Sensory evaluation of grapefruit (Citrus × paradisi) juice incorporated with selected herbal flavouring agents

Grapefruit (Citrus × paradisi) juice is nutritionally rich but often limited in consumer acceptability due to its inherent bitterness and strong acidic taste. The present study was undertaken to enhance the sensory quality of grapefruit juice through incorporation of selected herbs as natural flavouring agents. Grapefruit-based beverages were prepared using aqueous extracts of guava leaves, mint, basil, and lemongrass, with jaggery as a natural sweetener. Control and treated samples were evaluated for sensory attributes using a nine-point hedonic scale, including colour and appearance, aroma, consistency, flavour and taste, and overall acceptability. Results indicated that herbal incorporation significantly improved the sensory characteristics of grapefruit juice (8.68) compared to the control (6.24) among the treatments, mint- and guava leaf-flavoured grapefruit juices recorded the highest overall acceptability scores. The study concludes that herbal flavouring is an effective approach to improve the palatability and consumer acceptance of grapefruit juice, supporting its potential for development as a functional beverage.