This study is conducted to investigate the effect of different concentrations of betel leaves extract on color, pH and microbiological in homemade chili bo. The homemade chili bo with different concentrations (0 mg/ml, 0.75 mg/ml, 1.25 mg/ml and 1.75 mg/ml) of betel leaves extract were prepared for analysis. The results showed that the color of chili bo became darker as the concentration of betel leaves extract increased. The extract showed significant in the pH of chili bo after 7 days in which the highest concentration of extract showed the highest value of pH 4.31. The aerobic microbial count was decreased as the concentration of betel leaves extract increased in chili bo. After 7 days of storage, the highest concentration of betel leaves extract showed the highest percentage of reduction (6%), while the control sample showed 2.41% of aerobic reduction. The study also found that the extract contain lesser yeast and mold count (5.22 log CFU/ml) in homemade chili bo compared to the control sample (5.31 log CFU/ml) after 7 days. Betel leaves extract can be considered as natural food preservatives in chili bo to reduce the growth of spoilage microorganism and thus enhance the shelf life of chili bo.
Recently, fermented foods have been developing huge demand among modern consumers due to their health benefits and pleasant flavour. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the effects of fermentation time and different sugar sources on the physicochemical and antioxidant activities of kombucha tea. The sugar sources selected were white refined sugar (WRS), coconut palm sugar (CPS) and molasses sugar (MS). The fermentation substrate was boiled black tea, 10% (w/v) of each sugar, 3% (w/v) of tea fungus (SCOBY) and 10% (v/v) of previously fermented kombucha tea (back slope fermentation). The mixture was incubated in the dark at 24±3°C for 14 days. The sugar and organic acid contents were determined by HPLC, while the antioxidant active was determined by the DPPH and FRAP methods. Results demonstrated significantly higher biomass formation, glucose and sucrose content for kombucha tea fermented with WRS, while kombucha tea fermented with MS showed higher organic acid contents. Moreover, kombucha tea fermented with CPS exhibited the highest antioxidant activity and total phenolic content, followed by those fermented with MS and WRS. The present work demonstrated that kombucha tea fermented with CPS is recommended to be consumed as functional beverage for health benefits and prevention of oxidation related diseases. In addition, CPS and MS are good sugar alternatives to sucrose and other sugars frequently used in kombucha fermentation.