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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Nutrition and Sustainable Diets
Volume 8 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2024.1382214

Valorization of Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) Testa as a Biocolourant

Provisionally accepted
RAMESH SV RAMESH SV 1,2*R. Pandiselvam R. Pandiselvam 2SHAMEENA BEEGUM P.P SHAMEENA BEEGUM P.P 2Sandip Shil Sandip Shil 2Sugatha P Sugatha P 2Sharanya K Sharanya K 2Manikantan M.R Manikantan M.R 2Murali Gopal Murali Gopal 2K B. Hebbar K B. Hebbar 2Anok Uchoi Anok Uchoi 2Alpana Das Alpana Das 2
  • 1 Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, India
  • 2 Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (ICAR), Kāsaragod, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Coconut testa, a by-product of the coconut processing industry, is currently underutilized. This study aimed to extract a coconut testa-based food colourant using various organic solvents and physical methods, and to utilize this colourant in food product preparation. Different organic solvents, along with various time and temperature combinations, were employed for colourant extraction using both a laboratory-scale water bath and ultrasonication. The colour coordinate values (CIELab) of the testaderived colourants were measured, and the colourants were screened for various phytochemicals. The in vitro antioxidant potential of the testa colourant was assessed by quantifying total phenolics, and the phytochemical composition, including monomeric anthocyanins, was evaluated. The study determined the optimal combinations of organic solvents, temperature and time to obtain extracts with maximum antioxidant activity and total phenolic content (TPC). Acidified ethanol-based extracts of testa colourants yielded highest polyphenol content (154.39±2.63 mg GAE/g) and flavonoids content (53.65±0.62 mg QE/g). Similarly, ethanol-based extractants of coconut testa produced high anthocyanin content (823.02 ±1.81 mg Cy-3-glc equivalents (C3GE) / 100g). Acidified (0.3M HCl) solvents at relatively high temperature and time combinations exhibited high antioxidant potential of testa colourant, as measured by CUPRAC, FRAP and DPPH assays. Following the foam mat drying process of the colourant, a mature coconut water-based jelly was prepared by incorporating the testa colorant extracted with acidified ethanol. Therefore, this study highlights the biochemical and antioxidant potential of the food colorant derived from coconut testa and explores its suitability for functional food applications

    Keywords: Anthocyanins, Biocolourant, Coconut testa, food processing, phenolics, functional foods; valorization

    Received: 05 Feb 2024; Accepted: 22 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 SV, Pandiselvam, BEEGUM P.P, Shil, P, K, M.R, Gopal, Hebbar, Uchoi and Das. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: RAMESH SV, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, India

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