Effects of enzyme pectinase treatment on obtaining optimum red dragon juice production yield from Vinh Phuc province

Red dragon (Hylocereus polyrhizus) has been one of the main cash crops of Vinh Phuc province in recent years. In addition to its consumption as a fresh fruit, dragon can be processed into a variety of commercial products. This research aims to determine basic parameters to obtain the optimum dragon juice production yield for further processing procedures. Pectin (“natural glue” acts as a binding agent for the structure of cell walls as well as most plant cells) in dragon, has a great effect on juice extraction due to its capacity to increase flesh viscosity. The method applied in this study is using enzyme pectinase to reduce viscosity and increase the juice production yield. The results showed that the treatment of red dragon with enzyme Pectinex Ultra SP-L with a concentration of 0.6 g/kg in 80 minutes and a production yield of 77.56%.