Indian blackberry (Syzygium cumini L.) fruit is seasonal and highly perishable in nature owing to its delicate texture and high moisture content. It is required to store the pulp in the harvesting season to prepare different value added products from it in the lean season. The present investigation was carried out to preserve the fruit pulp using different chemical preservatives such as ascorbic acid (25mg/100g), sodium benzoate (300 ppm) and potassium sorbate (300 ppm) under ambient condition in metalized polyester poly (MPP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) packaging materials. Quality parameters of stored pulp were analyzed at 0, 30, 60 and 90 days of storage. The total phenolic content, total anthocyanin content, antioxidant and sensory score reduced with increase in storage period whereas change in colour and microbial load showed an increasing trend. Among all treatments, pulp treated 300 ppm sodium benzoate (T3) gave best result with respect to highest sensory score (7.25±0.28), highest total anthocyanin content (32.93±3.29 mg/100g) with lowest colour change value (15.47±0.29) and microbial load (5.90±0.05×104cfu/g) within acceptable limit in HDPE packaging at 90 days of storage. HDPE packaging was found to be better in terms of total anthocyanin content, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of stored pulp as compared to MPP packaging. The fruit pulp heated at 90°C for 5 min and treated with 300 ppm sodium benzoate can be stored for 90 days under ambient condition for further value addition.

Jamun pulp, total anthocyanin content, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, microbial load, sensory, MPP and HDPE packaging

The present study concluded that jamun pulp treated with different preservatives significantly influence the quality characteristics during storage. Since jamun is highly perishable fruit which cannot be stored for longer period, it could be stored in pulp form for its availability in off-season to prepare different value-added products. Among different treatments use of sodium benzoate at 300 ppm concentration (T3) showed best results followed by T8 (0.025% ascorbic acid + 300 ppm sodium benzoate + 300 ppm potassium sorbate) for storage of jamun pulp up to 90 days under ambient conditionwith respect to biochemical properties, microbial load and sensory score. HDPE packaging was found to be better in terms of total anthocyanin content, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity.

Indrajeet Sahu, Minati Mohapatra, Uma Sankar Pal, Manoj Kumar Panda, Raghabananda Nayak, Kalpana Rayaguru and Sanjaya Kumar Dash (2022). Effect of Packaging Materials and Treatments on Biochemical quality characteristics of Indian Blackberry (Syzygium cumini L.) Fruit Pulp during Storage. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 14(4a): 772-780.