Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) sap as a potential source of sugar: Antioxidant and nutritional properties

Muhammad Tuseef Asghar; Yus Aniza Yusof; Mohd Noriznan Mokhtar; Mohammad Effendy Ya'acob; Hasanah Mohd Ghazali; Lee Sin Chang; Yanty Noorzianna Manaf

doi:10.1002/fsn3.1191

Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) sap as a potential source of sugar: Antioxidant and nutritional properties

Food Sci Nutr. 2019 Sep 30;8(4):1777-1787. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.1191. eCollection 2020 Apr.

Authors

Muhammad Tuseef Asghar^{1

2}, Yus Aniza Yusof^{2

3}, Mohd Noriznan Mokhtar², Mohammad Effendy Ya'acob², Hasanah Mohd Ghazali⁴, Lee Sin Chang⁴, Yanty Noorzianna Manaf³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Farm Machinery and Power University of Agriculture Faisalabad Pakistan.
² Department of Process and Food Engineering Faculty of Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia Serdang Malaysia.
³ Laboratory of Halal Services Halal Products Research Institute Universiti Putra Malaysia Serdang Malaysia.
⁴ Department of Food Science Faculty of Food Science and Technology Universiti Putra Malaysia Serdang Malaysia.

Abstract

This study was carried out to compare the antioxidant and nutritional properties of coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) sap with other natural sources of sugar such as sugar palm (Borassus flabellifer) and sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.). Coconut sap and juice from sugar palm and sugarcane were analyzed for proximate composition, pH and total soluble solid (TSS), color, sugar profile, vitamin profile, antioxidant properties (total phenolic contents, DPPH, FRAP, and ABTS), and mineral content. The results indicated that coconut sap possesses high DPPH (23.42%), FRAP (2.09 mM/ml), and ABTS (21.85%) compared with the juices. Coconut sap also had high vitamin C (116.19 µg/ml) and ash (0.27%) contents, especially in potassium (960.87 mg/L) and sodium (183.21 mg/L) which also indicating high content of minerals. These properties showed that coconut sap could be served as a potential healthier sugar source compared with sugar palm and sugarcane juices.

Keywords: antioxidant properties; coconut sap; mineral content; proximate composition; sugar palm juice; sugar profile; sugarcane juice; vitamin profile.