Mead production with addition of jabuticaba bark pulp: influence of process parameters on fermentation, beverage quality and anthocyanins concentration

• Grant number: 19/24444-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2020
• Effective date (End): February 28, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Rafael Ramos de Andrade
• Grantee: Beatriz da Silva Gomes da Costa
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Mead is an alcoholic beverage obtained from the fermentation of honey by yeast, reaching alcohol content in the range of 4 - 14% (v/v). Its market has great potential to grow, but its production is still empirical, which justifies studies to increase the quality of this product. In this project the fermentation of mead with the addition of 5% pulp of jabuticaba bark, from the Atlantic Forest, which has anthocyanins in the composition, will be studied. Jabuticaba bark have high antioxidant capacity, which protects against degenerative diseases, inhibits the growth of cancer cells, among others. The use of jabuticaba bark pulp as a raw material in mead production can modify the fermentation parameters in relation to the traditional process. Therefore, to obtain a quality beverage, new operating conditions must be investigated. For this purpose, a Factorial Design 22 with 1 repetition at the central point will be used. Through the Statistical Software, the influence of the factors, honey concentration (ÚBrix) in the initial fermentation time, and temperature on the responses: yield and productivity, ethanol, anthocyanin and residual sugar concentration in the beverage will be determined. The aim of this project is to find the optimal conditions to maximize yield and productivity, while keeping mead within the standards, and presenting antioxidant activity.