Abstract:

Sensory evaluation combined with electronic tongue technique was used to study the influences of different
treatments for the removal of bitterness and astringency on flavor quality of Rosa roxbughii juice in order to select the optimal
treatment conditions. The results showed that sour, astringent and bitter tastes comprised the main flavor of Rosa roxbughii
juice. The combination of additives was obviously better than single additives for removal of bitterness and astringency. The
optimal combination found was as follows: 0.12% tannase and 0.015% ucralose. Under the optimized conditions, the sensory
evaluation score was the highest and the taste was appropriate with the lightest bitterness. The response values of C00 (bitterness)
and AE1 (astringency) were the lowest, as detected by electronic tongue. This study suggested that electronic tongue technique
combined with traditional sensory evaluation enables more accurate and reliable evaluation of food flavor.

Key words: Rosa roxbughii juice, bitterness, electronic tongue, sensory evaluation