Abstract:
Noni (Morinda citrifolia linn) fruits are edible but they don't have nice taste and flavor
but it has not come to general popular consumption like coffee and other fruit in same
family due to the myth in the community as it a toxic fruit. Therefore, this is one of
the very underutilized fruits in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the proposed study aimed to
investigate the utilization of Noni fruits to develop Ready -To-Serve (RTS) drinks and
evaluate its sensory, analysis of its Nutritional parameters. Four formulations of Noni
Drink were prepared by changing the percentages of juice level (10%,13%,14%, and
15%) the control sample was formulated without incorporating Additives (sugar, citric
acid, pectin and potassium sorbate). All the formulations were subjected to
physicochemical analysis (pH value, moisture, ash, Titratable acidity, Brix%, and
ascorbic acid), microbial analysis (Standard plate count (SPC) and Coliform), and
sensory evaluation. The shelf-life of the product was studied during 30 days of the
storage period by evaluating the changes in moisture content, pH value, Ascorbic acid
and microbial qualities. Moreover, all the formulations exhibited acceptable limits on
microbial quality parameters throughout the storage period. According to the sensory
evaluation, the sample which was formulated by incorporating 15% noni juice, 12%
sugar, 66% water, 4% ginger flavor and 2% mint flavor was found to be the best
treatment (p < 0.05) with the highest overall acceptability of 7.5 +- 0.11a. According to
the physicochemical analysis, the Noni drink sample contained 66.77c+-0.05%
moisture, 0.268+-0.42% Ash, 17.00+-0.00a % Brix, 3.30 +0.00a pH, 12.64+-0.06
mg/l00ml ascorbic acid and 0.0032+-0. 0.00d Titratable acidity.
