Abstract
Fruit beverages are the most consumed refreshing products worldwide. The quality of these drinks is not only influenced by the initial composition of the product but also by conditions and duration of storage. The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the incidence of two conservation parameters (temperature and time) on some bioactive compounds (phenolic, flavonoid, and carotenoid contents) and antioxidant capacity, measured by free radical scavenging activity (RSA) and ferric reducing power (FRP), on orange beverage during storage. The industrial drinking product freshly procured were subjected to storage under variable temperatures (5, 25, 35, and 45 °C) then analyses of bioactive compounds contents and antioxidant activity were performed periodically (0, 10, 20, and 30 days). The results showed that the initial orange beverage was endowed with interesting phenolic compound contents and considerable antioxidant potential. In the exception of 5 °C, which provided steady antioxidant parameters, all other temperatures induced decreases of analyzed phytochemicals and antioxidant activities proportionally with raising of storage temperature. The duration of storage for the temperatures 25, 35, and 45 °C also affected negatively antioxidant parameters in a proportional manner to time. The orange beverage was an interesting natural source of bioactive compounds but the duration of storage in relation to temperature must be chosen properly.