LAUSR

Abstract Collagen hydrolysate clarifier (CHC), which was prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis of pigskin shavings (collagen waste) in our previous study, was applied in the clarification of a Chrysanthemum beverage. CHC exhibited an excellent clarification effect on the Chrysanthemum beverage due to the significant improvement of the beverage transmittance from 55.4% to 96.2%. The clarification performance was influenced by CHC dosage, pH, temperature and clarification time. The highest transmittance was obtained at a CHC dosage of 0.8 g/L, pH 5.45, temperature of 29 °C and duration of 3 h. After clarification of CHC, the proteins, polyphenols, sugars and flavonoids in the Chrysanthemum beverage were all slightly reduced, but their retention rates were still more than 80%. The sensory quality and storage stability were improved greatly due to the increased total sensory quality score from 62.7 to 85.6 and the prolonged storage time from 1 day to 12 days. Moreover, the cost was estimated to be as low as $0.93/kg. Therefore, CHC is suitable for application in the clarification of plant beverages.