Statistical approach to reveal propolis as a potential biopreservative for fruit juices

Abstract

This study was carried out to reveal the feasibility of propolis as a biopreservative for fruit juices. A statistical approach was used to analyze the previously published experimental data. Different pasteurization techniques including the use of propolis, thermal and non-thermal methods were considered in data collection. First order degradation kinetic model was used to determine the degradation rate of fruit juices based on the quality attributes such as ascorbic acid content (30 datasets), total plate count (35 datasets), pH (30 datasets) and antioxidant capacity (16 datasets). Propolis was found to inhibit the growth of bacteria effectively with the negative rate constant (-44,874.66 CFU/g/day), whereas the kinetic constants of other techniques were in positive values ranged from 7.75–9992.17 CFU/g/day. Propolis was also the most effective method to preserve the antioxidant capacity of juices with the lowest degradation rate (-0.0033 mg/g/day). Factor analysis revealed that the remarkable property of propolis was mainly contributed by its phenolics, and partly attributed to its flavonoids. The antibacterial property of propolis was more effective to inhibit the growth of gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) than gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli). A weak correlation between antioxidant and antibacterial properties of propolis was also observed.