Extension of shelf life of coconut milk

Viduranga Yashasvi Waisundara1 and Conrad O. Perera2

Food Science and Technology Program, Department of Chemistry, National University
of Singapore,3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543
ABSTRACT
Dehusked coconuts were immersed and rinsed well in a sanitizing solution of 100ppm Aqua-
Plus 5 and left to air dry. The dried samples were vacuum-packed and kept in the freezer for
a period of two months while testing the percentage extraction of milk, free fatty acid (FFA)
content, color (L*-Lightness, a*-red-greenness, b*-yellow-blueness, C* - Chroma, H* - Hue
angle), percentage extraction of oil, peroxide value (PV) and Malondialdehyde (MDA), once
a fortnight. The measurements were plotted in graphs in order to assess the affect of the shelf
life treatment. The graphs indicated a steady decrease in percentage extraction of milk and oil
content, whereas a decrease in the rate of increase of the FFA, PV and MDA was observed.
The measurements made on color were seen to fluctuate throughout the period of analysis.

1. INTRODUCTION
The utilization of the different portions of the coconut tree (Cocos nucifera) for
commercial matters makes it one of the most important crops in the tropics. With
reference to this fact, coconut milk plays an important role in many local cuisines
throughout the world, especially in Asia. The milk is primarily the extract obtained from
the coconut endosperm. It is a rich medium which has the ability to support the growth of
many spoilage micro organisms. In addition, it is highly susceptible to chemical
deterioration by lipid auto oxidation and lipolysis which results in off odors and flavors,
mainly contributed by the presence of peroxides and MDA – end products of lipid
oxidation. Many valiant attempts are being made commercially, to extend the shelf life of
coconut milk by canning, aseptic packaging and spray drying (Seow and Gwee, 1997).

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fresh matured coconuts (circa 2kg) were purchased and dehusked. 1l of 100ppm Aqua-
Plus 5 (Biocide Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd, Singapore) sanitizing solution was prepared using
0.2g of citric acid added to 2ml of 50 000ppm Aqua-Plus 5, followed by dilution till the
desired volume. The coconuts were rinsed in the solution and shaken well. After air
drying the samples, the coconuts were broken into pieces (circa 25g) and added to plastic
bags in 350 – 450g cohorts before vacuum packing. The packaged samples were kept in a
freezer for a period of two months while periodically (once a fortnight) determining the
percentage extraction of milk, FFA content, color, percentage extraction of oil, PV and
MDA.

2.1 Extraction of coconut milk

The treated samples were removed from the freezer and transferred to a water bath of 75–
800C leaving the packaging in tact. The samples were removed from the packaging when
its temperature reached 35–400C. The coconuts were grated using a coconut grater.
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Student
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Lecturer

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The grated coconuts were wrapped in a clean cheese cloth before extracting the milk by
an extractor. The percentage extraction was calculated as volume (ml) per 100g of grated
coconuts.

2.2 Color
The parameters of color (L*, a*, b*, C*, H*), were measured of the extracted coconut
milk by a Minolta CM3500d Colorimeter, using a large lens size and semi-solid phase
dish.

2.3 Free Fatty Acids

The FFA content was determined as recommended by the standard Association of
Official Analytical Chemists method (AOAC, 1984). 25ml of 95% alcohol was
neutralized using standardized 0.0598M NaOH using Phenolphthalein as the indicator.
The solution was added to 25ml of coconut milk and mixed well. 25ml of diethyl ether
was added to the resulting solution and mixed well. The solution was titrated with
0.0598N NaOH with Phenolphthalein as the indicator, till the pink color persisted. The
FFA was calculated in terms of percentage of Lauric acid per 100ml of coconut milk.

2.4 Extraction of oil

A modification of the method suggested by Pearson (Pearson, 1973) was employed. 20g
of sample was added to 15-20ml of 2M HCl till the solids of the milk dissolved. The
solution was heated in a water bath at 700C for 30min, and thereafter transferred to a
water bath at 1000C for another 30min. After being cooled to room temperature, 25ml of
diethyl ether was added and shaken well. 25ml of petroleum ether was added to the
solution and shaken well again. The mixture was centrifuged at 3000rpm for 5min. The
diethyl ether layer (on top) was separated and added to a soxhlet apparatus for
evaporation at 500C. The remaining solution was left overnight to dry in an oven at 1000C
resulting in the extracted oil. The percentage of oil was calculated as weight per 100g of
coconut milk.

2.5 Peroxide value

The PV was measured as recommended by the standard Association of Official
Analytical Chemists method (AOAC, 1984). 1ml of coconut oil was added to a solution
containing 1ml of 5% KI and 20ml of 2:1 (V:V) Glacial acetic acid: Chloroform and left
in a water bath at 1000C for 1min. The solution was transferred to a mixture containing
4ml of KI and 10ml of distilled water. Once well mixed, the solution was titrated with
standardized 0.203N Na2S2O3 with 1% starch as the indicator. The PV was calculated as
mili-equivalents of peroxide O2 per 1kg of oil.

2.6 Malondialdehyde
The level of MDA was measured using the formulas and method of the TBA-based assay
suggested by Hodges et.al. (1999). 1ml of coconut oil was diluted in 9ml of solution
containing 80:20 (V: V) Ethanol: distilled water. +TBA solution was prepared using
10ml of 20% trichloro acetic acid, 10ml of 0.01% BHT, and 10ml of 0.65% TBA. –TBA
solution was prepared using 10ml of 20% trichloro acetic acid and 10ml of 0.01% BHT.
1ml of diluted coconut oil solution was added to 1.6ml each of +TBA and –TBA

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solutions. The samples were heated in a 950C water bath for 5min. Once cooled, the
samples were centrifuged at 3000rpm for 5min. The absorbance was measured at 400nm,
532nm and 600nm using Shimadzu 1601 UV-Vis Spectrophotometer in each of the
samples. The MDA was calculated as follows:

A = [(Abs532+TBA – Abs600+TBA) – (Abs532-TBA – Abs600-TBA)]

B = [(Abs400+TBA – Abs600+TBA) 0.0571]
MDA (per x 10 dilution) = (A - B) x 107 / 157000

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Due to space constraints 4 out of a total of 10 graphs are included.
Percentage extraction

Chroma
70

10

60
9

8
50
Percentage extraction (%)
7

40
6
Chroma

5
30

3 20

2
10

0 0
Week 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5
Weeks Weeks

Fig 3.1 Change in levels of C* values Fig 3.2 Percentage extraction of

coconut milk

Free fatty acids

MDA Values
1

120
0.9

0.8
100

0.7
Free fatty acids (lauric acid)

80
0.6
MDA (nmol / ml)

0.5
60

0.4

0.3 40

0.2
20
0.1

0 0
Week 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5
Weeks Weeks

Fig 3.3 FFA (in terms of lauric acid) Fig 3.4 Change in levels of MDA

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 Date of Color Oil (%) PV (mili-
extraction equivalents
L a* (all b* H* of peroxide
values O2 per 1kg of
are oil)
negative)
13.12.2002 81.43+0.00 0.34+0.00 5.73+0.00 93.40 38.21 25.78
16.12.2002 84.90+0.24 0.71+0.03 6.74+0.02 95.99 37.77 32.15
30.12.2002 87.33+0.08 0.72+0.01 6.30+0.01 95.56 34.80 38.69
13.01.2003 87.72+0.04 0.55+0.02 6.50+0.01 94.84 34.11 42.17
27.01.2003 85.00+0.16 0.84+0.02 7.56+0.08 96.31 33.73 44.40
10.02.2003 85.00+0.06 0.56+0.01 8.60+0.06 93.71 33.22 44.50
Table 3.1 L, a*, b* and H* values, percentage extraction of oil and PV changes across
the dates of extraction

A decrease was observed in the percentage extraction of milk followed by a plateau phase
where the rate of decrease in the extraction percentage showed a significant decrease. The
results confirmed those which were observed by Cancel et.al (1976) where continuous
freezing of the coconut pulp was seen to reduce the percentage extraction.
The percentage of oil steadily decreased as well. However, this could be due to the
insufficiency of the volume of 2M HCl added in order to break the fatty acid molecules
from the matrix material in the milk.
A decrease in the rate of increase of the FFA, PV and MDA was observed. The graphs
were seen to fall into a plateau after period of 3 weeks. The results also show the
presence of lipase and lipoxygenase activity despite freezing. A blanching step could
have been added to the shelf life treatment in order to eliminate the activities of these
enzymes.
The L, a*, b* and H* values measured on the basis of color were seen to fluctuate
throughout the period of analysis. The C* values had a steady increase after a period of 3
weeks. This indicated the darkening of the white coloration of the coconut flesh.

4. REFERENCES
1. AOAC (1984). Official method of analysis (4th Ed.). Washington, D.C.:
Association of Official Analytical Chemists.
2. Cancel, L.E., Rivera-Ortiz, J.M., de Hernandez, E.R. 1976. Storage of frozen
coconut pulp and quality of coconut milk extracted. Journal of Agriculture of the
University of Puerto Rico. 60: 99 – 104.
3. Hodges, D. Mark, DeLong, John M., Forney, Charles F., Prange Robert K. 1999.
Improving the thibarbituric-acid-reactive-substances assay for estimating lipid
peroxidation in plant tissues containing anthocyanin and other interfering
compounds. Planta. 207: 604 – 611.
4. Pearson, D. 1973. Laboratory Techniques in Food Analysis. London.
Butterworths. p315.
5. Seow, Chee C., Gwee, Choon N. 1997. Coconut milk: chemistry and technology.
International Journal of Food Science and Technology. 32: 189 – 201.