Pitaya and guava are two tropical fruits and are popular for their
unique characteristics. Both the fruits are known to be high in nutritional properties. They are relatively high in antioxidant activity. Pitaya is a
beautiful fruit containing water soluble betacyanins responsible for the
intense red color and antioxidant activity [6]. Powder of this fruit has already been explored as a potential source of natural red colorant [7,8].
On the other hand, guava is well-known for its high vitamin C and
fiber content [9]. However, the light greenish color of ripe fruits is lost
during spray drying, which is quite usual [10]. Hence, a new tablet formulation blending the powders of both fruits to compensate for the
color as well as the nutrition imbalance may results in a new product
which is highly acceptable to consumers.
The present study was therefore designed to prepare (a) a composite formulation using whole fruits freeze-dried powder of pitaya and
guava compressed into tablet form, (b) evaluate in-vitro release of its
active ingredients, and (c) assess its suitability as a natural fruit drink
tablet.