Effects of Tomato Variety and Lycopene Extraction Methods on Physicochemical Properties of Tomato Powder

Abstract

This experimental investigation describes properties of five local tomato fruit verities (No. 1, No. 2, Phetsompoo, Srida and Eepuea) and the effects of lycopene extraction methods on the physicochemical properties of tomato powder. Physiochemical compositions showed significant differences (p<0.05) for moisture content, carbohydrate, lycopene content and color value in relation to the each tomato variety. The tomatoes (Eepuea variety) had the highest lycopene content (67.61mg/100g dry basic), thus it was used to produce tomato powder with high lycopene content. The tomatoes were blanched at 95 and 121°C for 5 and 10 min and then separated either by a hydraulic press or a screw press to produce tomato pulp. The tomato pulps were analyzed for extraction yield, color value, TSS, and lycopene content. The effects of concentration (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3%) and hydrolysis time (1, 2 and 3 h) of pectinase and cellulase enzymes on tomato puree properties were studied. In addition, the optimum levels of added maltodextin (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 % w/w) on the quality of freeze dried tomato powder were investigated. Results of tomato powder production showed that tissue separation, enzymatically treated and freeze dried treatments exhibited significant (p<0.05) effect on lycopene content of tomato powder. The results indicated that the addition of 5% (w/w) maltodextrin produced good quality tomato powder. The lycopene content of the tomato powder was 65.86 mg/100 g dry sample.