PRODUCTION OF BETACYANIN POWDER FROM DRAGON FRUIT (Hylocereus undatus) PEELS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to extract betacyanin from white dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus) peel. Some significant factors for the extraction process such as: material and solvent ratio, microwave capacity, microwave time, and pH were investigated. The juice after extraction was concentrated using a rotary evaporator to increase the betacyanin content. In the drying process, maltodextrin percentage and temperature were investigated. The results showed that the maximum betacyanin content was obtained when the extraction process was performed with distilled water, material:solvent ratio of 1:50 (w/v), pH of 7; microwave capacity of 350 W in 90 seconds. Maximum yield of betacyanin was found with 4% maltodextrin and sprayed drying temperature of 150 °C. Betacyanin powder was characterized to contain phenolic concentration of 141.86 mg GAE/100 mL and DPPH antioxidant activity of 19.62 mg/mL. Fine and identical granular was shown in SEM graph. FTIR spectra showed some characteristic peaks of betacyanin. Betacyanin has the potential for application in food technology as a biological coloring agent.

Keywords: Betacyanin, food coloring, maltodextrin, DPPH, dragon fruit peel, microwave.