Study of Chemical Properties of Lycopene Containing Tomato Purees

A study on chemical properties of different treatments prepared using dried tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum), tomato pulp & water was carried out at School of Home Science, B.B.A.U, LUCKNOW during July 2020 to May 2021 to find out most appropriate treatment/puree having high content of lycopene and Vitamin-C, which can be used during off season for consumption, as a substitute to fresh tomatoes. Apart from lycopene & Vitamin-C; total soluble solids, acidity, ascorbic acid content, ash, moisture and pH of the samples drawn from different treatments were also studied during the investigation. Five different types of treatments viz. Dried tomato powder without food additives (T1), Mixture of tomato powder and water (ratio 1:10) without heating (T2), Mixture of tomato powder and water (ratio 1:10) heating at 60-70⁰C for 5 minutes (T3), Fresh tomato pulp (T4) & Tomato pulp cooked at 60-70⁰C for 35 minutes (T5) were used in the investigation. The effect of these treatments was discernible, as reflected on content of lycopene & Vitamin-C. The highest Lycopene content of 90.34±4.18 mg per 100 g was obtained from tomato pulp cooked at 60-70⁰C for 35 minutes followed by dried tomato powder without food additives (66.47±2.02 mg per 100 g). Similarly, highest content of Vitamin-C i.e. 109.03±6.68 mg per 100 g was obtained from dried tomato powder without food additives and lowest 19.43±0.95 mg per 100 g from mixture of tomato powder and water (ratio 1:10) heating at 60-70⁰C for 5 minutes. These results appeared highly promising considering the nature of powder & pulp.