds per person 2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5 Figure 33.4. Mango consumption in
the United States (USDA Fruit and
0.0 Nuts Outlook, 2003).
1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002

Table 33.2. Selected Mango Cultivars

Variety Country Characteristics

Alphonso India Ovate to oblique; yellow, thin skin; firm to soft flesh; low in fiber;
Carabao Philippines characteristic pleasant aroma
Kent Mexico
Kensington Australia Long, slender; greenish to bright yellow; lemon yellow, tender flesh; sweet,
Kyo Savoy Thailand mild aroma
Neelum India, China
Oval with round base; greenish-yellow with red or crimson base; thick skin;
medium firm texture; little fiber; rich flavor

Round ovate; yellow with orange red; thick skin; soft juicy flesh; moderate
to little fiber; characteristic flavor

Oblong; greenish-yellow; thin skin; medium-firm flesh; soft texture; no
fiber; mild flavor

Oval with flattened or slightly rounded base; bright yellow with no blush
and numerous small, white dots; thick, tender, and easily separating skin;
soft, melting, and juicy flesh; no fiber; deep yellow, mild, and sweet;
delightfully pleasant aroma of good to excellent quality

Source: Knight (1997).

640 Part III: Commodity Processing

The eating quality is closely associated with the It serves as the starting material for mango bever-
onset of climacteric peak, when fruits change in ages, jams, and dehydrated products. Either whole
color, texture, and aroma, and starch is converted or peeled mangoes are processed into puree. Culti-
into sugars (Hulme, 1971; Beattie and Wade, 2001). vars which differ in their sensory attributes may be
Tree-ripened mangoes are reported to be inferior in blended to compensate for each other. Mangoes are
keeping quality to those which are allowed to ripen washed, peeled, sliced, and passed through a pulper
after harvest. Mango is hand harvested to minimize with a 30-mesh sieve. Seeds, residual peels, and much
quality loss and transported in cushioned bamboo or of the fiber can be separated by centrifugation or
wooden crates. Although the stage of maturity during pressing through a series of screens. The use of a
harvest is critical, there is no objective method of finishing screen (pore diameter <0.5 mm) further re-
assessing it. Ripening rate changes with storage moves fibers (Wu et al., 1993). The pulp is either
temperature, and the quality of mangoes is affected sweetened (42–43◦Brix) or acidified with citric acid
by temperature and relative humidity (RH) during (pH 4.0 or lower) (Avena and Luh, 1983). Ascorbic
ripening. acid can be added for better retention of color, flavor,
and carotene. The puree is preheated to 85◦C, filled
Processed Mango Products into cans, and processed at 100◦C for 45 min (Narain
et al., 1998). The physicochemical quality of mango
Fully ripened mangoes with well-developed flavor, puree (Table 33.3) varies with cultivar, cultural and
color, and texture are ideal for processing. Figure climatic conditions, ripeness at harvest, postharvest
33.5 shows various mango products. storage, treatment of the fruit, and processing meth-
ods (Wu et al., 1993).
Canned Mango Products
Mango Juice. Mango juice is prepared by mix-
Mango Puree. Mango puree is considered the pri- ing a measured amount of mango puree with an
mary mango product in terms of scale of production. equal amount of water. The total soluble solids (TSS)

Figure 33.5. Processed mango products sold in the United States.

33 Banana, Mango, and Passion Fruit 641

Table 33.3. Proximate and Physicochemical
Composition of Mango and Mango Puree

Value Ranges (% Fresh Weight)

Composition Mango Fruit Mango Puree

Moisture 72.1–85.5 67–86
Crude protein 0.30–5.42 0.3–1.5

Crude fiber 0.30–2.38 0.05–0.6
Ash 0.29–1.13 0.13–0.61
Total soluble solids 0.28–0.64
Total sugars 17–24 12.28–17.54
pH 10.5–18.5 11.27–15.38
TA (as citric) 4.0–5.6
0.1–1.1
0.327

Source: Hulme (1971), Caygill et al. (1976), Wu et al. (1993), and

Narain et al. (1998).

and acidity of the mixture are adjusted as per spec- pasteurized in a plate heat exchanger (80◦C), filled
ifications, and range from 12◦Brix to 15◦Brix and into cans, sealed, and processed at 80◦C (10 min);
0.4–0.5% citric acid, respectively. Mango juice is pre- or (iii) pasteurized in a plate heat exchanger (95◦C;
heated to 85◦C in a heat exchanger, filled into 401 × 1 min) and aseptically packed in plastic-lined cartons
411 cans, sealed, and processed at 100◦C for 20 min. (Wu et al., 1993). The processing time and temper-
The cans are cooled, packed, and stored. Mango juice ature are influenced by the viscosity of the nectar,
is commonly consumed as a single strength juice, as can size, and filling temperature. Mango nectar for-
juice blends, or incorporated in fresh fruit smooth- mulations vary from 20% to 33% pulp content; com-
ies/shakes. mercially packed mango nectars contain <25% pulp
(Narain et al., 1998).
Cloud stabilization and viscosity of juice can be
controlled by the use of pectinolytic enzymes. En- Mango Squash. Mango nectar and mango squash
zyme from Aspergillus oryzae (10% v/v, 30 ± 2◦C are similar in composition except for the presence of
for 18 h) was utilized to facilitate mango (Himsagar) a preservative (either 350 ppm SO2 or 0.1% sodium
juice extraction, decrease viscosity, and increase free benzoate) in mango squash. A mango squash for-
flow (Ghosh and Gangopadhyay, 2002). Studies on mulation consists of syrup (68◦Brix) blended with
enzymatic liquefaction of mango pulp with com- mango puree (46 kg), citric acid (2 kg), and potas-
mercial enzymes pectinex and celluclast (0.14 g/l; sium metabisulfite (180 g) (Narain et al., 1998). The
30 min; 27–30◦C) yielded the highest juice yield mixture is packed in sterilized containers. Mango
from Raspuri variety. Treatment with combined en- squash is diluted with water (3:1) when served.
zymes enhanced low-viscosity juice yield (60–88%)
by 8–10% over pectinex alone (Sreenath et al., 1995). Mango Slices and/or Scoops. Canned mango
Microfiltration after partial enzymatic liquefaction of scoop is a Philippine product similar to canned
tropical fruit juices, including mango, pineapple, and peaches. Carabao variety mangoes are sliced in
passion fruit, resulted in a retentate very similar to the halves, flesh is scooped out and packed into cans,
initial juice (Vaillant et al., 2001). covered with hot syrup containing citric acid, sealed,
and processed.
Mango Nectar. The difference between mango
juice and nectar is the lower fruit content in the latter. Mango slices are placed in cans (A21/2), packed
Mango nectars can be made either from fresh mango with syrup (30–40◦Brix) containing citric acid (0.20–
fruit directly or from canned, aseptically packed, or 0.25%), sealed and processed at 100◦C for 20–30 min
frozen puree. Mango puree (20–30%) is mixed with (or 15 psi for 8–10 min; no. 1 cans are processed for
other ingredients (water, sugar, citric acid, and car- 30–32 min at 105◦C) (Narain et al., 1998).
boxymethylcellulose, a stabilizer), filtered through a
finishing screen, and processed using any of the fol- Aseptic-Packed Mango Beverages. The tetrapack
lowing methods: (i) no. 2 vacuum-sealed cans heated system is the preferred packaging for mango bev-
in a “spin cooker” (100◦C; 3 min; 125 rpm); (ii) flash erages (Fig. 33.5) because it affords convenience

642 Part III: Commodity Processing

and shelf stability. Aseptic processing involves fill- followed by a second draining, then drying in an
ing the commercially sterile product into a sterile air convection oven. Vacuum driers can also be used
container and hermetically sealing in a sterile en- (2–4 mm Hg, 60–66◦C) to achieve a final moisture of
vironment. An aluminum foil seal is automatically 2% (Narain et al., 1998). In the Philippines, osmotic-
placed across the top of the filling spot to provide a dried mango slices are exported. Cabinet dehydration
hermetic and tamper resistant seal. From the filler, the is preferred, although sun drying is still common in
bags are turned over so that the hot product flushes rural areas.
whatever is displaced, and kill any bacteria that may
have been in the spout area. The bags are cooled Mango Leather. Fruit leathers (“fruit rolls”) in the
to around 40◦C (Shukor et al., 1998). Aseptic bulk United States is popular with kids (Sloan, 2004).
packing for the export of mango pulp uses laminated In India, mango leather (“ampapar”) production in-
bags of poly/aluminum foil/poly/poly liner and poly/ volves manual extraction of mango puree and strain-
metallized polyester/poly/polyliners for 20 kg bags ing through bamboo sieves to remove the fiber. The
in boxes and 200 kg bags in drums, respectively puree is spread on date palm leaf mats and sun dried
(Nanjundaswamy, 1997). for about 40 days. Upon drying, another layer is
spread over the first, and the process is repeated until a
Mango Juice Concentrates. Mango concentrates desired thickness of 3 cm is obtained. Slabs of leather
are utilized in the preparation of juice and energy are sliced and packed in cellophane, polyethylene, or
drinks. Fresh mango puree is pasteurized in a plate waxed paper (Narain et al., 1998).
heat exchanger (75◦C; 1 min), cooled quickly, and
centrifuged (5000 rpm). A decanter separates the Industrial preparation involves passing the puree
serum and the pulp portions. The serum is either through a mechanical finisher with a stainless steel
evaporated or freeze concentrated (45◦Brix) prior to sieve (30–50 mesh). TSS is adjusted to 25–35◦Brix.
mixing with the pulp portion (Wu et al., 1993). Potassium metabisulfite may be added. The puree is
spread evenly on glycine-coated metal trays (≤1 cm
Frozen Mango Products per layer) and dried in a forced-air drier (50–80◦C; 2–
20 h per layer). Mango leather has 15–20% moisture
Mango Puree. Mangoes pass through a cutting (Woodroof, 1975; Wu et al., 1993).
mill and screened paddle pulper (0.033 ) to strain
coarse fibers and residues. The puree is blanched in Mango Powder. Mango powder is utilized either
a heat exchanger (90–93◦C; 1 min), rapidly cooled as a beverage base or as a flavoring agent. It is pre-
(32–38◦C), filled into polyethylene-lined tins (14 kg), pared by drying mango puree (≤3% moisture) using
and frozen (−23.5◦C) (Narain et al., 1998). any of the following methods: spray drying, freeze
drying, foam-mat drying, puff drying, vacuum dry-
For sweetened puree, mango flesh were dipped into ing, or drum drying.
cold sucrose syrup (20%) containing ascorbic acid
(0.5%), drained and passed through a finisher (0.84 Spray-Dried Mango Powder. Mango puree, liq-
mm screen). The puree was held in a heat exchanger uid glucose (5%), and tricalcium phosphate (0.5%
(90.6–93.3◦C; 2 min), rapidly cooled (32.3–37.8◦C), anticaking agent) were mixed, heated (30 min; 50◦C),
adjusted to 42.5◦Brix, canned, sealed, frozen in a homogenized (2800 rpm), pumped to the atomizer
blast freezer, and stored (−17.8◦C) (Wu et al., 1993). (2800 rpm), and spray dried (165◦C inlet temper-
ature). The mango powder is cooled, then stored
Mango Slices. Mango slices are placed in a con- (4◦C; 15 min) before transferring to a dehumidified
tainer, covered with syrup (25–30◦Brix), sealed, blast packing room (Wu et al., 1993). Spray-dried mango
frozen, and stored (≤−18◦C). Calcium pretreatment powder has a nice color but lacks flavor. Hence,
(2%) prior to freezing firms up the slices (Narain sugar, milk solids, and glyceryl monostearate and al-
et al., 1998). ginate are added to the mango pulp (Nanjundaswamy,
1997).
Dried Mango Products
Freeze-Dried Mango Powder. Mango puree is
Dehydrated Mango Slices. Osmotic dehydration poured into freezing trays (12 mm thick) and frozen
involves dipping mango slices in sugar syrup in a blast freezer (−20◦C). The frozen puree is
(70◦Brix), draining, dipping in sulfite solution cut into 25 × 25 × 12 mm cubes, further chilled

33 Banana, Mango, and Passion Fruit 643

(−30◦C), then held in a freeze-drying chamber (10– fruits. The rinds are sliced open by serrated, rotating
11 h; ≤60◦C). The dried puree (≤2.4% moisture) circular knives. The sliced fruit is fed into a contin-
is packed in cans flushed with nitrogen (Wu et al., uous basket centrifuge. The juice, pulp, and seeds
1993). Freeze-dried mango pulp with added sugar are forced by centrifugal action through holes in the
increased shelf-life. There was little loss of flavor, walls, and the rinds slide up the sloping walls out
but the cost of production was prohibitive (Nanjun- into a waste conveyor. A screened pulper separates
daswamy, 1997). the seeds from the pulp and juice, which is passed
through a screened finisher to further remove remain-
Mango Flakes. The production of mango drum- ing seed and fiber particles (Woodroof, 1975; Jagtiani
dried flakes involves blending mango pulp with small et al., 1988; Chan, 1980, 1993).
amounts of wheat flour and sugar at certain pH. The
homogenized mixture is dried using an atmospheric Another extraction of pulp involves dropping the
double drum dryer (50–60 psi). Flakes can be milled fruit between two rotating converging cones, where
and screened into mango powder (Wu et al., 1993). it is caught in the nip and bursts as the cones rotate
Mango cereal flakes were developed at the Center for toward the bottom of the machine. The clearance is
Food Technology Research Institute in Mysore, India reduced to the thickness of the skin of the fruit. The
(Nanjundaswamy, 1997). skins are carried through the cones but the pulp drops
into a finisher that removes pieces of the skin and
Other Mango Products—Jams, Marmalades, seeds (Jagtiani et al., 1988; Rutledge, 2001).
Chutneys, and Pickles
Passion Fruit Juice
Savory jams and marmalades, mixed into dressings,
vinaigrettes, marinades, glazes, and cream sauces, are Passion fruit is utilized in juice making due to its
becoming the next generation of “toast toppers” for unique flavor and aroma. However, the aroma com-
those avoiding sweets (Sloan, 2004). Mango jams are ponents and flavor are extremely heat sensitive, so
prepared by combining mango pulp with sugar and pasteurization leads to some loss or change of the fla-
citric acid, and heating until viscous. vor. Another concern in processing is the high starch
content of the juice, which causes the accumulation of
Immature, green mangoes are made into chutneys, gelatinous deposits on the heating surfaces of tubular
pickles, and refreshing mango beverages. Chutneys and plate heat exchangers, affecting efficiency. It also
are gaining popularity as a dip, meat or fish topping, results in localized scorching and deterioration in fla-
accompaniment to cheese, and as a sweet-sour flavor vor (Hulme, 1971; Chan, 1980; Jagtiani et al., 1988).
enhancer (Sloan, 2004). The high starch content also results to a thick juice
viscosity that could be desirable in some products,
PASSION FRUIT but is removed by a decanting centrifugal separation
for free-flowing concentrates. The delicate flavor per-
Originally native to Brazil, the leading exporter, pas- mits its use as pure juice; its strong acidic flavor calls
sion fruit (Passiflora edulis) is widely distributed for dilution (1:6) when consumed as nectar. Edwin et
throughout the tropics. The two major varieties which al. (2003) investigated methods to increase the pH of
are processed commercially are the purple passion or the juice from 2.9 to 4.0. Precipitation with Ca(OH)2
granadilla (P. edulis Sims) and the yellow passion (P. and electrodialysis with bipolar membrane were
edulis Sims f. flavicarpa Deg). Upon ripening, pas- preferred processes based on sensory evaluation.
sion fruit falls from the vine and is hand-harvested
from the ground. If not processed immediately, they Passion fruit juice is a refreshing component when
could be stored for 4–5 weeks at 6.5◦C (85–90% blended with banana, mango, papaya, guava, orange,
RH) (Jagtiani et al., 1988; Chan, 1993). Figure 33.6 apple, and carrot, and brings out the flavor of these
shows purple passion fruit and juice products. Purple juices. Fresh juice and concentrates can be mixed
passion fruit is sweeter due to its higher sugar con- with tropical fruit cocktail, frozen and heat-processed
tent than the larger and more prolific yellow variety punches, alcoholic beverages, and serve as a flavoring
(Chan, 1980; Rutledge, 2001). to cakes, sauces, salads, pies, sherbets, jellies, and
jams.
The mechanized processing of passion fruit starts
with washing. Strong sprays of water are directed Passion fruit products from different countries
on a belt conveyor. Sorting removes rotten and unfit include: (i) carbonated drinks and ice cream in
Kenya, (ii) Swiss passion fruit-based soft drink called

644 Part III: Commodity Processing

Figure 33.6. Passion fruit and juice products.

“Passaia” marketed in Western Europe, (iii) blending brought about by starch gelatinization. After primary
with milk and alginate in South Africa, and (iv) pulp juice extraction, some processors employ an enzy-
added to yogurt in Australia. Passion fruit juice boiled matic process to obtain “secondary” juice from the
down to a syrup is used in making sauce, gelatin double juice sacs surrounding each seed.
desserts, candy, ice cream, sherbet, cake icing/filling,
meringue or chiffon pie, and cold fruit soup. Heat-Processed Juice

The juice yield of yellow passion fruit averages Pasteurization causes the loss of 35% of sensitive
from 30% to 33%; purple varieties have an aver- volatile flavor components (Nakasone and Paull,
age yield of 45–50%. The use of pectinolytic en- 1998). To reduce the effect of heat, juices can be
zymes increased yields by 35% (Jagtiani et al., 1988; diluted or blended with other fruit juices. An alterna-
Chan, 1993). Physicochemical properties of enzyme- tive processing utilizes a spin cooker for canned juice
treated juice were similar to untreated juice, except where can rotation transfers heat rapidly. Pasteuriza-
for the increased consistency from the higher content tion to 88◦C center temperature is achieved in about
of pectin released during treatment. Alpha amylase 13/4 min, and cans are rapidly cooled (Chan, 1980).
has been used to reduce the viscosity of the juice

33 Banana, Mango, and Passion Fruit 645

Juice processing in Sabah, East Malaysia, involves PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND
pasteurization at 62◦C (for 20 s). A separator removes NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF
starch, and a stripping evaporator removes aroma at TROPICAL FRUITS
1500 ppm prior to concentration.
Tables 33.3–33.6 summarize the nutritional and
Frozen Juice chemical composition of banana, mango, passion
fruit, and processed products.
The extracted passion fruit juice is pasteurized (85◦C;
1 min), quick frozen as puree, and kept frozen for Sugars and Organic Acids
processing into frozen sherbet and nectars. The juice
can also be frozen directly in 30-lb containers using Mango is one of the few fruits where sucrose con-
air-blast freezers (−18◦C) for incorporation into juice centration exceeds total reducing sugars (Table 33.7).
blends (Jagtiani et al., 1988). The development of the sweetness in ripe bananas re-
sults from the conversion of starch (20–23%) in green
Juice Concentrate bananas to sugars (20%), predominantly sucrose. The
conversion of starch to sugar in plantains and cook-
Most volatile flavor components are lost into the dis- ing bananas is less complete than in sweet varieties.
tillate stream during concentration. An alternative is The sweeter taste of purple passion fruit is due to its
to remove volatiles prior to concentration using a higher sugar content and sugar/acid ratio. In yellow
spinning cone column consisting of a series of cones passion fruit, citric acid predominates, followed by
(Rutledge, 2001). malic acid; purple varieties have lower citric acid,
followed by lactic acid (Chan, 1980; Jagtiani et al.,
Passion fruit juice concentrate was obtained by par- 1988). In banana, malic acid predominates, followed
tial evaporation of the water at a short residence time by citric and oxalic acids (Shewfelt, 1986).
in the evaporator, to prevent thermal damage of heat-
sensitive volatile flavors. The concentrate retained the Phenolic Contents
intensity of the aroma and flavor of the original juice,
because aroma evaporated during the concentration The astringent flavor of mangoes is imparted by tan-
process was recovered and incorporated into the con- nins. Smaller fruits were observed to have slightly
centrate. It had a viscous consistency and character- higher tannin content. Gallic acid, mangiferin, and
istic color, and can be stored (−18◦C) without dete- ellagic acid were reported in ripe mango. Phenolic
rioration for a year (Rutledge, 2001).

Table 33.4. Nutritional Values of Banana (Musa paradisiaca) Fruit and Banana Powder

Nutrients/100 g Banana Fruit Banana Powder

Calories (Kcal) 89.0 346
Total fat (g) 0.33 1.81
Saturated fat (g) 0.112 0.698
Polyunsaturated fat (g) 0.073 0.337
Monounsaturated fat (g) 0.032 0.153
Cholesterol (mg) 0.0 0.0
Sodium (mg) 1.0 3.0
Potassium (mg)
Total carbohydrate (g) 358.0 1491
Total fiber (g) 22.84 88.28
Total sugar (g) 2.6 9.9
Protein (g) 12.23 47.30
1.09 3.89
22.0
Calcium (mg) 5.0 1.15
Iron (mg) 0.26 7.0
Vitamin C (mg) 8.7 248
Vitamin A (IU) 64

Source: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/cgi-bin/list nut edit.pl.

Table 33.5. Nutritional Values of Mango Fruit and Infused-Dried Mango

Nutrients/100 g Mango Fruita Infused-Dried Mangob

Calories (Kcal) 65.0 331

Total fat (g) 0.27 0.78

Saturated fat (g) 0.066 0.2

Polyunsaturated fat (g) 0.051 0.2

Monounsaturated fat (g) 0.101 0.4

Cholesterol (mg) 0.0 <0.1

Sodium (mg) 2.0 24.0

Potassium (mg) 156.0 182.0

Total carbohydrate (g) 17.0 83.1

Total fiber (g) 1.8 6.1

Total sugar (g) 14.80 75.6

Protein (g) 0.51 0.67

Calcium (mg) 10.0 28.0

Iron (mg) 0.13 0.83

Vitamin C (mg) 27.7 262.0

Vitamin A (IU) 765.0 1554

ahttp://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/cgi-bin/list nut edit.pl.

bData of commercial products; infused with sugar prior to drying, contains added ascorbic acid and high oleic sunflower oil.

Courtesy Graceland Fruit Inc., Frankfort, MI, USA.

Table 33.6. Nutritional Values of Passion Fruit and Juices

Nutrients/100 g Purple Passion Fruit Purple Variety Juice Yellow Variety Juice

Calories (Kcal) 97 51 60
Total fat (g) 0.70 0.05 0.18
Saturated fat (g) 0.059 0.004 0.015
Polyunsaturated fat (g) 0.411 0.029 0.029
Monounsaturated fat (g) 0.086 0.006 0.006
Cholesterol (mg) 0.0 0.0 0.0
Sodium (mg) 6.0 6.0
Potassium (mg) 28
Total carbohydrate (g) 348 278 278
Total fiber (g) 13.60 14.45
Total sugar (g) 23.38 0.2 0.2
Protein (g) 10.4 13.40
Calcium (mg) 11.20 0.39 0.67
Iron (mg) 4.0 4.0
Vitamin C (mg) 2.20 0.24 0.36
Vitamin A (IU) 12.0 29.8 18.2
2410
1.60 717
30.0
1272

Source: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp.

Table 33.7. Starch and Sugar Composition of Tropical Fruits

Starch (Ripe Fruit) Total Sugars Reducing Sugars Sucrose

Fruit (% Fresh Weight) (% Fresh Weight) (% Fresh Weight) (% Fresh Weight)

Mango 0.0 14.8 3.50 7.36
Passion fruit 11.2 4.60 3.20
0.74 17.3
Purple 0.06 15.0
Yellow 5.38 20.0 9.84 2.39
Banana

Plantain 5–10 17.0

Sources: Hulme (1971), Chan (1980), Forsyth (1980), Nagy et al. (1993), and http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp.

646

33 Banana, Mango, and Passion Fruit 647

Table 33.8. Phenolics and Antioxidant Capacity of Banana and Mango Fruits

Component Banana Mango

Moisture (%) 73.5 81.7
Lipophilic—oxygen radical absorbance capacity fluo- 0.66 + 0.14 0.14

rescent probe (ORACFL) micromole of TE/g 8.13 + 1.02 9.88
Hydrophilic—ORACFL micromole of TE/g 8.79 10.02
Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) micromole of TE/g
Total phenolics mg of GAE/g 2.31 + 0.60 2.66
Serving size (g) 118 (one fruit) 165 g (one cup slices)
TAC/serving (micromole of TE)
1037 1653
Source: Wu et al. (2004).

compounds ranged from 31 to 75 mg/100 g flesh mango puree: cis- and trans-ocimene; butyrolactone
in ripe fruits, depending on mango variety and size and ␥ -octalactone; furfural, 2-acetyl furan, and 2,5-
(Hulme, 1971; Narain et al., 1998). Table 33.8 sum- dimethyl-4-methoxy-2H-furan-3-one. The lactones
marizes the phenolics and antioxidant capacity of ba- may contribute to the coconut- or peach-like notes
nana and mango. of mangoes, and furfural and 5-methyl furfural con-
tributes the caramel-like note. Methoxy furanone has
Vitamins and Minerals a berry aroma (Hunter et al., 1974).

Mangoes are rich in provitamin A carotenoids Banana fruit has a pleasant flavor. Jordan et al.
(>50% is ␤-carotene) and vitamin C. Vitamin B (2001) identified a total of 43 and 26 volatile fla-
complex is relatively low, except for niacin (Wu et al., vor compounds in banana essence and fresh banana
1993). Banana is also considered a source of vita- fruit paste, respectively. These volatile compounds
mins A, C, and B, but best known as an excellent included alcohols, esters, aldehydes, and ketones.
source of potassium, containing twice the concentra- In fresh banana paste, aldehydes, E-2-hexenal (flo-
tion in other ripe fruits. When dehydrated, the potas- ral, herbal; 32.2 ppm), and hexanal (herbal, grassy,
sium content of banana powder becomes more con- green; 21.47 ppm) were found in greatest concen-
centrated. The plantain is relatively rich in ascorbic tration. In banana essence, E-2-hexenal was not de-
acid and higher in carotene content than bananas. Vi- tected; the concentration of hexanal was 31.19 ppm.
tamin C is also the major vitamin in passion fruits The concentration of flavor compound isoamyl ac-
(Tables 33.4–33.6). etate responsible for overripe sweet banana flavor
was 229.73, and 4.85 ppm in banana essence and
Pigments fresh banana paste, respectively. Liu and Yang (2002)
studied changes in banana flavor during ripening
The major pigments in passion fruit are carotenoids, at 20◦C, 25◦C, and 30◦C, and found isoamyl al-
with ␤- and ␥ -carotene, and phytofluene found in cohol as the most abundant compound at all stor-
purple varieties. Purple varieties have trace quantities age temperatures. Ethanol developed most rapidly
of flavones but no anthocyanins (Chan, 1980; Jagtiani at 30◦C.
et al., 1988; Nagy et al., 1993).
In passion fruits, ethyl butyrate and ethyl hex-
Flavor Components anoate were associated with the floral mixed-fruit
character of the juice. Volatile constituents isolated
Monoterpene hydrocarbons constitute the major from yellow varieties were in reversed order of
volatiles in mango. Although no single compound abundance in purple varieties, and further accounts
represents a typical mango flavor, 3-carene gives for the subtle flavor differences between the two
mango flavor and aroma; ␣-copaene, a sesquiterpene (Hiu and Scheuer 1961; Chan, 1980). Other flavor
hydrocarbon, also has mango-like aroma. The fol- compounds reported are 6-(But-2-enylidene)-1,5,5-
lowing volatiles were significant in canned Alphonso trimethylcyclohexene, (Z)-Hex-3-enylbutanoate,
hexyl butanoate, ethyl(Z)-oct-4-enoate, ␤-ionone,
Edulan I, and (Z)-octa-4,7-dienoate (Chan, 1993).

648 Part III: Commodity Processing

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ≤0.05%. It enhances existing flavors or provides the
TROPICAL FRUITS main body in fruit juice blends, clear beverages, ices,
and ice creams.
Trends
Infused-dried mango without use of sulfites has
Consumer demand for nutritious products, as well as been commercialized (Table 33.5). The process in-
the emphasis on health and wellness, drives food de- volves: (i) removal of the fruit’s moisture by immers-
velopment trends. There is a shift from vitamin forti- ing in infusion solutions of higher sugar solids (SS)
fication to emphasizing fruits/vegetables. Functional content and (ii) drying to a desired moisture content.
beverages and functional juice-based beverages are The skin serves as a semipermeable membrane allow-
projected to reach $11.8 billion and $2.17 billion by ing the exchange of SS between fruit and the infusion
2005. The meal-replacement/weight-control bever- solution (Sinha, 1998). Infused-dried fruits contain
age segments, and a new generation of 100% organic about 12% moisture (aw = 0.55), are shelf stable
juice beverages (Sloan, 2003), provide venues for and retain the qualities of fresh counterparts without
tropical fruits. Fruit smoothies, “bubble teas,” pro- using sulfites. They are incorporated in trail mixes,
biotics, energy drinks, fortified beverages, and juice bakery items, cereals, and breakfast/energy bars.
drinks have created opportunities for tropical fruit fla-
vors, including Fuze’s Mojo Mango; Peach–Mango Tetra Pak’s new Terra Recart presents possibilities
and Mango–Passion fruit; Oadala’s Mango Tango; for tropical fruit-based salsas, sauces, purees, whole
Sobe’s Lizzard Lightning Orange–Mango flavor. soft tropical fruits, and ready-to-eat meals/sauces tra-
ditionally packed in cans, glass jars, and standup food
Emerging ethnic influence on American cuisine pouches. Made from plastics, foil, and a paper com-
has product developers exploring concepts, ingredi- ponent, Terra Recart withstands the rigors of retort
ents, and preparation techniques of Asian, Mexican/ processing (130◦C), 100% humidity for >2 h, and is
Tex-Mex, Italian, Middle Eastern, Caribbean, Cajun, shelf stable for up to 24 months.
Spanish, and Latin cultures. Exotic flavors from
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fruits. In: Woodroof JG, Luh BS, editors. M. 2001. Strategy for economical optimization of
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(http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jfoodeng).
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editors. Tropical and subtropical fruits. Auburndale, 1999. Effect of proteolytic enzymes on color
FL: Agscience, Inc., pp. 137–181. changes in banana chips during osmotic
dehydration. Drying Technol. 17(4/5):947–954.
Sinha NK. 1998. Infused-dried and processed frozen
fruits as food ingredients. Cereals Foods World Waliszewski KN, Garcia RH, Ramirez M, Garcia MA.
43(9):699–702. 2000. Polyphenol oxidase activity in banana chips
during osmotic dehydration. Drying Technol.
Sloan EA. 2003. Top 10 trends to watch and work on: 18(6):1327–1337.
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Sloan EA. 2004. Gourmet and specialty food trends. Woodroof JG, Luh BS, editors. Commercial fruit
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Co., Inc., pp. 425–478.
Sole P. 1993. U.S. Patent RE 34,237. Banana
processing. Wu JS, Chen H, Fang T. 1993. Mango juice. In: Nagy
S, Chen CS, Shaw PE, editors. Fruit juice processing
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science & technology, Vol. 2. Lancaster, PA:
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nutrition, products, and quality management. www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp
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USDA. 2003. Fruit and tree nuts outlook – FTS-304
(May 2003). Washington, DC.

Handbook of Fruits and Fruit Processing
Edited by Y. H. Hui

Copyright © 2006 by Blackwell Publishing

34
Nutritional and Medicinal Uses of
Prickly Pear Cladodes and Fruits:
Processing Technology Experiences

and Constraints

M. Hamdi

Introduction Opuntia is the largest group of cacti and includes
Composition of Prickly Pear Products several edible kinds which are commonly known as
Bunny Ears, Cholla, Prickly Pear, Barbary Fig, Tuna,
Lipids and Indian Fig.
Polymers
Flavonoid and Carotenoid Contents The Cactaceae family belongs to the order Cen-
Uses of Prickly Pear Cladodes in Animal Food trospermae, a group of families whose color is at-
Benefits to Health and Potential Uses of Opuntia Products tributed to the presence of betalain pigments (Merin
in Medicine et al., 1987). Opuntia, which is one of about 87 gen-
Prickly Pear Fruits and Cladodes Processing era in the Cactaceae family, includes several species
Postharvest Changes and Shelf Life of Prickly (Yasseen et al., 1996). The genus Opuntia includes
a number of species that produce vigorous plants in
Pear Fruits and Cladodes arid and semiarid climates, protect against soil ero-
Foods and Functional Foods from Opuntia Products sion, and stop desert advancement.
Fermentation Processing of Opuntia Products
Production of Single-Cell Protein Opuntia is a succulent plant with tissues special-
Fermentation Substrate for Wine and ized for water storage. Its water-use efficiency makes
the Opuntia more efficient in converting water into
Alcohol Production dry matter than most grasses, and some species pro-
Prickly Pear Juice Substrate for Microbial duce 26 t/ha. year (Yasseen et al., 1996). Retamal
et al. (1987a) have estimated the biomass produced
Metabolites Production by prickly pear in cladodes and in fruit under arid,
Future Prospects semiarid, and irrigated conditions of land use (Ta-
References ble 34.1). Indeed, certain highly productive crops of
Opuntia ficus-indica grown under optimal conditions
INTRODUCTION can have annual aboveground dry matter productiv-
ities exceeding 30 tons/ha. year (Garcia de Corta´zar
Cactus plants, though native to North America, over and Nobel, 1991). The main producing countries are
the centuries have spread throughout the world: Mexico and Italy; and some areas of intensive cac-
North Africa, Europe, Mediterranean countries, tus pear plantations have expanded remarkably in the
South America, the Middle East, and other coun-
tries (Hare and Griffiths, 1907). Even early navigators
(1600–1800) used the cladodes of Opuntia to treat
prophylaxy and scorbut diseases (Diguet, 1928).

651

652 Part III: Commodity Processing

Table 34.1. Theoretical Biomass Production Under
Different Conditions of Land Use (Retamal et al., 1987a)

Regions

Production Arid Semiarid Irrigated

Plant material 4×4 2×2 2×1
Size (m × m) 625 2500 5000
Plants/ha
Biomass (tons/ha) 2.63 10.5 21
Cladodes 0.79 3.15 6.3
Fruits

past few years, especially in Sicily (Inglese et al., with a number of clefts of small prickles enclosing
2002). a red violet or orange yellow, sweet, lucsius pulp,
intermixed with a number of small, black, shiny
Cacti, particularly O. ficus-indica, produces the seeds. The pear-shaped fruit weighs approximately
spiny, usually edible fruits and edible pads called 30–70 g, and the overall composition of the pears fruit
nopalitos. Opuntia have been used for almost is 48% peel, 45% strained pulp, and 7% seeds (Merin
500 years as a fruit crop, a defensive hedge, a sup- et al., 1987). Twenty-two Opuntia clones were se-
port for cochineal production of dye (carminic acid), lected for increased cold hardiness, fruit yield, and
and more recently, as a fodder crop and as a stand- fruit quality, i.e., pH, sugar content, and seed con-
ing buffer feed for drought periods; they can also tent. Chilean varieties were most promising for high
play a key role in erosion control and land rehabil- sugar content and low seed weight per fruit. Mexican
itation, particularly in arid and semiarid zones, and varieties with high yields did not contain high sugar
as a shelter, refuge, and feed resource for wildlife (Parish and Felker, 1997).
(Le Houerou, 2002). The expansion of the prickly
pear plantation in arid and semiarid areas could be of The pH of the pulp is slightly acidic, e.g., 5.75
interest for stimulating bioindustries in developing with low acidity (0.18% expressed as citric acid).
countries. Total solids (14.2 Brix) are comparable to the com-
mon fruit pulps, such as apricots, apples, cherries,
In terms of the future of biotechnology, countries and plums, and are greater than those of strawber-
with available raw materials are more highly favored ries, raspberries, and peaches (Sawaya et al., 1983).
to build strong biotechnology industries (Goma, Proximate analysis of the pulp (Table 34.2) showed
1985). Opuntia fruits and cladodes are potential that the percentages of protein, crude fat, and fiber
sources of foods and functional components such as
dietary fiber, natural colorants, and antioxidants. As Table 34.2. Characteristics of Prickly Pear
there have been few industrial considerations of the Pulp (Sawaya et al., 1983)
prickly pear cladodes and fruits, this chapter reviews
their promising applications in food and medicine pH 5.75
and the technology development possibilities. Moisture 85.6%
Acidity (expressed as citric acid) 0.18%
COMPOSITION OF PRICKLY Total solids 14.5%
PEAR PRODUCTS Total sugars 12.8%
Crude proteins (N × 6.25)
The composition of the prickly pear fruits and cal- Pectin 0.21%
dodes depends especially on the species, the horti- Ca 0.19%
cultural practices, and the level of ripening. Cactus Mg 276 mg/l
stems, as other vegetables, have low proteins and fats Na 277 mg/l
but the crude fiber is higher than that in most other K 8 mg/l
vegetables (Inglese et al., 2002). P 1,610 mg/l
Fe 154 mg/l
The highly gastronomically appreciated prickly 1.5 mg/l
pear is a multiseeded berry, with thick, violet pericarp

34 Nutritional and Medicinal Uses of Prickly Pear Cladodes and Fruits 653

were relatively low. Volatile compounds of prickly for human and/or animal consumption (Sawaya and
pear juice are so complex that the distillates con- Khan, 1982). Seeds and pulp of O. ficus-indica were
tained at least 50 elements including alcohols, alde- compared in terms of fatty acids, lipid classes, sterols,
hydes, lactones, hydrocarbons, and esters (Di Cesare fat-soluble vitamins, and ␤-carotene.
and Nani, 1992). The content of Vitamin C in the
pulp leaves represent about half the concentration of Total lipids (TL) in lyophilized seeds and pulp were
Vitamin C of some of the Vitamin-C-rich fruits such 98.8 (dry weight) and 8.70 g/kg, respectively. High
as oranges and lemons, and are one and half times amounts of neutral lipids were found (87.0% of TL)
higher than that of cherries (Sawaya et al., 1983). At in seed oil, whereas glycolipids and phospholipids
harvest, the concentration of reducing sugars is 90% occurred at high levels in pulp oil (52.9% of TL). In
of that of fully ripe fruits and should not be less than both oils, linoleic acid was the dominating fatty acid,
13% by fresh weight. Sugar analysis revealed glu- followed by palmitic and oleic acids, respectively.
cose and fructose in the ratio of 60:40 at a 12.8% Trienes, ␥ - and ␣-linolenic acids were estimated in
content in the pulp on fresh weight basis. The Ar- higher amounts in pulp oil, whereas ␣-linolenic acid
gentine varieties had the greatest fruit pulp firmness was only detected at low levels in seed oil. Neutral
(about 2 kg) and sugar contents (13.4–15.2%) but lipids were characterized by higher unsaturation ra-
had a lower percentage pulp (40–47%) than that of tios, while saturates were in higher levels in polar
the North American materials (Felker et al., 2005). lipids. The sterol marker, ␤-sitosterol, accounted for
Minerals (Ca, Mg, K, Na, P, and Fe) were comparable 72% and 49% of the total sterol content in seed and
to those of other fruit pulp such as apricots, pineap- pulp oils, respectively. Vitamin E level was higher in
ples, and strawberries. The pulp was rich in potas- the pulp oil than in the seed oil, whereas ␥ -tocopherol
sium, fair in calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus, was the predominant component in seed oil and
and low in sodium and iron (Sawaya et al., 1983; In- ␦-tocopherol was the main constituent in pulp oil.
glese et al., 2002; Jaramillo et al., 2003). Some bene- ␤-Carotene was also higher in pulp oil than in seed
ficial effects of O. ficus-indica fruits can be attributed oil (Ramadan and Mo¨rsel, 2003a). Over 50% of fruit
to their biochemical activities associated with some (peel and seeds) by-products used as animal feed
enzymes as an acid ␤-fructofuranosidase (Ouelhazi contain oil. Oil from seeds was 13.6% by weight.
et al., 1991), peroxidase (Padiglia et al., 1995), and This oil has a high degree of unsaturation, 82%
pectinesterase (Contreras-Esquivel et al., 1999). (linoleic acid 73.4%, palmitic 12%, oleic 8.8%, and
stearic acid 5.8%). Compositions and concentrations
Fresh cladodes have high moisture content (92%), of fatty acids, lipid classes, sterols, fat-soluble vita-
due to their crassulacean acid metabolism (Brulfert mins, and ␤-carotene were determined in extracted
et al., 1984) with stem tissues containing numerous lipids from prickly pear peel. TL recovered were
mucilaginous cells that store large volumes of water found to be 36.8 g/kg (on dry weight basis). Recov-
(Amin et al., 1970; Merin et al., 1987). Fresh clado- ered lipids were characterized by a high percentage
des comprise 5.1% carbohydrates (with lipids 0.2%), of unsaponifiables (12.8% TL) and found to be a rich
minerals (1.9%), and protein (0.8%). Opuntia vul- source of vitamin E and sterols. The level of neutral
garis is a source of Nopal gum (Bonnassieux, 1988). lipids was the highest, followed by glycolipids and
Phytochemical investigation of Opuntia reveals 17 phospholipids. Among the TL, linoleic acid was the
amino acids, 8 of which are essential. Nopal is full of dominating fatty acid, while oleic and palmitic acids
vitamins and minerals, such as the B vitamins, cal- were estimated to be in relatively equal amounts.
cium, magnesium, iron, and fiber (Jaramillo et al., (Ramadan and Mo¨rsel, 2003b).
2003).
Polymers
Particular considerations were made for lipids,
polymers, and flavonoids contained in the Opuntia Large quantities of complex carbohydrates, espe-
products, as reported by some published works. cially mucilage (Inglese et al., 2002; Saenz et al.,
2004) and others as cellulose (Malainine et al.,
Lipids 2003), pectin (Forni et al., 1994; Contreras-Esquivel
et al., 1999; Majdoub et al., 2001), xylan (Habibi
The chemical investigation of cactus pear oil pro- et al., 2002), and arabinogalactan (Habibi et al.,
motes the industrial utilization of the fruit as a raw 2004a) were extracted from Opuntia products and
material of oils and functional foods (Ramadan and investigated.
Mo¨rsel, 2003a). The seed oil has been proposed

654 Part III: Commodity Processing

Opuntia genus is widely known for its mucilage source of natural antioxidants for foods (Kuti, 2004).
production, and the mucilage composition and con- The prickly pear juice contains betanine, isobetanine,
tent vary with the time of year and species (In- and betalainic glucoside, which are responsible for
glese et al., 2002). The mucilage extracted from the the redbeet color of the fruit (Forni et al., 1992),
cladodes (modified stems) of O. ficus-indica con- and the structure details of indicaxanthin, the yel-
tains residues of D-galactose, D-xylose, L-arabinose, low betaxanthin (Piatelli et al., 1964; Forni et al.,
L-rhamnose, and D-galacturonic acid (McGarvie and 1992). The stability of the red color of betacyanine
Parolis, 1979; Saenz et al., 2004). was determined in fruit juice at temperatures up to
90◦C. Degradation occurred with rates being slower
The prickly pear pectin yield was 0.12% on fresh at higher pigment concentration. The presence of
weight. This pectin had a galacturonic acid content oxygen has only a marginal effect on the thermosta-
of 64%, a low degree of methoxylation (10%), a bility of the dye, and thus autoxidation was not a ma-
high acetyl content (10%), and neutral sugar con- jor chemical mechanism responsible for decoloration
tent (51% galacturonic). It might be related to similar (Merin et al., 1987). The qualitative and quantita-
polygalacturonides present in the mucilages of other tive betalain pigment contents of the two cultivars of
Cactaceae (Forni et al., 1994). Pectic polysaccharides prickly pear fruits grown in southeastern Spain were
were solubilized from O. ficus-indica fruit skin by evaluated. Two main pigments were obtained, which
sequential extraction with water at 60◦C and EDTA were identified as indicaxanthin (484 nm) and be-
solution at 60◦C prior to removal of the mucilage tanin (535 nm). Both the pigments showed a yield of
with water at room temperature. The sugar analysis around 20–30 mg/100 g of fresh pulp. When the in-
supported by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy showed fluence of temperature (25–90◦C) on betacyanin pig-
that the water-soluble fraction and the EDTA-soluble ment stability was investigated, the results revealed
fraction consisted of a disaccharide repeating unit a substantial degree of thermodegradation at tem-
→ 2)- ␣-L-Rhap-(1 → 4)-. ␣-D-GalpA-(1 → back- peratures higher than 70◦C (Ferna´ndez-Lo´pez and
bone, with side chains attached to O-4 of the rham- Almela, 2001).
nosyl residues (Habibi et al., 2004b). Pectinesterase
activity was detected in the extracts from prickly pear The carotenoids cryptoxanthin, carotene, and
peels (Contreras-Esquivel et al., 1999). The water- lutein were identified in the cladodes, the latter hav-
soluble fraction of peeled prickly pear nopals called ing the highest concentration. Mucilage presentin the
native sample contain mainly two components: pec- stems decreased the extractability of the carotenoids.
tic polysaccharide with high average molar mass (Mw Thermal treatmentsincreased the extractability of
of 13 × 106 g/mol) and protein with low molecular these pigments, and the antioxidant activity was re-
weight (Majdoub et al., 2001). lated to the carotenoids concentration. Total phenolic
content decreased after the thermal treatments; how-
The cold-water extract from the skin of O. ficus- ever, this result had little effect on the antioxidant
indica fruits contains a polysaccharide, which can activity (Jaramillo et al., 2003).
be classified under the type I of the arabinogalactan
family (Habibi et al., 2004a). USES OF PRICKLY PEAR
CLADODES IN ANIMAL FOOD
Xylans were isolated from the pericarp of prickly
pear seeds of O. ficus-indica by alkaline extraction, Under domesticated cultivation, the prickly pear
fractionated by precipitation, and purified. Sugar yields pads used as a vegetable for animal con-
analysis and NMR spectroscopy showed that, on an sumption. Opuntia ficus-indica could safely sub-
average, the water-soluble xylans have one nonre- stitute grass hay to a level of 60%, and it has a
ducing terminal residue of 4-O-methyl-D-glucuronic substantial contribution in satisfying the water re-
acid for every 11–14 xylose units, whereas in the quirement of sheep (Tegegne, 2002a). The Food and
water-insoluble xylans, the xylose units varied from Agriculture Organization of the United Nations cal-
18 to 65 residues for one nonreducing terminal culated the biological value of prickly pear cactus
residue of 4-O-methyl-D-glucuronic acid (Habibi et protein to be 72.6, relative to egg protein (Teles et al.,
al., 2002). 1984).

Flavonoid and Carotenoid Contents Experiments carried out by the Tunisian govern-
ment and the United Nations (1962) showed that cac-
The antioxidant capacity of cactus fruits may be tus forage was 2–3 times cheaper than conventional
attributed to their flavonoid, ascorbic acid, and forage. The prickly pear cactus yields 0.075
carotenoid contents, and the cactus fruits are a rich

34 Nutritional and Medicinal Uses of Prickly Pear Cladodes and Fruits 655

Fodder Units (FU)/kg of fresh cladodes with 10% dry commonly consumed in Mexico as a vegetable and
matter (Theriez, 1966). Compared with ruminant are shown to reduce blood glucose levels (Guevara
nutrient requirements, O. ficus-indica was moder- et al., 2001). The hypoglycemic activity of a puri-
ate in CP, Ca, Mg, and P, and low in Na and K fied extract from prickly pear cactus (O. fuliginosa
contents. It was highly digestible (Tegegne, 2002b). Griffiths) was evaluated on streptozotocin-induced
Opuntia ficus-indica f. inermis pads have been used diabetic rats. Blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin
as alternative energy supplements for growing Bar- levels were reduced to normal values by a com-
barine lambs, which were given straw-based diets bined treatment of insulin and Opuntia extract
(Ben Salem et al., 2004). A daily ration of 6 kg clado- (Trejo-Gonza´lez et al., 1996). The symptoms of the
des and 1.5 kg straw corresponds to 1.2 FU feed for alcohol hangover are largely due to the activation
an ewe weighing 45 kg and producing 2 l of milk/day of inflammation. An extract of the O. ficus-indica
(Arces, 1941). The addition of straw (0.5 kg) to the plant has a moderate effect on reducing the hangover
cladodes (5 kg) feed prevents diarrhea. In an ensilage symptoms, apparently by inhibiting the production
of 84% minced cladodes plus 16% gives a product of inflammatory mediators (Wiese et al., 2004).
lucerne, straw hay gives a product of high quality,
which maintains a good level of milk production by The fresh fruits have long been utilized as a
cows in South Africa (Le Houerou, 1965). source of carbohydrates and vitamins in human nu-
trition (Duisberg and Hay, 1971). Because of the
BENEFITS TO HEALTH AND high content of insoluble fiber (cellulose and lignin),
POTENTIAL USES OF OPUNTIA many people use Opuntia products to aid diges-
PRODUCTS IN MEDICINE tion and monitor regularity (Jaramillo et al., 2003).
The flavonoids quercetin, (+)-dihydroquercetin, and
The chemical composition of Opuntia fruits and quercetin 3-methyl ether are the active antioxidant
cladodes, which depend on the age, define their uses principles in the fruits and stems of O. ficus-indica
in medicine and nutrition. The cladodes of the plant var. saboten exhibiting neuroprotective actions
are a good source of fiber, an important element for against the oxidative injuries induced in cortical
the human diet, and are of considerable potential cell cultures. Furthermore, quercetin 3-methyl ether
for medical use (Saenz, 2000). Opuntia ficus-indica appears to be the most potent neuroprotectant
cladodes are used in traditional medicine of many of the three flavonoids isolated from this plant
countries for their cicatrisant activity. The major (Dok-Go et al., 2003). The consumption of cactus
components of cladodes are carbohydrate-containing pear fruit positively affects the body’s redox balance,
polymers, which consist of a mixture of mucilage decreases oxidative damage to lipids, and improves
and pectin. The treatment with Opuntia ficus-indica antioxidant status in healthy humans (Tesoriere et al.,
cladodes provokes an increase in the number of se- 2004). Moreover, the fruit infusion shows also an-
cretory cells. Probably, the gastric fibroblasts are in- tiuric effect (Galati et al., 2002b).
volved in the antiulcer activity (Galati et al., 2002a).
In Sicily folk medicine, O. ficus-indica cladodes are PRICKLY PEAR FRUITS AND
used for the treatment of gastric ulcer, and probably, CLADODES PROCESSING
the mucilage of O. ficus-indica is involved (Galati
et al., 2002a). The wide range of buffering activity The use of prickly pear cladodes and fruits as raw ma-
of the edible young cladodes could partially explain terials in bioindustries can be developed especially
the therapeutic effect attributed to nopalitos in gas- when their annual production becomes abundant and
trointestinal disorders (Corrales-Garc´ıa et al., 2003). the harvest costs are reduced (Hamdi, 1997). More-
The increase of the diuresis is more marked with over, the Opuntia products processing is limited by
the prickly pear cladode, and it is particularly sig- the cactus plantation area and the technological as-
nificant during the chronic treatment (Galati et al., pects, especially the fast postharvest deterioration of
2002b). cladodes and fruits (Fig. 34.1).

The regular ingestion of O. robusta enables to Postharvest Changes and Shelf Life
significantly reduce in vivo oxidation injury in a of Prickly Pear Fruits and Cladodes
group of patients suffering from familial hyperc-
holesterolemia (Budinsky et al., 2001). Postharvest deterioration of fruits, cladodes, and
nopalitos tender young cladodes result from
The young, rapidly growing flattened stems or
cladodes of the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.) are

656 Part III: Commodity Processing

Cactus
plantation areas

Postharvest deterioration
of Opuntia products

Traditional Prickly pear Chemical and physical
preparations fruits and chracterization:
cladodes
Functional proprieties
New products
development

Final products

Market
Figure 34.1. General approaches for promising the development of products from Opuntia ficus-indica harvests.

physiological disturbance inducing surface soften- to chilling injury and to weight loss but less sen-
ing, causing microbial infections and reactions.
sitive to decay than autumn fruit (Schirra et al.,
Shelf Life of Prickly Pear Fruits
1999).
Fruits should be harvested early in the morning, when
their internal temperature is not higher than 25◦C, Keeping the fruits in ventilated cold rooms at
and when the glochids are still wet and adhering 6–8◦C and 90–95% relative humidity will prevent
to the pell. Postharvest changes of internal qual-
ity characteristics, such as pH, titrable acidity, sol- chilling injury and reduce respiration (Inglese et al.,
uble solids, acetaldehyde concentration, and ethanol
concentration in the flesh are low, whereas ascor- 2002). Wrapping with polyolefinic film retains fruit
bic acid concentration may decrease, depending on
storage conditions (Inglese et al., 2002). Summer freshness and greatly reduces fruit weight loss during
ripening cactus pear fruits were more susceptible 4 weeks of storage at 9◦C and subsequent marketing

(Piga et al., 1997).

Physicochemical and sensorial parameters did not
show significant changes in 4◦C-stored fruits of cac-
tus pear fruits until day 8, while those kept at 15◦C

experienced a dramatic increase in acidity, ethanol

accumulation, strong off-flavor development, and

34 Nutritional and Medicinal Uses of Prickly Pear Cladodes and Fruits 657

loss of overall fruit freshness and firmness. Micro- Cladodes of Nopalea cochenillifera were found
biological growth rate was much higher at 15◦C than to be suitable for harvest at the end of the rapid
at 4◦C. Visible manifestation of molds was detected growth phase, at which time they were 11–13 cm
on the 4◦C-stored fruits on day 11, while in the 15◦C- long, weighed about 40 g, and had a chemical compo-
stored fruits, fungi colonization had already started sition similar to that of certain Opuntia species used
on the day 4 (Piga et al., 2000). Yet, in a study of as a vegetable. With respect to both acidity and weight
ripeness and storage conditions of prickly pear fruits loss, the most favorable treatment for long-term stor-
(var. Rossa and Gialla) the prickly pear fruit could age is wrapping the cladodes in PVC film and stor-
be preserved for 30 days at 5◦C. Storage at 5◦C un- ing them at either 12◦C or 20◦C (Nerd et al., 1997).
der 2% carbon dioxide and 2% oxygen increased Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) of nopalitos
the preservation up to 45 days (Testoni and Eccher, at 5◦C, where O2 concentration was decreased by up
1990). to 8.6 kPa and CO2 concentration was increased by
up to 6.9 kPa, for up to 30 days, increased signifi-
Opuntia ficus-indica fruits were manually peeled, cantly the storage life and decreased losses in tex-
then placed in plastic boxes sealed with a film with ture, weight, chlorophyll content, crude fiber con-
high permeability to gases, and kept at 4◦C for 9 days. tent, and color. MAP also decreased chlorophyllase
After 3, 6, and 9 days, chemical, physical, microbio- activity and caused the least increase in yeast and
logical and sensorial parameters, total phenols, vita- molds, and total aerobic mesophiles (AeM) counts,
min C, and antioxidant capacity were determined. but slightly increased the total anaerobic mesophiles
In-package gas concentrations were measured al- (AnM) counts (Guevara et al., 2001).
most daily. Vitamin C and antioxidant capacity re-
mained unchanged, while polyphenols decreased af- The effects of passive and semiactive MAP were
ter 6 days in storage. Of the chemical parameters, tested on the postharvest life and quality of flat-
only pH and acidity changed significantly, without tened stems or cladodes of the prickly pear cactus
however, adversely affecting the sensorial proper- stored at 5◦C. Passive MAP and semiactive MAP
ties. Microbiological growth was limited and fun- with 20 kPa CO2 significantly decreased the losses
gal colonies were never visually detected (Piga et in the quality deterioration and also decreased the
al., 2003). Minimally processed cactus pear fruit had microbial counts (total AeM, mold, and yeasts) but
longer shelf life at 4◦C than at temperatures recom- slightly increased the total AnM counts. The microor-
mended for whole fruit when these were greater than ganisms identified were Pseudomonas, Leuconostoc,
4◦C. The packaging of processed cactus pear fruit Micrococcus, Bacillus, Ruminicoccus, Absidia, Cla-
in modified atmospheres during storage resulted in dosporium, Penicillium, and Pichia. Therefore, fresh
a homogeneous bacterial population, compared to prickly pear cactus stems can be stored for up to
that isolated from fruit stored in air, and favored the 32 days in MAP with ≤20 kPa CO2, without sig-
growth of Leuconostoc mesenteroides (Corbo et al., nificant losses in quality nor any significant increase
2004). in microbial counts (Guevara et al., 2003).

Shelf Life of Prickly Pear Cladodes Foods and Functional Foods From
OPUNTIA Products
Cladodes for nopalitos are harvested by hand, grip-
ping the bottom of pad, and twisting at more than Prickly pear is a classical food in Mexico of no-
90◦ until it snaps off the mother plant. Storing at madic tribes of the desert, and the civilized centers
low temperatures extends the shelf life of nopalitos of the pre-Columbia Anauac. The Papago and Pima
and maintains their vitamin contents especially un- Indians in the southwestern United States are also
der modified atmospheres, which implies low oxygen known to have used prickly pear pads and fruits as
availability for oxidation and browning (Inglese et al., food. Nopales could also be added to a tossed salad
2002). The chilling injury causes damage of nopali- or stirred into any casserole. Panamint Indians dry
tos when conditions favor cactus physiological disor- the gray-green pads, buds, flowers, and fruits in the
ders and microbial growth. Indeed, as mentioned by sun and may store them until needed for cooking
Guevara et al. (2001), the nopalitos are highly perish- by boiling (Teles et al., 1984). The preparation of
able with a storage life of 1 day at room temperature juices, marmalades, gels, liquid sweeteners, dehy-
and 6 days when packaged in polyethylene bags and drated foods, and other products from Opuntia prod-
stored at 5◦C. ucts are reported (Saenz, 2000; Saenz et al., 2002a).

658 Part III: Commodity Processing

Candies Prickly pear Storage at 4°C
fruits Food
Drying
Reception and
Peels washing

Seeds and Peeling
pulps
Grinding and
Animal feed filtering

Juice

Jam and Food and Fruit Juices
marmalades industrial
fermentations

Figure 34.2. Potential flow diagrams for Opuntia ficus-indica fruits processing.

Fruit Products Brutsch, 2002). The prickly pear fruits are sufficiently
dried in a convective solar oven between 32◦C and
The fruit is an excellent dietetic food because it aids 36◦C of ambient air temperature, 50–60◦C of dry-
in digestion and can cure diarrhea and constipation ing air temperature, 23–34% of relative humidity,
(Paris and Moyse, 1940). However, when used alone, 0.0277–0.0833 m3/s of drying air flow rate, and 200–
it becomes a constipating food (Gobert, 1940). Fig- 950 W/m2 of solar radiation (Lahsasni et al., 2004).
ure 34.2 summarizes the traditional preparations and
potential industrial products from the prickly pear Traditionally, the prickly pear juice has been
fruits. used to prepare such commercial foods like Tuna
honey, Melcocha pastry, and Tuna Queso cake
Traditionally, the prickly pear fruits are cut manu- (Bonnassieux, 1988). The economics of jam man-
ally and dried under the sun. Dried slices of prickly ufacture can be enhanced, especially if efficient me-
pear fruit can be used as human food (Ewaidah and chanical devices to replace handpeeling of the fruits
Hassan, 1992). Food additives did not affect their are used (Sawaya et al., 1983). The low pectin con-
organoleptic quality and allow direct preservation of tent suggests that additional pectin should be added
fruits. The dried product (candy) of high quality from to ensure gelation of the jam. Citric acid and a com-
the peel of cactus pear fruit was tested for yeast and bination of citric and tartaric acids (1:1) were pre-
bacterial activity and storage life. It had a good fla- ferred over several other natural acids used as acidi-
vor, texture, and appearance, with wide appeal, and fying agents. The sensory evaluation results showed
stored satisfactorily for up to 5 months (Mnkeni and