Effect of butterfly pea flower (Clitoria ternatea L.) extract and sucrose concentrations on physicochemical and organoleptic characteristics of butterfly pea flower pastilles

Pastilles are confectionery-based food product that contain active ingredients to relieve sore throats, coughs, and ease breathing. As public awareness of functional foods increases, the addition of butterfly pea flower extract to pastilles can enhance their functional value through its antioxidant content. The experiment was arranged in a 3×3 factorial arrangement under a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Factor E represents the concentration of butterfly pea flower extract, at three levels: e1 (2.5%), e2 (5.0%), and e3 (7.5%), while Factor S represents the concentration of sucrose, at three levels: s1 (30%), s2 (40%), and s3 (50%). The final products were evaluated for physicochemical and organoleptic characteristics, including hardness, melting point, color intensity, moisture content, ash content, volatile compounds, reducing sugar content, antioxidant activity, hygroscopicity, and hedonic acceptance. The results showed that the interaction between butterfly pea flower extract and sucrose concentrations significantly affected the hardness (1,847.808 to 2,357.130 gf), melting point (59.1 to 194.5 ºC), color intensity L* (9.81 to 36.31), a* (8.30 to 9.97), b* (-3.14 to -4.79), hygroscopicity (1.15 to 10.95%), moisture content (0.47 to 4.79%), ash content (1.14 to 2.19%), antioxidant activity (113.04 to 138.49 ppm), and volatile components (82.01 to 93.38%), but had no significant effect on reducing sugar content. Organoleptic responses for color and texture were significantly influenced by both extract and sucrose concentrations, whereas sucrose concentration showed no significant effect on taste, and no significant effects on aroma were observed for any factor.