Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.) Fruit Peel: Possibility of Extraction and Incorporation of the Microencapsulated Crude Extract in Product Development

‘Malwane’ rambutan cultivar is popular due to its attractive reddish color peel and easily separable thick flesh. High consumption of rambutan has led to accumulation of a considerable amount of the peel, which contains anthocyanin and other bioactive compounds. Thus, the objective of the present study was to explore the possibility of extracting and using microencapsulated extract obtained from rambutan peel in product development. The frozen peels were extracted with water at 50 °C, microencapsulated using maltodextrin, and spray-dried to a powder (MESP). Physicochemical parameters of water extract of frozen peels (WEFP) and MESP were studied. Pasta and Jelly were carefully made using the MESP and assess the effectiveness of incorporating MESP. The Total Polyphenolic Content of the WEFP was 24.52 ± 0.47 mg mL^-1, amounting to 12.3% (g g^-1) of the frozen peel. Anthocyanin Content of 24.76 ± 0.04 μg g^-1, TPC of 373 ± 7 mg g^-1, Antioxidant Activity of 81%, Moisture Content of 7.8 ± 0.0%, and water activity of 0.41 ± 0.004 were observed for the MESP. The incorporation of the MESP in pasta imparted a reddish color, not changed during boiling of the finished product. This indicates the ability of MESP to impart color in starch-based products processed at high temperatures and re-constituted in boiling water. However, coagulation and darkening of color were evident with jelly. The results of this study revealed the potential of utilizing discarded rambutan peels.