CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background and problem statement

Psidium guajava L. or guavas are examples of tropical, climacteric fruits which

can ripen by itself on or off the tree. Guavas are a small tree of the Myrtacae
species that develop well in most tropical and subtropical soils. In Malaysia,
guava is broadly known as ‘jambu batu’, which defines as the stone-like
hardness of the immature guava fruit. Guava shows tremendous nutritious,
sensory and bio functional characteristics. It grown well in tropical and
subtropical regions thus became an important subtropical fruit. In Pakistan, it
ranks fifth after citrus, mango, banana and apple on the basis of area under
cultivation. Despite of being a valuable fruit, it is also a fruit that contain rich
source of vitamin C (Pal et al., 2004). It contains the group of major antioxidants
like polyphenols and carotenoids, which are responsible for its high nutritional
value (Hassimotto et al., 2005). It is a tropical fruit rich in dietary fibre, and has
pleasant and intense flavour, affording remarkable nutritional, functional and
sensory properties (Flores et al., 2015). However, fresh guava fruit is perishable
and rapidly deteriorates, leading to great economic losses.

Guava shows quick post-harvest ripening. Ripening is a process that involves

development of colour, flavor and texture (softening). Guava continues to
respire and transpire after pluck and since they are no longer attached to the
tree, loss of respirable substrates and moisture occurs quite quickly.
According to Orikasa et al., (2008), producing guava products has some
technological restrictions as significance of a poor phytosanitary control and its
vulnerability to storage due to the increased metabolism during ripening, which
in returns lead to significant losses for producers. The relative humidity and
temperature might be the more severe variables to prolong the shelf-life of the
fruit and to preserve its sensory, physical and chemical properties. Thus,
dehydration or drying processes may be an effective alternative for fruit storage,
because the decrease of water activity is associated to the reduction of chemical
and enzymatic reactions accountable for the destruction of foods. In order to
earn profit of the potential health benefits of guava and increase value to the
fruit, drying the fruit to yield a guava powder denotes one of the probable
conservation methods so as to prolong shelf life, and potentially upsurge the use
of the fruit (Zambrano-Zaragoza et al., 2013). By undergo dehydration, foods
can be simply stored for long periods, due to decrease in water content, and also
promote the chance for the improvement of novel functional products when
used as a spare ingredient for nutrition bars, breakfast cereals, pasta and baking
products. The usage of fruit powders in food formulation is supposing a better
status and has engrossed the attention of the food industry and consumers. In
fact, latest studies have reported the application of fruit powders as functional
ingredients in foods such as breads, cakes and biscuits (Alves & Perrone, 2015;
Ho et al., 2013). Therefore, this study needs to be conducted to determine the
physicochemical properties of dried guava powder.
1.2 Significance of study

Best drying condition may produce nutritious dried guava powder. This study
will reveal the added value of dried guava powder as a potential functional food
ingredient. The physicochemical properties and stability of vitamin C in guava
powder is very useful for bakers and manufacturers to improvise their current
product by adding this functional food ingredient.

1.3 Objectives of study

The objectives of this study are:

1. To determine the effects of different drying methods on the
physicochemical properties of guava powder.
2. To determine the stability of vitamin C on dried guava powder treated
by using different drying methods.