Antioxidant, Mineral and Microbiological Properties of Wine from Blends of Roselle Calyces Extract and Pineapple Juice

Wine was produced from must formulated by mixing roselle calyces hot water extract with pineapple juice at ratios of 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50 for A, B, C, D, E and F respectively. Must were pitched with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, fermented at room temperature for 8 days followed by racking, pasteurization and ageing at room temperature for 31 days. The antioxidant capacity, mineral content and microbiological analyses were carried out on the musts and wine samples using standard procedures. There was a significant (p<0.05) difference between must and wines as fermentation was observed to increase its antioxidant capacity (2, 2-diphenyl -1- picrylhydrazylradical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant properties, trolox equivalent antioxidant properties and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity). Fermentation decreased the mineral contents (manganese, zinc and magnesium) of wines except for sodium that increased significantly. Values ranged from 3.81 – 7.77 mg/L for Manganese, 162.38 – 166.66 mg/L for sodium, 2.71 – 4.71 mg/L for zinc and 35.45 – 40.67 mg/L for magnesium. Microbial count was done at different stages of production and there was no detectable growth on cultured wine samples. The result of this study showed that wines of nutritionally high quality can be produced from blends of roselle hot water extract and pineapple juice.