Evaluation of Physical and Chemical Properties of White Sapote (Casimiroa Edulis) Fruits and Powder

The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of fresh and dried white sapote ( Casimiroa Edulis ) fruits. The physical properties, including weight, length, diameter, length/diameter ratio, volume, firmness and bulk density, were studied. Antioxidants, color, mineral contents and sensory evaluation of white sapote using different methods of drying have been studied. The physico - chemical properties results of white sapote fruits showed that the moisture, total soluble solid, total acidity, ash, crude fat, protein, crude fiber and total carbohydrates contents were 78.72, 19.33, 0.14, 1.11, 0.42, 1.39, 1.30, 17.06% and pH value 5.73, respectively. The contents of total sugar, reducing sugar and non reducing sugar were 13.63, 11.65 and 1.98%, respectively and the caloric value was 77.58 Kcal. On the other hand, mineral contents were recorded at 66.39, 3.35, 37.86 and 5.23mg/100 g for phosphorus, iron, calcium and zinc. Color (L*, a* and b*) values were 59.71, 6.33 and 16.29, respectively. Color measurements of all treatments showed that T6 had the highest value (12.87) for ∆ E of color while T1 had the lowest value (5.72). Sensory evaluation data of powder quality during juice of T6, T5 and T3 had the highest overall palatability score compared with other treatments. Meanwhile, results were recorded for total phenolic (43.41mg/100g), total flavonoid (0.86mg/100g) and antioxidant activity (86.32%), respectively. It can be con-cluded that drying methods did not cause a substantial loss of nutrients, a low decrease in total phenolic compounds, an increase in total flavonoid compounds and antioxidant activity.