Product Development, Biochemical and Organoleptic Analysis of a Sports Drink

There is a large amount of evidence showing that an individual undergoing dehydration (during a tournament or the exercise regimen) has a negative impact on performance. Thus restoration of this fluid balance must be achieved. Sports drinks are ideally placed to fill both these roles. A sports drink is a beverage designed to help athletes rehydrate, as well as replenish electrolytes, sugars and other nutrients that are lost or depleted after strenuous exercise, training or competition. However, in a sports drink, a variety of substances and nutrients are dissolved in water to make the final product. Not only that, a variety of fruit juices can also be added which provide natural flavor and color rather than adding the artificial ones. In this project, a sports drink was developed mainly using Anandi variety of pomegranate (Punica granatum) and kokum (Garcinia indica). These fruits not only provide natural flavor and color, but also minerals which are essential for the enhancement of athletes’ performance. These fruits are available throughout the year and hence, were selected. Proximate, biochemical, microbiological and sensory properties of the developed product were analyzed. The sports drink product was isotonic. It contained 6.33 % of carbohydrate, and 105.6 mg/100 ml of vitamin C which allows the sports drink for easy gastric emptying and intestinal absorption. The electrolytes present in the sports drink were similar to those lost through sweating and were obtained as; potassium (33.99 mg %), sodium (65.75 mg %), phosphate (4.085mg %), chloride (394.4 mg %), calcium (8 mg %), magnesium (4.86 mg %) and iron (0.72 mg %). Results from the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration and Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR) confirmed the bactericidal property of the sports drink. The presence of antioxidants, led to the enhancement of the formulation, making it a better sports drink. Also, the study examined the extent to which the sports drink caused dental erosion as compared to that of the branded sports drink. The effect of the sports drink in comparison to that of water, on the performance of young sprinters was also analyzed and the sports drink provided positive results. Sensory evaluation gave an idea regarding the overall acceptability of the developed sports drink.