Pummelo [Citrus grandis (L.)] Osbeck, is an important underutilized fruit crop grown mainly in the
states of the North Eastern region of India. The juice of pummelo fruit is an excellent source of
antioxidant and health-promoting compounds. However, it is not very popular among consumers due
to its unbearable bitterness. This bitter taste is due the presence of bittering compounds (limonin and
naringin) which gets extracted during juice extraction. It is the main reason for the poor organoleptic
attributes and acceptability of pummelo juice among the consumers. It is also one of the limiting
factors for commercial production and processing of pummelo based fruit juices. This investigation
was therefore, aimed at reducing bitterness by reducing the concentration of bittering compounds
(limonin and naringin) by using an adsorbent, Amberlite XAD-16, and optimization of the same in
terms of quantity (mg/100 mL) and reaction time (seconds) for debittering purposes using response
surface methodology (RSM). The impact of independent variables (quantity of adsorbent and
reaction time) on dependent variables (quantity of limonin and naringin) and the extent of reduction
in bitterness of pummelo juice were studied. Effects of quantity of adsorbent and reaction time were
found to be significant (p < 0.05) for dependent variables. The Amberlite XAD-16 resin was found
to be very effective in reducing limonin and naringin as it reduced limonin by 88% and naringin by
40% in the juice resulting in reduced bitterness in pummelo fruit juice.