Room 203, 2/F, IABE Bldg.

MinSU Main Campus

Alcate, Victoria, Oriental Mindoro
Email: iabe.office@minsu.edu.ph

Institute of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

BSABE III

Member: DATE: May 22,

2023
Jerald Caidi T. Alfante
Mary Joy Flores
John Bryan V Lago
Leonalyn P. Musico
Mia Suzane M. Mejico

Laboratory No. 5
OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF AB MATERIALS
BRIX PERCENT
I. Introduction
Brix percentage is a measurement used to determine the sugar content in a solution, most
commonly in fruits, juices, and beverages. It provides valuable information about the sweetness, ripeness,
and quality of agricultural products (Bumgarner, 2013).
According to Kleinhenz (2013), Brix percentage is a useful tool for evaluating crop quality and
optimizing harvest timing. It helps farmers determine the optimal time to pick fruits or vegetables when
they have reached their desired sweetness and flavor. Additionally, Brix readings can aid in assessing
plant health, as plants with higher sugar content are often more resistant to pests and diseases. The device
commonly used to measure the Brix percentage is called a refractometer. A refractometer is a handheld
optical instrument specifically designed for determining the concentration of dissolved solids, such as
sugars, in a liquid sample.
In this laboratory the students were tasked to determine the value of the Brix percentage of 3
different commodities with different maturities using the refractometer.
II. Objectives
This lab exercise sought to:
1. To understand the importance of knowing the optical property of commodity
2. To determine the method of measuring the optical properties of commodity
3. To obtain the valuable information about composition and properties of substances
4. To measure the Brix percentage in a specific commodity
5. To distinguish the sweetness, ripeness and quality of agricultural products
III. Materials and Method

 3 type of commodities with different maturity

 Refractometer
Procedure
For your laboratory determine the degree of brix of your commodities with different level of
maturity. Then analyze the fruit maturity based on your gathered references..
To measure the degree of brix
1. Place a small amount of liquid (usually 2-5 drops) on the prism and secure the cover plate. This will
evenly distribute the liquid on the prism.
2. Point the prism end of the refractometer toward a light source and focus the eyepiece until the scale is
very visible.
3. Read the scale value at point where the dark and light portions meet.

IV. Result and Discussion

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 Shown in the table above are the relationship between commodities’ firmness and brix
percentage (Methodist University College, 2017).

According to Postharvest Handling of Mangos of Methodist University College, Ghana. BRIX

can be used with other measures as an indicator of maturity, but is more useful as a ripeness indicator.
BRIX is mainly a measure of how much sugar is present in the mango, though other factors such as acid
and pigment levels also affect BRIX readings. At harvest, mangos are recommended to be a minimum of
7-9% BRIX at stage 1. Based their article the firmness of the mango affects its brix percentage, the lower
the value of firmness the higher its brix percentage. In the study there was an indicator on the level of
sweetness based on the brix percentage of the commodity. Commodities with 5-7% of brix percentage are
at low level sweetness while mango with 8-11% of brix are considered commodities with moderate level
of sweetness. Lastly, commodities with greater 12% brix percentage are considered commodities with
high level of sweetness.

Table 1. MANGO (Mangifera indica)

TRIAL Brix % SWEETNESS

LOW
1 7

MODERATE
2 8

HIGH
3 17

The table 1 displays the Brix percentage and sweetness level of Mango (Mangifera Indica) at
various stages of maturity. Sample 1 exhibits a Brix percentage of 7%, indicating a lower level of
sweetness. Sample 2, with a Brix percentage of 8%, demonstrates a moderate level of sweetness. Lastly,
sample 3 possesses a Brix percentage of 17%, signifying a high level of sweetness.
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Table 2. SINIGUELAS (Spondias purpurea)
According to the study of Hernandez (2008), singuelas that exceeds the brix percentage of 12.5
are considered sweet and those that are below 12.5% were considered moderately low and low sweetness.

TRIAL Brix % SWEETNESS

HIGH
1 13
HIGH
2 14
HIGH
3 15

The table presents the results of the Brix percentage and sweetness level of SINIGUELAS
(Spondias Purpurea) at various stages of maturity. Sample 1 exhibits a Brix percentage of 13%, indicating
a high level of sweetness. Similarly, sample 2 has a Brix percentage of 14%, signifying a high level of
sweetness as well. Lastly, sample 3 demonstrates a Brix percentage of 15%, determining that it also
possesses a high level of sweetness.

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Table 3. YELLOW WATERMELON (citrullus lanatus)
Based on the study conducted by Miles et al. (2016), the sweetness of yellow watermelon can be
classified based on its brix percentage. Yellow watermelon with brix percentage ranged from 8.2 to 12.8
(above 8 is considered good, and above 10 is considered very good), and average taste scores ranged from
4.0 to 8.4. While in general a taste rating of 7 and above is considered good.
 TRIAL Brix % SWEETNESS
low
1 4.5
HIGH
2 7.5
low
3 6
The table showcases the findings of Brix percentage and sweetness level for YELLOW
WATERMELON (Citrullus Lanatus) at different stages of maturity. Sample 1 demonstrates a Brix
percentage of 4.5%, indicating an average level of sweetness. In contrast, sample 2 exhibits a Brix
percentage of 7.5%, indicating a high level of sweetness. Lastly, sample 3 presents a Brix percentage of
6%, determining an average level of sweetness.

Conclusion

Brix measurement is a simple yet accurate way to determine the concentration of sugar/sucrose in
a solution. We have presented three commodities with different maturities within the result shown in the
table we therefore conclude that the Brix percentage and sweetness level for of Mango is can be based on
its color of the commodity. The results of the Brix percentage and sweetness of siniguelas is also can be
based on its color of the commodity. Hence the results of the Brix percentage and sweetness of yellow
watermelon is cannot be based on the color and the size of the commodity. Therefore we cannot easily
determine the sweetness and Brix percentage of a commodity just based on its physical characteristic not
all commodity can be modified by that. For that reason the result on each commodity presented needed
references that indicate the percentage of the brix and sweetness of the commodity that is advisable in the
market. By conducting this laboratory we can now determine and distinguish the sweetness, ripeness and
quality of agricultural product using the refractometer that can be helpful for the farmers, producer and
consumer.
Appendices