Identification of the Bioactive Components of Dried Citrus Medica Peels and Their Incorporation in biscuits

The present work aimed to identify the constituents of the dried whole peel (WP) and albedo layer (AL) of citrus medica (Etrog), as well as their antioxidant activity. The GC-MS analysis of the hexane extract revealed that limonene was the most abundant component (93.9% and 38.09% in WP and AL, respectively), followed by l-(+)-Ascorbic acid 2, 6-dihexadecanoate (1.7% and 21.67% in WP and AL, respectively). The antioxidant activity of WP was 91.98% and 93.14% in AL. The appearance, crispiness, flavour, taste, texture, and overall acceptability of biscuits fortified with WP and AL at 3% or 5% were evaluated using 27 panellists. The statistical analysis of sensory evaluation revealed no significant difference in the appearance and flavour characteristics of fortified biscuits with 3% and 5% AL or 3% WP compared to the control. The current findings suggested that fortifying the biscuit with dried Etrog (WP) peel could be done without affecting the taste or sensory acceptance of the product. KEYWORDS albedo peel, antioxidant activity, etrog, fortification, phytochemicals, whole peel