Shelf life analysis of Detox Drink made from Calamansi, Cucumber, Honey, and Water

Sheena Mae S. Quilang

Toxins can disturb biochemical pathways and may have a role in disease

development. Removing toxins, harmful or potentially damaging substances from our bodies and

our diet helps us to stay fit and healthy. This process is called detoxification, which can also

protect us from accumulating diseases.

Nowadays, an innovation on detoxification is rising: Detox Drink. It is popular in western

country and now spreading across Asia due to information dissemination via web internet. It is

easily made at home and its ingredients vary according to the preferred taste of the consumer.

This drink usually consists of water as its base liquor, and organic foods (fruits, vegetables,

herbs). Lemon is the commonly used ingredient for this drink, however, calamansi will be its

substitute to utilize the native cultivates of the Philippines.

In this proposal, the detox drink that will be prepared will contain water, cucumber,

calamansi, and honey. Due to its wide variety of health benefits (antioxidant property, good

source of Vitamin C and E), everybody can be a beneficiary from this drink.

Since this drink is composed of biological raw materials, thus, it inherently spoils and

deteriorates over time. This spoilage and deterioration cannot be completely stopped; however, it

is the desire of food processors to slow this rate of deterioration as much as possible through

formulation, processing, packaging, storage and handling.

In line with this, this study generally aims:

1. To develop a detox drink using cucumber, calamansi, water, and honey;

 2. To maximize the usage of Philippine cultivates;

3. To determine shelf life of the developed/prepared detox drink; and

4. To research and study on novel and innovative products.

Specific objectives:

1. To prepare a packed detox drink using cucumber, calamansi, water, and honey;

2. Conduct a sensory analysis on the prepared detox drink; and

3. To perform shelf life analysis based on its total soluble solids, color, Vitamin C

content, pH, and Yeast-Mold count.

Review and Related Literature

Toxin. It obstructs or delays the normal functions of our bodies, or causes stagnation,

congestion or disease. Toxins can come from food or water, from chemicals used to grow or

prepare food, and even from the air that we breathe. Our bodies process those toxins through

organs like the liver and kidneys and eliminate them in the form of sweat, urine, and feces. Aside

from eliminating them, other mechanisms for getting rid of toxins are by neutralizing or

transforming it into harmful one. These processes falls under a process called Detoxification.

Some of those toxins that enter our body are: methane, carbon monoxide, chlorine, bleach,

ammonia, food additives, monosodium glutamate, aspartame, pesticide residue, mercury, lead,

and a lot more. These toxins, when taken up (unknowingly or not) regularly, will build up in our

filtering organs like kidneys, liver, and lungs, thus, making our organs weaker for its function.
 Detox Drink. A detox cleans out body waste deposits. It helps out the liver by stimulating

its detoxification process to be more efficient. After cleansing, the body starts rebalancing and

energy levels rise physically. (Page, 1999)

Cucumber. It is normally cultivated in the Philippines and an annual, rather coarse,

fleshy, prostrate or climbing vine. Phytochemical screening yielded flavonoid which has

antioxidant property and anti-cancer activity. Sliced cucumber usually lasts for 1-2 days. It is

also a good source of Vitamin E and Iodine. (2012, Shazzie)

Calamansi. Widely cultivated and native to the Philippines. It is a good source of

Vitamin C which has an antioxidant property that stimulates the release of the enzymes that

are essential part of the liver’s detoxification process, encouraging it to flush our unwanted

toxins. (2010, Paul)

Honey. It has been proven that bacteria cannot live in the presence of honey because it is

an excellent source of potassium which withdraws from the bacteria the formation of moisture

which is essential to their very existence. It has the property of acting as a catalyst to the

process of absorption. (Kumar, 2007)

Shelf life. A food is considered spoiled when it is no longer acceptable to the consumer.

Less serious cases of food spoilage can simply be that the color, flavor, texture, or aroma of

the food has deteriorated to the point that it is no longer acceptable. Another case is when the

nutrients in the food have deteriorated to the point that the food no longer meets its declared

nutritional value.
 Packaging. Packaging materials used for food liquids should maintain good hygiene and

have sufficient mechanical strength to prevent leakage and contamination from the outside.

They should also be inert and provide a barrier to light. (Paine, 2012)

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Sample Preparation

Screening test

Packaging

Shelf life test

METHODOLOGY

Sample Preparation

Each sample will be prepared with 1 Liter of distilled water added with 100 grams of

sliced cucumber and 100 milliliters of freshly squeezed calamansi.

Experimental Treatments

Each prepared samples will be added with different weight in grams of honey (0, 50, 100,

150, 200), packed in glass bottles covered with foil, and will undergo the screening tests.
 Screening Tests

The screening tests are pH determination, Vitamin C content determination, total soluble

solids, degree of color, and sensory evaluation.

Sensory Evaluation

Consumer acceptability will be studied with 25 untrained panelists ranging from 18 to 40

years of age. Prior to sensory evaluation, the treated samples will be allowed to fuse for 1

hour in a refrigerator, randomly coded, and served (20 mL) together with 100 mL distilled

water. Treated samples will be compared in terms of color, sweetness, flavor, and overall

acceptability.

Packaging

The sample will be packed in an aseptically cleaned and tightly sealed Polyethylene

bottle.

Shelf life analysis

The most favored treatment from the screening process will go through the shelf life

analysis, wherein, 2 Liters of the treatment will be prepared and exposed in different

temperature conditions in degrees Celsius (5, 10, 25, 30) with 3 replicates each treatments for

2 weeks. Every 24 hours, starting from prior to exposing the treated samples under different

temperature conditions, shelf life will be analyzed based on its color, Vitamin C content

determination, pH determination, microbial test, and total soluble solids. As for microbial

analysis, the inoculated plates will be observed every 3 days.

 Each treated samples will be analyzed every 24 hours for 7 days. In analyzing its total

soluble solids, Vitamin C content, and Color, methods will be used are hand refractometer,

redox titration using Iodine, and spectrophotometer, respectively.

In measuring total soluble solids, the refractometer prism surface should be ensured as

clean and dry. A small amount of the treated sample will be placed on the prism surface. Look

through the eyepiece while pointing the prism in the direction of a good light (not directly at

the sun). Focus and take the reading of where the base of the blue colour sits on the scale and

record the % percentage sugar (°Brix). Clean the refractometer immediately with a damp

tissue, dry thoroughly, and repeat the step for the other samples.

For redox tritration, Iodine solution and starch indicator solution will be prepared.

Iodine solution: (0.005 M). Weigh 2 grams of potassium iodide into a 100 mL beaker.

Weigh 1.3 grams of iodine and add it into the same beaker. Add a few mL of distilled water

and swirl for a few minutes until iodine is dissolved. Transfer iodine solution to a 1 L

volumetric flask, making sure to rinse all traces of solution into the volumetric flask using

distilled water. Make the solution up to the 1 L mark with distilled water. (*The concentration

of the prepared iodine solution can be more accurately determined by titration with a standard

solution of ascorbic acid or a standard solution of potassium thiosulfate using a starch

indicator. This should be done if possible as iodine solutions can be unstable.)

Starch indicator solution: (0.5%). Weigh 0.25 grams of soluble starch and add it to 50 mL

of near boiling water in a 100 mL Erlenmeyer flask. Stir to dissolve and cool before using.
 Pipette a 20 mL the sample solution into a 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask and add about 150

mL of distilled water and 1 mL of starch indicator solution. Titrate the sample with 0.005 M

iodine solution. The endpoint of the titration is identified as the first permanent trace of a dark

blue-black colour due to the starch-iodine complex.

For spectrophotometer, turn it on and allow to warm up for 5 to 10 minutes. Select the

wavelength. With the sample compartment closed and empty, adjust the % Transmittance

(zero percent transmission of light) to read 0% T using the left front dial. Place a clean (no

fingerprints), dry cuvette filled approximately 3/4 full of the blank sample (solvent only) in

the sample compartment. Close the sample compartment. Adjust the % Transmittance to read

100% T (100 percent transmission of light) using the right front dial. Remove the blank

cuvette and place the cuvette containing the sample in the sample compartment. Close the

sample compartment. Read and record the value registered on the meter. (*Every time the

wavelength of light is changed, the instrument must be recalibrated to read 0% T and 100% T

with the blank).

As for the Microbial Test, the media to be used is the Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA). In

Preparing the PDA, 39 grams of dehydrated PDA will be suspended in 1 Liter distilled water.

Heat mixture to boiling, then distribute to flasks, and autoclave for 15 minutes at 121 degrees

Celsius. Streptomycin and Chloramphenicol at a final concentration of 100 ppm are added just

before pouring.

In isolation of yeasts and molds, 10 mL of juice sample will be diluted with 90 mL of

0.1% sterile peptone water (1 g peptone, 1L distilled water). *First Dilution
 Transfer 1 milliliter from the first dilution to 9 milliliter of 0.1% peptone water. *Second

Dilution

Prepare another dilution by transferring 1 milliliter from the second dilution to 9 milliliter

of 0.1% peptone water.

Inoculate 0.1 milliliter of the three dilutions in duplicate onto solidified PDA with

antibiotics. Spread the inoculums over the entire surface of the agar using a sterile bent glass

rod. Incubate plates in an upright position for 5 days at 25-30 degrees Celsius. Count plates

containing 15-150 colonies. If mold overgrowth has occurred, count from the underside of the

plate.