Coconut water is a nutritious, natural, and refreshing drink. However, a challenge for the
coconut water industry is its fast deterioration caused by naturally occurring enzymes
mainly polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD). This study aimed to separate the
PPO and POD using ultrafiltration and to evaluate its effect on the physicochemical
properties and antioxidant attributes of tender and mature coconut water. The membrane
used was polyethersulfone (PES) with two molecular weight cut-offs, namely 30 kDa
(PES 30) and 50 kDa (PES 50) and conducted in a vacuum filter unit. The results showed
that ultrafiltration with PES 30 completely separated the POD activity of both tender and
mature coconut water. The ultrafiltration was also able to separate 86.07% PPO activity of
tender coconut water and 100% separation on mature coconut water. While PES 50 could
separate 49.60% PPO activity in tender coconut water. The ultrafiltration process also
increased the clarity of mature coconut water and maintained the total sugar, sodium, and
potassium contents in both maturities. However, ultrafiltration using these membrane
types reduced total phenolic content and radical scavenging activity. In conclusion, this
study revealed that ultrafiltration can remove the oxidative enzymes to extend the shelf
life against oxidation deterioration. Further studies should be conducted to investigate the
separation of enzymes without high significance loss of polyphenols, antioxidants, and
nutritional properties