Value-Addition of Guava Jam with Dates as a Health Promoting Functional Food

Abstract

Guava jam is a widely consumed fruit preserve, while date syrup offers a natural sweetening ingredient that may support value addition. This study developed guava jam with partial substitution of refined sugar by date syrup and evaluated its sensory, physicochemical, nutritional, antioxidant, and microbiological characteristics. Four formulations were prepared: control (0% date syrup), T1 (10%), T2 (20%), and T3 (30%). Sensory quality was assessed using a nine-point hedonic scale, and the formulation with the highest overall acceptability was selected for further analyses. The 10% date syrup formulation achieved the highest sensory scores. The optimised jam contained 28.25% moisture, 67.86% carbohydrate, 2.45% protein, 0.75% fat, and 0.94% ash. Vitamin C content was 36.32 mg/100 g. Total phenolic content was 52.7 mg GAE/g, while DPPH antioxidant activity was 102.52 mg/g ascorbic acid equivalent. The initial total plate count was 2.34 × 10² CFU/g. Higher date syrup substitution levels produced a more intense flavour and darker colour and received comparatively lower sensory preference. The findings indicate that partial replacement of refined sugar with date syrup can produce an acceptable guava jam with measurable nutritional and antioxidant-related characteristics. However, the microbiological result represents only the initial post-processing condition and does not establish product shelf life.