Effect of karwanda (Carissa congesta Wight) and sugar addition on physicochemical characteristics of ash gourd (Benincasa hispida) and bottle gourd (Langenaria siceraria) based beverages.

There is a clear trend towards increasing consumption of juices as they can reduce imbalance of redox potential and provide necessary health benefits to consumers. Levels of karwanda (Carissa congesta Wight) and vegetable juices were varied to prepare nine different formulations of ash gourd-karwanda (AgK) and bottle gourd-karwanda blends (BgK) of higher nutritive, sensory qualities and storability. Total polyphenols (TP), antioxidant activity (AOA), total soluble solids and acidity were increased significantly (p ≤ 0.05) with addition of karwanda. AgK blend (35:35) and BgK blend (35:30) were selected based on their higher overall acceptability, TP and AOA. AgK blends had higher α-amylase (31%) while BgK blends had higher α-glucosidase (43%) inhibitory activities. Concentration of TP and anthocyanins decreased significantly (p < 0.05), AOA remained unchanged and anti-inflammatory activities decreased (33-38%) in AgK and BgK blends during accelerated storage at 50 °C for 12 days. Addition of sugar in BgK blend decreased stability of TP (11%), flavonoids (31%) and anthocyanins (8%). During in vitro gastrointestinal digestion, TP, flavonoids and anthocyanins reduction rate was significantly higher for BgK blend with sugar.