Evaluation of the Relationship Between High-Molecular-Weight Compounds in Processing Juices and Sugar Beet Quality

The aim of the study is to identify the relationship between the high-molecular-weight compounds (HMWC) of diffuse and purified juices and the quality of sugar beet under the influence of a composition of functional technological processing aids (TPAs) on the food system of sugar production. The full factorial design of the numerical experiment included two factors at four levels of their variation. Each of the 16 experimental variants reflected the ratio of the content of soluble non-sugars of sugar beet (factor A) and the total dose of the TPA composition, including an enzyme preparation, an antimicrobial agent and an antifoam agent (factor B), specified by the planning matrix. A statistically significant effect of the interaction of the studied factors on the HMWC of process juices in the food system was established only at the average levels of their variation. The share of the contribution of the studied factors to the variation in the HMWC of diffuse and purified juices was revealed: a significant contribution was made by the content of soluble non-sugars of sugar beet, the share of which was at the level of 73.5 and 68.6 %, respectively; The level of influence of the total dose of the TPA composition was average – 21.9 and 22.8 %. An adequate reflection of the combined influence of the content of soluble non-sugars and the TPA composition on the numerical values of the HMWC of process juices was obtained using the corresponding regression equations. The response surfaces presented based on these data indicated a consistent increase in the HMWC content in juices with increasing concentrations of soluble non-sugars in sugar beet, while the applied functional HMWC composition at average and maximum total doses resulted in a decrease in the HMWC content in juices. A high degree of agreement between the calculated and laboratory results was demonstrated by the determination coefficients of the regression equations: R2 = 0.902 and 0.996. The identified relationships can be used to predict the HMWC content of diffused and purified juices based on their sucrose content with a high level of adequacy (R2 = 0.958 and 0.989).