Mango juice clarification with polygalacturonase produced by Aspergillus awamori MTCC 9166 - Optimization of conditions

Pectin rich fruit juices need enzymatic treatment for clarification. As fruits are rich in pectin, pectinolytic treatment can efficiently reduce viscosity resulting in clarified fruit juice. Enzymatic treatment of mango pulp results in 80% recovery of total juice present in the fruit. Use of pectin degrading polygalacturonases increases both fruit juice extraction and clarification. Polygalacturonase (PG) produced by Aspergillus awamori MTCC 9166 is studied for mango juice clarification and conditions are optimized by Box-Behnken design. The conditions studied are incubation time (15-45 min), enzyme concentration (0.5-1.5 U/ml), and temperature (25-400C). Significant regression model describing the change on viscosity with respect to independent variables was established. Based on surface plots and contour plots, the optimum conditions for mango juice clarification were obtained. The recommended enzymatic treatment conditions are enzyme concentration 1.5 U/ml, incubation time 30 min at 400C. Significant (60%) reduction in viscosity was observed.