Arrhenius and Kinetic Modeling of Betacyanin Degradation in Stabilized Red Dragon Fruit Drink: Sustainability Through Optimization of Fermentation and Storage Conditions

ABSTRACT

Betacyanin is the main pigment in red dragon fruit, Hylocereus polyrhizus which is recognized for its antioxidant and therapeutic benefits; however, it is prone to degradation under extreme pH and heat. Despite its potential, maintaining betacyanin stability throughout fermentation and storage remains a major challenge, particularly under elevated temperatures. This instability limits the shelf‐life of betacyanin‐rich red dragon fruit beverages, and few studies have explored how fermentation duration and food stabilizers can improve betacyanin retention and extend the product shelf‐life. This study evaluated the effects of fermentation duration (3‐ and 7‐day), xanthan gum concentration (0%, 0.4%, and 0.5%), and storage temperature (4°C, 25°C, and 37°C) on betacyanin stability in fermented red dragon fruit juice for 4 weeks. Our results demonstrated that 3‐day fermentation (pH 3.66 ± 0.01) retained more betacyanin as compared to the 7‐day (pH 3.52 ± 0.01), particularly under elevated temperatures. Kinetic modeling and Arrhenius analysis were applied to describe the degradation behavior and determine rate constants, enabling model‐based prediction of pigment‐retention shelf‐life under different storage conditions. The 3‐day 0.5% XG formulation exhibited higher shelf‐lives than the 7‐day samples at all temperatures: 82.3 vs. 43.3 weeks (4°C), 12.8 vs. 10.0 weeks (25°C), and 4.9 vs. 4.7 weeks (37°C). These findings underscore the advantage of shorter fermentation for pigment stability, highlighting the 3‐day fermented red dragon fruit drink with 0.5% XG as a promising, shelf‐stable functional beverage for commercial applications.