Simultaneous treatment of acerola mash by ultrasound and pectinase preparation in acerola juice processing: optimization of the pectinase concentration and pectolytic time by response surface methodology

This study focused on the application of the simultaneous treatment of acerola mash by ultrasound and pectinase preparation to the juice processing. Firstly, the impacts of pectinase concentration and pectolytic time on the extraction yield and the chemical composition of the acerola juice were investigated. The response surface methodology was then used to optimize the conditions of pectolysis for maximizing the juice yield. When the pectinase concentration and pectolytic time in the combined ultrasonic and enzymatic treatment were 0.12% v/w and of 26.3 min, respectively, the extraction yield achieved maximum (87.4%). This value was 3.2% and 15.5% higher than that in the ultrasonic treatment and the enzymatic treatment, respectively. In addition, the simultaneous treatment of acerola mash by ultrasound and pectinase preparation significantly improved the nutritional quality of acerola juice.