Bamboo shoot is an important constituent of traditional cuisine of some parts of India, particularly in North-Eastern region and is highly valued for its nutritional and health benefits due to the presence of several bio-active compounds. Raw, canned, boiled, marinated, fermented, frozen, liquid and medicinal are the several forms in which bamboo shoots are processed. However, the consumption pa ern of bamboo shoots is traditional, non-standardized, seasonal and region specific with li le value addition. Due to seasonal availability of bamboo shoot, processing for handling cynogenic toxicity in raw shoot while keeping nutrients intact and enhancement of shelf life of the value added products assume great significance for business potential. There exists an urgent need to adopt the processing of bamboo shoot-based food

products in an organized manner. The present article gives an overview of bamboo shoot-based food products, their quality attributes and the opportunities for value addition along with future prospects.

Kombucha, Tea Kvass, Japanese or Indonesian tea fungus and Manchurian are the most common names for the symbiotic association of bacteria and osmophilic yeast in a form of thick jelly membrane which is cultured in sugared tea. It is slightly sweet, acetic acid-fl avoured beverage also called tea eider the traditional substrate for kombucha preparation is black tea sweetened with 5 to 15% of sucrose and produced during 6 to 10 days of fermentation under aerobic conditions, at a temperature range of 20 to 30°C. The fermentation is two steps fermentation in which, the yeasts ferment the sugar to ethanol, which is further oxidised by the acetic acid bacteria to produce acetic acid which reduces the pH of medium.

Except black tea, different types of other tea’s such as orthodox tea and herbal tea have been used for the production of apple tea wine, using natural and inoculated fermentation. Besides acetic acid, the fermented liquid contains gluconic, glucuronic and lactic acid, among them all glucuronic acid is the main therapeutic agent in Kombucha. Kombucha metabolism produces glucose, fructose, small amounts of ethanol, carbon-dioxide, vitamins C, B1 B2, B3, B6, B12, folic acid, different organic acids, mainly acetic, gluconic, L-lactic, glucuronic, enzymes and some antibiotically active compounds, and many others. Beverage also contains most of tea ingredients like tea catechines and caff eine. The beverage has been claimed is considered a prophylactic agent and is considered benefi cial to human health.

Keeping in view the increased demand of functional foods and the therapeutic potential associated with the stem of Syzygium cumini, a novel wine was produced from it. The wine was found to possess an ethanol content of 8.0±0.03% v/v. The wine had high total phenolic content (331.5µg/mL) and consequently, high total anti-oxidant capacity (27.09±0.1 µM/mL.). Statistical modeling was employed to the wine production for increasing ethanol, total phenolic and total antioxidant capacity of the wine. Primarily, the three most significant factors affecting the process were identified by Placke - Burman design. In the second phase, the concentration and interaction of the factors identified (KH2PO4, yeast extract and ZnSO4) was studied and optimized to achieve maximum response. The model was found to be significant (p<0.005) and ethanol concentration increased signifi cantly to 11.59% (v/v), total anti-oxidant capacity to 186.0 µM/mL and total phenolic content to 1049.87 µg/mL in the optimized media. Further, for the identifi cation of major bioactive compounds of the wine, LC-MS analysis of the wine was carried out which revealed the presence of various phyto-chemicals including

malvidin, dephnidin, petunidin, gallic acid etc.

Wheat grains were sprouted for 24 and 48 h, and cereal-legume fl our blend (sprouted wheat flour and defaed soybean flour in the ratio of 80:20) was used to produce extruded product. Effect of addition of sprouted wheat flour on quality characteristics of extruded product showed that the expansion ratio of the extrudates made from sprouted wheat flour for 48 h was significantly (P<0.05) higher (3.41) than that of sprouted wheat flour (3.36) for 24 h and sound wheat flour (3.28). However, the bulk density of the extrudates prepared from sound wheat flour was significantly higher (0.18 g/ml) than that of sprouted wheat fl our (0.16 and 0.13 g/ml for sprouted wheat for 24 h and 48 h, respectively). Both expansion

ratio and bulk density were indicative of the expansion. The extrudates having higher expansion ratio showed lower bulk

density and vice versa.

Vermouth was prepared from bael wine fortifi ed with brandy to maintain 16 % alcohol content with 3 spice levels. Bael wine had TSS of 7.3 oB, 0.361% titratable acidity, 3.50 pH, 0.782 mg/100 ml total phenols, 0.45% reducing sugars and 11.50% ethanol content. The bael vermouth with 2% spice level was more acceptable organoleptically than 3.5 and 5% spice levels which had TSS of 7.2 oB, titratable acidity 0.339%, pH 3.32, ethanol content 16.71%, total phenols 0.779 mg/100 ml and carotene content of 38.95 µg/ 100ml a er 6 month of ageing.

To assess the effect of milling speeds on shelf-life and proximate composition of flour, pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), one of the most extensively grown type of millet was selected. Pearl millet fl our was prepared using low-speed mini flour mill at 75 and 115 rpm and the results were compared with the flour prepared using commercial fl our mill. The performance of flour mill was evaluated on the basis of recovery of flour, rise in temperature of flour aer milling, time taken for milling, particle size distribution and diff erent quality parameters viz., moisture, protein, crude fat, ash, fiber, carbohydrates and free fa y acids (FFA). The whole pearl millet fl our was packed in high density polyethylene (HDPE), lower density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic jars and stored for 50 days at ambient conditions. The recovery of fl our was the the higher (95.26%) at 75 rpm speed than at 115 rpm although the time taken was more i.e. 25 min. but the rise in temperature during milling was very less (13.45oC) as compared to the commercial mill where the temperature rose upto 36.5oC. The moisture content and FFA increased signifi cantly (P<0.05), whereas the protein, fat and ash content decreased signifi cantly (P<0.05) with increase in storage time. Further, the moisture content, FFA, crude protein and fat content were aff ected signifi cantly (P<0.05) whereas, the fiber and ash contents were eff ected non-signifi cant (P<0.05) by both the storage time and packaging material. The pearl millet flour prepared at low speed (rpm) was light brown in color as compared to higher speed (rpm) which was dark brown. Pearl millet flour prepared at 75 rpm and stored in low density polyethylene LDPE packaging material of (200 gauge) was found the best in quality among those milled at 115 rpm and 400 rpm, followed by packaging HDPE packs.

Pulsed light is an emerging non-thermal processing technology which is mainly used for food decontamination. In this study, pineapple juice was exposed to pulsed light to inactivate the E.coli cells using diff erent process parameter such as depth of the juice (5, 10, 15 and 20mm), shelf-height (5, 10 and 15cm) and number of pulses (60,120, 180 and 240 fl ashes) corresponding to an fl uence of 4.8J/cm2, 9.6J/cm2, 14.4J/cm2 and 19.2J/cm2. Sterilized tender coconut was inoculated with E.coli culture of 107 cfu/ml. Treatments led to maximum reduction of 6.3 log cfu/ml. E.coli reduced with increase in the number of pulses. Inactivations are achieved on the thin layer of juice (5mm) at a nearer distance (5cm) from the lamp with 240 fl ashes. By varying the process parameter, reduction in E.coli had a signifi cant eff ect (p< 0.05). Quality characteristics such as soluble solids, pH, color, acidity, Vitamin C and Total phenols does not show statistical diff erence (p<0.05) a er testing in diff erent process parameter of Pulsed light treatment. This could be an alternative technology for thermal processing without compromising both quality and safety of the juice.

A study was conducted to develop value added food products from tropical tubers. Among the minor tubers, Amorphophalluspaeoniifolius, Typhonium trilobatum and colocasia esculenta were selected and subjected to diff erent pre-treatments and  standardized value added products. The sensory evaluation and nutritional analysis showed that the products developed by using tubers were acceptable up to 30 per cent incorporation. The standardized products from the selected tubers

can be explored co age industries for income generation and employment opportunities. Tuber crops have a prominent role in feeding the world and these crops are going to be an important component in food security system in the coming

decades.

Acetes meat free of shell and moisture was prepared and developed the emulsion type product i. e. Acetes sandwich from Acetes meat. A level of squeezed Acetes meat (SAM) 75g, starch 15g, and 25g surimi gave a product of optimum quality characteristics, mouldability and stability than other levels. Addition of 20 g carrot was selected as it gave the best taste scores and overall acceptability as compared to beet root and amaranthus. Other ingredients standardized were salt 2 g, garam masala 6 g, red chilly powder 3 g, garlic paste 6 g, and ginger paste 1 g. Standardized pasteurization schedule was found thermal temperature at 100oC (steaming in autoclave) for 95 minutes.

Acetic acid bacteria comprise a group of Gram negative, rod-shaped with aerobic metabolism using oxygen. From the natural inoculum, bacteria were isolated and characterized. Two main genera were determined as Acetobacter and Gluconobacter. Optimization of concentrations of alcohol, nitrogen source, phosphate source and magnesium sulphate was carried out by applying central composite design (CCD) of RSM for preparation of apple cider vinegar. Apple wine and cider vinegar was prepared by using optimized conditions from response surface methodology (RSM) experiment. Acetic acid fermentations were carried out with diff erent cultures and growth regulators. The treatment having maximum titratable acidity (5.07%) was achieved in run number 2 having 5% initial alcohol concentration, 0.5% K2HPO4 and 0.25%

ammonium sulphate with natural consortia. It was found that the maximum acidity of 4.56% was achieved in run number 23 having 5% alcohol concentration, 1.25% yeast extract, 0.25% NH2HPO4 and 0.55% MgSO4 with natural consortia. It is concluded that to have optimum acetic acid production for cider vinegar production, the optimized concentration of nutrients and growth regulators was suitable, using natural consortia in the form of pellicle.

A solid state fermentation (SSF) process was optimized for gossypol detoxifi cation in co onseed cake (CSC) using mixed fungal cultures viz., Pleurotus sajor-caju with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida tropicalis with S. cerevisiae. The effect of fermentation conditions such as initial moisture content, inoculum level, incubation temperature and period were tested for gossypol reduction in heat sterilized (HS) CSC. The results showed optimized parameters for gossypol detoxification in HS CSC were 70% moisture content, 15% inoculum level, 30° C incubation temperature and 48 h incubation period. The free gossypol (FG) detoxifi cation rate was higher (83.6 %) in P. sajor-caju with S. cerevisiae fermented HS CSC. The detoxifi cation rate of bound gossypol (BG) was higher (63.3%) in C. tropicalis with S. cerevisiae fermented HS CSC. The maximum increase in crude protein (CP) (10.2 %) and decrease in crude fibre (CF) (10.7 %) was recorded in C. tropicalis with S. cerevisiae and P. sajor-caju with S. cerevisiae fermented HS CSC respectively.

Biscuits are one of the popular convenience, ready-to-eat, easy-to-carry, easy-to-store bakery products consumed by all age groups and a be er vehicle for fortifi cation and enrichment with micro and macro nutrients. In the present study, buckwheat and chia seed fl ours were used to prepare composite wheat fl our in order to improve the protein, fiber, fay acids and mineral content in biscuits. Biscuits were prepared from refi ned wheat fl our, buckwheat fl our and chia flour blends in various ratios (of 100:0:0; 85:10:5; 70:20:10; 55:30:15 and 40:40:20, respectively). The incorporation of buckwheat and chia fl our, resulted in darkening and hardening of biscuits. Sensory quality and acceptability scores were decreased

with the increase in the level of buckwheat and chia seed fl our. Biscuits containing 30:15 (Buckwheat: chia) were acceptable in relation to overall acceptability. The diameter of the biscuit decreased from 62.3 mm to 57.4 mm the spread ratio of biscuits decreased from 10.55 to 6.89 but thickness increased from 5.90 mm to 8.32 mm as the level of incorporation of composite fl our increased. There was a considerable increase in protein, fi ber and micronutrients in the biscuits by adding buckwheat and chia fl our. The optimized biscuits had 9.15% protein, 1.48% ash, 5.65% fi ber, 74.3mg calcium and 4.4mg iron corresponding to the control about 5.11%, 0.51% and 1.21%, 18.78mg and 0.93mg. These biscuits were chemically and sensorily accepted upto 60 days of storage in poly proplyne pouches at room temperature.

Madhuca indica commonly known as mahua, is a large tree which produces edible fl owers rich in reducing sugars. In the present investigation suitability of mahua flowers as a substrate for production of citric acid was evaluated. The environmental parameters such as pH, temperature, incubation period, inoculum and nutritional parameters viz. initial  sugar concentration, nitrogen source, and methanol contration affected the production of ciric acid using Aspergillus niger NCIM-545 and NCIM-595. The production of citric acid was optimum when fermentation was carried out at initial pH of 5.0, temperature of 30oC, incubation period of 168 h and inoculum level of 2.0 per cent for both the strains. Further it was observed that at sugar level of 14 per cent, yeast extract (0.07 per cent nitrogen level) and methanol (4 per cent), the citric acid production was optimum. At the optimised conditions the citric acid production was comparatively higher for Aspergillus niger NCIM-595 than NCIM-545.

Aloe vera has long history as a medicinal plant with diverse therapeutic applications and antioxidant properties. Aloe vera contains large number of vitamins, minerals and other biological active compounds. This study was conducted to determine nutrient composition and Functional properties of sweet and bi er type of Aloe vera gel. Gel yield was comparatively more in bi er than non type Aloe vera viz. 521, 422g per kg respectively. The result of the phytochemical screening showed the presence of tannins, saponins, fl avonoids and carbohydrate. Ash, fi bre, protein and fat content of non bi er and bi er type of Aloe vera gel have slight diff erence. Bi er type Aloe vera gel shows higher amount of ascorbic acid than non-bi er cultivar.Total phenolic content was also higher in bi er type aloe vera gel. Functional group distribution was studied by FTIR spectroscopy. Texture analysis shows that the gel treated with citric acid had maximum fi rmness.

A study was conducted in order to investigate the eff ect of fermentation and dehydration on the nutritional and functional properties of horse gram fl our. Fermentation was carried out for 24 hrs, 48 hrs and 72 hrs and standard methods were adopted to analyze the nutritional and functional properties of the processed fl our. Fermentation period had significantly reduced the carbohydrate, fat, ash but increased the protein, moisture and fiber of horse gram flour. Dehydration techniques did not affect the nutrients present in the processed fl our appreciably. But, Fluidized bed drying effectively increased the foam capacity and water absorption capacity of fermented horse gram while fermentation period had decreased the swelling capacity and oil absorption capacity of processed flour, irrespective of the drying methods. Hence, the utilization of fermented and dehydrated horse gram and its flour not only improve the nutrient utilization and bioavailability of nutrients but also upsurge its application in therapeutic food formulations for specific health conditions.

A traditional fermented food made from soybean fermented with Bacillus subtilis, is most popular in Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim and is a means of livelihood in many regions of northeast India. Fermented soybean is considered as healthful food as claimed by medical researches but is perishable with a very low shelf-life. Nutritional properties of naturally fermented soybean as aff ected by the storage at ambient and refrigeration conditions was studied and reported here. The soybeans a er fermentation were tray and solar dried and their nutritional properties were determined at varying time intervals (0, 30, 60 and 120 days). Their moisture, ash, protein, crude fi bre and yeast and mold counts were determined on the successive days of storage to assess the suitability to consumers. The result showed that with the increase of storage period there was a considerable increase in moisture content (from 8.9% to 11.89%), signifi cantly decrease in protein content (from 29.10% to 27.50%) and the amount of crude fi ber (from 6.52% to 4.28%). However, there was a li le change in ash content (from 1.30% to 1.28%). Samples that were stored in refrigerating conditions showed comparatively less loss than others. Moreover, higher changes were observed in the samples that were sun dried than dried mechanically. The same trend was observed in the samples stored at ambient conditions. The microbiological evaluation revealed even on the 120 days of storage the yeast and mold count was within the permissible limit (7.8×102 cfu/g) and the product was acceptable for consumption.

In the present study, pre-treatments have been standardized for the preparation of intermediate moisture products from papaya viz. osmotically dried slices and candy. Out of various treatments tried, the pretreatment consisting of blanching of fruit slices for 1 minute with 0.2% citric acid followed by dipping in 0.2% KMS for 20 minutes was standardized. Osmotically dried papaya contained 5.6% moisture, 55oB TSS, 0.26% acidity, 16.4mg/100g ascorbic acid and 1395.46 µg/100g carotenoids whereas candied papaya contained 16.13% moisture, 46.8oB TSS, 0.12 % acidity, 16.5mg/100g ascorbic acid and 1543 mg /100gm carotenoids content. A slight increase in moisture and reducing sugar took place whereas decrease in total sugar, ascorbic acid and carotenoids was noticed during storage. The developed products remained shelf-stable for 6 months at ambient temperature with minimum changes in their physico-chemical and sensory a ributes. 

Box myrtle (Myrica nagi), a wild fruit is a rich source of antioxidants like phenols and anthocyanins, and has commercial importance because of higher sugar content. Investigations were conducted to develop a commercial appetizer (spiced squash) and evaluate its quality during storage. Diff erent combinations of juice and sugar syrup were tried to standardize a proper combination for appetizer. The appetizer prepared by the optimize recipe was packed in glass and PET bo les and stored for six months under ambient and refrigerated temperature conditions. Appetizer could be safely stored for a period of six months under both the ambient and refrigerated conditions without much change in various quality characteristics. However, the changes in the quality characteristics of the appetizer were slower in refrigerated storage conditions as compared to ambient conditions. Both the packaging materials viz., PET and glass bo les were found suitable, with comparatively lesser changes occurring in glass bo le under refrigerated conditions than others. 

Dahi is an indigenous Indian fermented milk product and is a good source of B vitamins, proteins, and calcium. Diff erent types of Dahi such as sweet and fl avored Dahis are found in the markets but value added products like that of its counterpart yoghurt such as fruit yoghurt are not available. Hence, Probiotic Greek (strained) Dahi fortifi ed with pomegranate pulp has been developed and compared with traditional Dahi. Its physico-chemical, microbiological characteristics, shelf-life and sensory acceptance of all these products was made. Initially four dahi formulations were prepared: traditional Dahi, probiotic Dahi, Greek Dahi and probiotic Greek Dahi and analysed. Probiotic Greek Dahi had signifi cantly decreased pH, moisture and reducing sugar and increased acidity, TSS, fat, protein and antioxidant compared to all the three dahis.

The probiotic greek dahi was selected and was fortifi ed with varied amount of pomegranate pulp. Probiotic Greek Dahi with 20% the pomegranate pulp had signifi cantly decreased pH, but titratable acidity, fat, total solid, reducing sugar, carbohydrate and ash percentage were signifi cantly increased compared to the control probiotic Greek Dahi. All the Dahi samples up to 24 days of storage showed acceptable pH and acidity values. Microbiologically, Dahi samples were stable with satisfactory quality for consumption. Probiotic Greek Dahi with 20% pomegranate pulp showed the highest quality acceptance by consumers. Greek Probiotic Dahi fortifi ed with pomegranate pulp is a nutritions food with high acceptance by consumers.

The study was aimed to evaluate the effect of different extrusion treatments on total phenolic content, total fl avonoids and antioxidant activity of finger millet and sorghum. The flours were subjected to eight different extrusion treatments at varying feed moisture, die head temperature and screw speed. Statistical analysis revealed that the total phenolic content (TPC), total fl avonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity (FRAP, DPPH, TEAC) of extruded fi nger millet and sorghum fl ours was reduced signifi cantly (p < 0.05) over their native counterparts. However, extrusion at high feed moisture, low temp and high screw speed (HM/LT/HS) retained considerable percentage of bioactives. Maximum retention of TPC, TFC and FRAP was observed as: 54 %, 78 % and 57 % in fi nger millet respectively and 87%, 89% and 86% in sorghum, respectively. High retention of bioactives in extruded millet fl ours demonstrated their enormous potential for the development of phenolic and antioxidant rich ready-to-eat snacks.

The microbial pigments are useful as biocolour as they are safe. But the biocolour produced, most of the times, are insoluble water so cannot be used in food products and the pigment was produced using solid state fermentation on a medium with rice grits, apple pomace or combination, glucose monosodium glutamate and magnesium sulphate. The pH of the medium used was 6.0 and a temperature of 30 oC was used for incubators. Results of investigation carried out on the conversion of biocolour produced by Monascus purpureus MTCC 410 under incubation solid state conditions, into water soluble pigment are reported here. The dried culture medium was used and the pigment was extracted using hexane, ethanol, methanol, petroleum ether, acetone and water. It was found that maximum conversion took place using amino

glutamic acid (72%) in comparison to amino acetic (58.0%) acid and gelatin (64.0%). The optimum pH of conversion was found to be 9.2.

In the present study, four types of sugarcane crushers commonly used in Karnataka in jaggery making industries were evaluated. They were Power driven 3-Roller traditional type, heavy duty type and gear box type crushers used in jaggery industries for crushing sugarcane and 2-Roller power driven sugarcane crusher used by venders for extraction of juice for local consumption. Six varieties of high yielding sugarcane cultivars namely viz., CO419, CO62175, CO7804, B37172, CO8371 and CO86032 which are commonly grown in Karnataka, were selected for crushing operation. The parameters studied include quantity of juice extracted and weight of bagasse obtained in each system of crushing and the varieties of cane crushed. It was observed that as the number of crushing cylinders increased, crushing of cane would be more effective leading to increase in per cent age of juice extraction with reduction in bagasse weight.