Effect of enzymatic treatment on juice yield, viscosity and clarity of banana juice.

The effect of pectinase enzyme concentration (0.05–0.15%), incubation temperature (30–50°C) and incubation time (60–180 min) on juice yield, viscosity and clarity of banana juice were studied. A Central Composite Design was used to optimize the conditions for enzymatic clarification of banana pulp to maximize juice yield and clarity and to minimize pulp viscosity. Significant regression model describing the changes of juice yield, viscosity and clarity of juice with respect to hydrolysis parametres were established with the coefficient of determination, R2 = 0.9881, 0.9951 and 0.9722 respectively. The recommended enzymatic clarification condition for the banana pulp of maturity stage 7 was 0.11% enzyme concentration at 39.8°C and incubation time of 143 min to achieve maximum juice yield (75.11%), clarity (94.05%) and minimum pulp viscosity (372 cps).