The Utilization of Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrumL.) Fruit in Fermented Beverage

Yuniwaty Halim1, Nadia Catheri

Abstract

The black nightshade (Solanum nigrumL.), which is commonly known as leunca in Indonesia, has been acclaimed for its medicinal effects. Due to its limited use, a processing method to utilize black nightshade into a product that has better functional properties must be studied. This research was aimed to utilize the black nightshade (Solanum nigrumL.) juice in the making of fermented beverage. The black nightshade juice was made with two different pretreatments (no blanching, water blanching at 80ºC for 3.3 minutes) and three different ratios of fruit and water (1:1, 1:2, 1:3). Ranking test was conducted by 80 untrained panelists to determine the most preferred juice. The juice with blanching pretreatment and 1:2 ratio of fruit and water was chosen as the most preferred juice. The black nightshade fermented beverage was made with three different sugar concentrations (10%, 12.5%, 15%) and observed twice a week for 21 days. The black nightshade fermented beverage was analyzed for its antioxidant activity, alcohol content, total titratable acidity, and total dissolved solids. The highest antioxidant activity was obtained from black nightshade fermented beverage which was added with 10% sugar concentration after 14 days of fermentation, i.e. 304.1918 ± 0.5026 mg/L .