Physico-chemical Properties of Fruit Must and Wine Produced from Blends of Banana, Soursop, and Roselle Calyces Juices

Abstract

Post-harvest losses of banana, soursop and roselle calyces continue to pose a major challenge in tropical regions, reducing their economic value despite their rich nutritional composition and suitability for wine production. This study investigated the physico-chemical characteristics of “must” and wine produced from blends of banana, soursop, and roselle calyces juices formulated at six mixing ratios (100:0:0, 0:100:0, 90:5:5, 80:15:5, 70:25:5, and 60:35:5). Fermentation was carried out with Saccharomyces cerevisiae for eight days. The results revealed progressive reductions in pH, TSS, vitamin C and specific gravity in all formulations during fermentation, whereas titratable acidity and alcohol content increased reflecting normal yeast metabolic activity. In the wines, pH, titratable acidity, specific gravity, TPC, and vitamin C content increased significantly (p < 0.05) as the proportions of soursop and roselle calyces increased. Conversely, TSS and alcohol content exhibited no consistent pattern, with the lowest values observed in the formulation containing the highest level of soursop (B60S35R5). The highest alcohol concentrations were obtained from the 100% banana and 100% soursop wines at 12.10% and 11.26% (v/v), respectively, while blends with higher soursop inclusion contained substantially greater levels of phenolic compounds and vitamin C. All evaluated parameters were within the acceptable ranges reported for fruit wines. The study demonstrates that blending banana, soursop and roselle calyces provides an effective approach for producing fruit wine with desirable physico-chemical qualities and an enhanced bioactive composition while promoting value addition and reducing post-harvest losses of these tropical crops.