The green coconut water is sterile inside the nut, but during its extraction and bottling microbiological contamination and biochemical alterations can occur, resulting in quality loss and decrease of its commercial value. The present work aimed at studying the conservation of the green coconut water by microfiltration and ultrafiltration. For microfiltration, a 0.1µm pore size membrane was tested and for the ultrafiltration 100, 50 and 20kDa molecular weight cut off membranes were evaluated. The process efficiency was evaluated by the permeate flux and microbiological, physical-chemical, biochemistry and sensory evaluations. It was not observed significant variation in the physical-chemical parameters. The permeate water presented higher luminosity and lower haze than the original coconut water. The protein content of the permeate coconut water, which is an indirect measure of enzyme concentration, was proportional to membrane porosity. The shelf-life evaluation revealed satisfactory results in relation to the microbiological quality. Among consumers who tasted the ultrafiltrated coconut water, 94% liked the product.
microfiltration; ultrafiltration; green coconut; polyphenoloxidase; peroxidase; sensory analysis
