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ThesisItem Open Access Exploring the health potential of honey and development of a value added nutraceutical drink(Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2015) Krishnasree, V; KAU; Mary, Ukkuru PThe present investigation entitled “Exploring the health potential of honey and development of a value added nutraceutical drink” was carried out to analyze the quality of different bee honeys in the raw as well as processed form available in Kerala and to develop a nutraceutical drink utilizing the Apis cerana bee honey, major bee honey in Kerala with an idea of value addition. The major bee honeys included in the study were Apis cerana indica, Apis mellifera, Apis dorsata, Apis florae and Trigona iridipennis. The physicochemical parameters, nutrient analysis and health promoting functions of the honeys were analyzed. The moisture content of the honeys ranged from 10.03% to 19.79% with lowest being in raw Apis dorsata honey and highest in raw Trigona iridipennis honey. The electrical conductivity of the honeys ranged from 0.26 to 0.26 mS/cm among raw honeys and from 0.13 to 0.34 mS/cm among processed honeys. Significant difference (p < 0.025) was observed in the electrical conductivity of raw honeys. The ash content of the honeys was found to be 0.16% to 1.07% among the raw honeys and from 0.06 to 0.16% among the processed honeys. Significant reduction of ash content was noticed in Apis dorsata honey. The reducing sugars percentage among the raw honeys ranged from 33.03% to 67.6% and from 54.34% to 62.9%. The raw Apis florea honey varied significantly from all the other honeys in the reducing sugars. Significant difference (p < 0.025) was also noted among the processed Apis mellifera and Apis dorsata honeys. The sucrose content among the honeys varies from 5.31% to 19.73% and significant difference was observed among the raw Apis cerana and Apis dorsata honeys at p < 0.025 level. The fructose glucose ratio among the raw honeys ranged from 1.05 to 1.66 and from 1.15 to 1.71 among the processed honeys. The free acidity of the honeys ranged from 0.15% to 0.68% and all the honeys were significantly different (p < 0.025) in acidity. The pH of the honeys ranged from 3.49 to 4.45 and all the honeys under the study varied significantly (p < 0.025). The specific gravity of the raw honeys ranged from 1.28 to 1.40 which varied significantly at p < 0.025 level, while there was no significant difference among the processed Apis cerana, Apis dorsata and Apis mellifera honeys. The major quality criteria utilized to analyze the extent of processing did to the raw honey was estimated in terms of the amount of hydroxymethyl furfural content and diastase activity. The hydroxymethyl furfural content of the raw honeys ranged from 3.4 to 30.01mg and from 6.36 to 51.87mg among the processed honeys. Significant increase in the HMF content was noticed among the processed honeys. The diastase activity of the raw honeys ranged from 36.7 to 57.5 DN and from 27.32 to 54.26 DN among the processed honeys. Significant difference in the diastase activity among the raw and processed honeys at p < 0.025 level and also between the raw and processed form (at 1%) of each honey was observed. Physico chemical parameters of honeys studied was compared with the cutoff limits as quality criteria set by European Union (EU) council. Moisture and electrical conductivity were within the limits as specified by EU, while slight elevation was noticed in honeys viz., Apis mellifera and Apis florea in their ash content, sucrose content and acidity. Hydroxymethyl furfural content and diastase activity of the honeys were within the levels of EU directive. The colour intensity of the honeys were determined in terms of the chromatic components and revealed that Apis florea, raw Apis Trigona, processed Apis mellifera, raw and processed Apis dorsata honeys had lower luminance values exhibiting amber colour while all the other honeys had lighter colour showing the prominence of other tones in them. With regards to the ‘a’ and ‘b’ values all the honeys were having reddish tone and yellowish chroma. Visco elastic properties of the honeys depicted that raw and processed Apis cerana, Apis mellifera, Apis dorsata and Trigona had viscous property with high loss modulus (G'') values and Apis florea honey exhibited slight elastic property with high storage modulus (G') value. Apart from the physico chemical characteristics the microbial contamination of the honeys were also analyzed with aim to analyze the quality of the honey. The microbial analysis indicated that none of the honeys analyzed were infested with pathogenic coliforms. The sensory evaluation of the raw and processed honeys revealed that raw Apis dorsata was highly acceptable (7.35) and processed Apis dorsata was least acceptable (1.05). The most acceptable colour was for raw Apis mellifera honey (6.50) and texture for processed Apis cerana honey (5.95). Significant difference (at 5%) was noted in the sensory parameters among all the honeys analyzed. The free choice profiling technique was utilized to know the distinctive character of each sensory attribute exhibited by the honeys. The presence of amber colour was noted in Apis florea, raw Apis mellifera, raw Trigona and processed Trigona. Fruity aroma was detected in raw and processed Apis cerana, while medicinal aroma was prominent in Apis florea and all other honeys had floral aroma with an exemption to processed Apis dorsata which yielded a fermented aroma. The nutrients in the honeys were analyzed and the energy content of the honeys ranged from 328 to 353kcal and carbohydrate content from 80.25g to 88g per 100g of the honey sample. The protein content of the honeys was negligible and the major amino acid proline was detected only in raw and processed Apis dorsata (4.5mg each) and Trigona iridipennis (8mg and 3mg) honeys. The vitamin C was found to be negligible in the honeys, while vitamin A and E were not detected. With respect to the mineral content potassium was detected at higher levels among all the honeys, which ranged from 30.5 to 52mg/100g among the raw honeys and from 28 to 47.5mg /100g among the processed honeys. The iron content was noted to be from 0.54 to 1.4mg/100g among the raw honeys and from 0.24 to 1.3mg/100g among the processed honeys, while the calcium, sodium and phosphorous were also recorded to be very less. The trace elements analyzed were zinc (0.04 to 5mg/100g), copper (0.002 to 0.13mg/100g) and manganese (0.001 to 0.35mg/100g) and it was noticed that all the level of three elements were in traces in all the honeys analyzed, but they are involved in umpteen biochemical functions in the body as metalloenzymes. Hence the presence of trace elements even in marginal levels might exert therapeutic properties to the honeys. The health promoting functions of the honeys were analyzed which includes the phytochemical profiling, antioxidant activity, antidiabetic activity and antimicrobial activity. The phytochemicals analyzed were polyphenols, flavonoids and flavonols. Among the raw honeys polyphenols were high in Apis dorsata (1168mg/kg) and low in Apis mellifera (905.25mg/kg); flavonoids were high in Apis dorsata (545.75mg/kg) and low in Apis cerana (185mg/kg) and flavonols were high in Trigona iridipennis honey (17.6mg/kg) and low in Apis mellifera (4.64mg/kg) and Apis florea (4.6mg/kg) honeys. Significant difference was noticed among all the honeys analyzed with respect to the phytochemicals and significant reduction in the phytochemicals was also observed on processing among all the honeys. The total antioxidant activity of the honeys was found to be highest in raw and processed Trigona (99.22%, 93.73% at 500µg/ml) honey followed by Apis cerana (97.04% at 500µg/ml) honey among the raw honeys and Apis mellifera (93.4% at 500µg/ml) among the processed honeys respectively, while moderate level of activity was noted in raw and processed Apis dorsata with 73.64% and 64.84% of antioxidant activity at at 500µg/ml. The DPPH radical scavenging activity was found to be highest in raw and processed Trigona honey (97.21%, 92.56% at 500µg/ml) followed by raw Apis cerana (95.55% at 500µg/ml) and processed Apis mellifera (88.18% at 500µg/ml) honeys, whereas comparatively lesser scavenging activity was viewed in processed Apis dorsata honey (48.17% at 500µg/ml). Average scavenging activities were noted in raw Apis dorsata and Apis florea. Significant differences (p < 0.025) in the radical scavenging activity were observed among all the raw honeys analyzed. On contrary to the above discussed antioxidant activities, non linearity was observed among the honeys in the nitric oxide scavenging activity. The highest nitric oxide scavenging activity was observed in raw Apis mellifera (77.19% at 500µg/ml) followed by Apis dorsata (68.22% at 500µg/ml) and Apis florea (65.35% at 500µg/ml) honeys. The antidiabetic activity determined in terms of alpha amylase inhibition capacity showed highest inhibition in raw and processed Trigona (77.61% and 64.84% at 500µg/ml) honeys followed by raw Apis dorsata (44.34% at 500µg/ml) honey. Average enzyme inhibition was observed among raw Apis mellifera (41.32% at 500µg/ml) and Apis florea (41.30% at 500µg/ml) honeys correspondingly. Higher rate of alpha glucosidase was also observed among the honeys ranged from 76.14% to 80.46% among the raw honeys and from 69.17% to 78.29% among the processed honeys. Significant (at 5%) reduction in the percentage inhibition was noticed in processed honeys. The glycemic index (≤ 67) and glycemic load (≤ 13.54) of the honeys revealed that all the honeys belong to intermediate GI foods category. The antimicrobial activity of the honeys analyzed revealed that raw honeys had higher antimicrobial activity than the processed form with highest in raw Trigona followed by Apis mellifera and Apis cerana honeys. From the elaborative analysis on the health promoting function of the bee honeys it could be concluded that raw honeys have higher health boosting properties when compared to the processed honeys. The screening index in terms of the therapeutic potencies showed that Trigona iridipennis honey had the highest therapeutic potency followed by Apis mellifera honey, while comparatively moderate potency was observed in Apis dorsata and Apis cerana honeys. A value added nutraceutical drink was developed utilizing the Apis cerana bee honey, the most abundantly available honey in Kerala. The drink was formulated by working out different proportions of honey in combination with aloe vera gel. The bitterness of the aloe gel was removed by trying out different pre treatment combinations. The physico chemical characteristics of the drink revealed that the drink is mildly acidic in nature with 61% moisture, total soluble solids (35°Brix), acidity (0.34%) and pH (4.88). The total and reducing sugars of the nutraceutical drink were 29.69% and 18.62% respectively. The fructose to glucose ratio of the nutraceutical drink was observed to be 0.99. The drink was found to have high therapeutic potency with 1060 (mg gallic acid/kg drink) of polyphenols, 60 (mg quercitin/Kg drink) of flavonoids and 5 (mg catechin/Kg drink) of flavonols respectively. Remarkable in vitro total antioxidant capapcity (72.1µgAAE/mg at 500µg/ml), DPPH radical scavenging activity (58.4% at 500µg/ml) and alpha amylase inhibition capacity (43% at 500µg/ml) with a medium glycemic index of 65 was also determined. Even though, the drink exhibited a slight increase in the acidity and TSS on storage the drink was noticed to be free from microbial proliferation and was acceptable till the end of the storage period, indicating its fitness for consumption even after two months of storage. The cost of the drink was found to be Rs 22.00 per 200ml and yield ratio was 1.49. The clinical efficacy of the drink was determined through a supplementation study which inferred that the platelet count increased significantly (at 5%) in the subjects from 2.56± 0.02 lakh/cumm to 3.05 ± 0.04 lakh/cumm. The supplementation had resulted in improved haemoglobin levels of the respondents from 10.83±0.06 gm% prior the study to 12.01± 0.02gm% at the end of the study. Significant improvement was also recorded in the hematological indices viz., WBC (from 7310± 114.3 to 8330 ± 43.7 cells/cumm), RBC (from 4.16 ± 0.05 to4.48±0.03 millions/ cumm), MCV (88.06 fL to 92.36 fL) and PCV (36.24±0.54% to 39.78± 0.42%) under the study. Encouraging results were also obtained from the total antioxidant capacity of the serum of the subjects under investigation. Findings of the present study strongly recommend that bee honeys are indeed the elixir of life with admissible physico chemical characteristics and superior health promoting functions. Among the honeys analyzed the raw honeys (Apis cerana, Apis mellifera, Apis dorsata, Apis florea and Trigona iridipennis) were found to be better in terms of quality as well as therapeutic potency when compared with the processed honeys. Among the raw honeys Trigona iridipennis honey was found to the best in medicinal value. In vitro and in vivo studies prove the efficacy of the developed drink to be a novel option in the market of nutraceuticals with superior health boosting properties and being natural by all means.ThesisItem Open Access Quality evaluation of newly released KAU rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties and their suitability for traditional food products(Department of Home Science, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2015) Chandhni, A A; KAU; Aneena, E RThe present study entitled „Quality evaluation of newly released KAU rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties and their suitability for traditional food products‟ was conducted to evaluate the physical, biochemical, nutritional, cooking and organoleptic qualities of newly released KAU rice varieties. The study also aimed to assess the suitability of these rice varieties for the preparation of selected traditional food products. Milling per cent among rice varieties varied from 64.07 per cent in Prathyasha (MO-21) to 77.83 per cent in Ezhome-2. Vyttila-8 obtained the highest head rice recovery of 57.45 per cent while it was lowest in control variety Jyothi (41.08 per cent). The highest thousand grain weight (20.68 g) and volume weight (14.6 mm3) was observed in Vaishak (PTB-60). Based on the L/B ratio, the grain shape of Ezhome-1, Vyttila-8, Vaishak (PTB-60) and Uma were classified as bold medium. Ezhome-2, Prathyasha (MO-21) and Jyothi varieties were categorised as slender long grains. For most of the physical quality parameters, raw rice of newly released varieties were found to be superior over the control varieties Jyothi and Uma. Newly released rice varieties obtained lower total index for organoleptic qualities than control varieties. Ezhome-2 obtained highest total index for table rice among newly released varieties. Among rice varieties, lowest cooking time of 18.51(Prathyasha (MO-21)) to highest of 24.75 (Ezhome-2) minutes was noticed for obtaining optimum cooked rice. Highest water uptake of 5.74 ml/ g was observed in Ezhome-2 and lowest of 3.3 ml/ g in Jyothi. Control varieties Jyothi and Uma obtained volume expansion ratio of 5.62 and 6.07 respectively, which was higher than that of the newly released rice varieties. Among rice varieties, amylose content varied from 10.20 per cent in Prathyasha (MO-21) to 23.32 per cent in control variety Uma. Gel consistency of different rice varieties was determined and it varied from 27.50 to 145 mm. Cooking qualities of the newly released rice varieties were found to be comparable with that of the control varieties. Among newly released rice varieties, higher grain elongation ratio of 0.90 was noticed in both Ezhome-2 and Prathyasha (MO-21). Maximum keeping quality up to 12.60 hours was noticed in Vaishak (PTB-60) and minimum of 11.24 hours in Prathyasha (MO-21). The moisture content of different rice varieties ranged from 8.5 per cent in Ezhome-2 to 11.6 per cent in Ezhome -1 and Prathyasa (MO-21). The highest total carbohydrate, starch, energy, protein, zinc and phosphorous content was noticed in newly released rice variety Ezhome-2. Fat content in different rice varieties ranged from 0.30 per cent in Ezhome-2 to 0.71 per cent in Vaishak (PTB-60). The highest fibre content of 0.7 g/ 100g was noticed in Ezhome-1. Maximum thiamine content of 0.07 mg/ 100g was noticed in Vaishak (PTB-60). The highest calcium and iron content was noticed in Jyothi and Prathyasha (MO-21) respectively. Newly released rice varieties were found to be superior to control varieties in nutritional qualities. In the case of unroasted rice flour, highest bulk density of 0.73 g per ml was noticed in Ezhome-2 and the lowest of 0.63 g per ml in Jyothi. In roasted rice flour, the highest bulk density of 0.62 g per ml was observed in control variety Uma. The highest water absorption index of 25.46 was observed in unroasted rice flour of variety Jyothi (control) and 25.11in roasted rice flour of Uma (control). Highest water solubility index of 0.78 was observed in unroasted rice flour of Vyttila-8 and the lowest of 0.34 in Ezhome-1. In roasted rice flour the highest water solubility index of 0.81 was noticed in Ezhome-2 and the lowest in Vyttila-8 (0.28). At the end of the 12th day of study the highest synerisis per cent in unroasted rice flour was noticed in Vyttila-8 and that of roasted rice flour in Ezhome-1. Physical properties of rice flour of newly released rice varieties were comparable with that of the control varieties. Evaluation of microbial qualities indicated that at the end of 6th month of storage bacterial count and fungal growth was observed in raw and roasted flour of different rice variety. Yeast was not observed in any of the raw rice and roasted rice flour of different varieties till 5th month of study. Vyttila-8 was found to be the most suitable rice variety for the preparation of rice flakes and unniyappam. The most suitable variety for the preparation of cooked rice and iddli was control varieties Jyothi and Uma respectively. Prathyasha (MO-21) was found to be the most suitable variety for the preparation of appam and ada and is also suited for idli. Vaishak (PTB-60) was the most suitable rice variety for puttu. In the present study, It was observed that newly released red rice varieties were suitable for the preparation of different traditional food products.ThesisItem Open Access Development of value added products from banana peel(Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2015) Megha S, Karthikeyan; KAU; Suma DivakarThe present investigation entitled “Development of value added products from banana peel” was conducted at the Department of Home science, College of Agriculture,Vellayani. The objective of the study was to develop banana peel based food products and to ascertain their quality and shelf life. The study intended to utilize this nutritionally significant raw material through value addition, thereby reducing its large scale wastage from the processing industry and also avoiding the related environmental pollution. Banana peel of cv nendran was utilized for the study and the peels were collected from chips making units in East fort, Trivandrum. The collected peels were pretreated with different proportions of citric acid (0.1-0.3%) and salt (1-3%), to control enzymatic browning. Three products were standardized namely, a banana peel based Instant soup mix (ISM), a Ready to cook (RTC) curry mix and a sauce. For standardization of the products the best formulations were selected by a panel comprising of 10 members. Parameters like colour, appearance, taste, texture and overall acceptability were evaluated. In the case of instant soup mix, the best formulation identified was S1 which comprised of banana peel flour, onion powder, corn flour, citric acid, capsicum powder, coriander leaves powder, white pepper powder, ginger powder, garlic powder and salt (Their ratio being , 5: 4: 1.5: 0.5: 0.25: 0.25: 0.5: 0.25: 0.25: 2). In the case of the RTC curry mix, S1 was selected as the best formulation, which contained banana peel, crushed red chilly, garlic, jeera, turmeric powder and curry leaves (Their ratio being , 100: 3:5: 1: 2:5). As for sauce, formulation S5 got the highest scores in sensory evaluation, which comprised of Banana peel, coriander leaves, garlic, vinegar, red chilly, sugar and spices (Their ratio being, 100: 50: 5: 2.5: 2.5: 5) Physical properties of ISM, RTC curry mix and sauce were analyzed. Moisture content the products were found to be 4.4, 5.4 and 72.2 per cent respectively, yield ratio for the products in the same order was found to be 0.06, 0.13 and 1.4 respectively, Bulk density of ISM and RTC curry mix was found to be 0.81 and 0.73 gm/ml, water absorption index of ISM and RTC curry mix was found to be (13.5 and 4.0 per gm) and rehydration ratio of curry mix was observed to be 0.38. Chemical analysis of the products revealed that acidity of soup mix, RTC curry mix and sauce were 0.76, 0.85 and 1.75 per cent respectively. Reducing sugar levels were found to be in the range of 0.97 to 1.07g%. Fiber content was found to be in the range of 2.06 to 14.10, pH of the products were found to be 5.20, 5.10 and 4.06 ; TSS of sauce was observed to be 20° brix. Nutrient analysis reports revealed that CHO levels of the ISM, RTC curry mix and sauce were 48.6, 62.0 and 46.2 gm respectively. Similiarly the protein levels were found to be 7.5, 9.8 and 6.0 gm for the 3 products. Calorie content in these products were analyzed to be in the range of 220 -268 kcal. Mineral content of the products were analyzed as; sodium (18.5, 25.6 and 31.49 mg), potassium (62.8, 82.5 and 116.4 mg), calcium (40.7, 69.4 and 67.0 mg) and iron (2.62, 1.94 and 0.94 mg). Shelf life parameters were assessed by storing the products for three months at ambient conditions. Moisture and sensory parameters of the products during storage period showed only slight changes compared to fresh samples. Microbial infestation was found to be within safe limits. This study has confirmed the acceptability of three convenient, nutritive and appealing banana peel based products namely ISM, RTC curry mix and sauce with appreciable shelf life suiting to the urban consumer.ThesisItem Open Access Development and quality evaluation of fibre enriched cookies(Department of home science, College of agriculture, Vellayani, 2015) Suma, K; KAU; Nandini, P VThe present study entitled “Development and quality evaluation of fibre enriched cookies” was conducted at the Dept of Home Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani with the objective to develop wheat based cookies enriched with cereal bran and to assess its quality parameters and glycemic index. Consumer acceptance, cost, yield ratio were also ascertained. Sweet and savory cookies were standardized by trial and error method substituting wheat flour with cereal bran @ 10 to 50% along with other adjuncts. Fifteen experimental treatments viz. T1 –control (100% refined flour), T2 to T6 rice bran cookies, T7 to T11- wheat bran cookies and T12 to T15 combination of rice bran + wheat bran were selected. Each treatment was replicated thrice. Sensory evaluation of the 15 treatments was carried out by a panel of judges and on the basis of overall acceptability scores, best treatment from each category ie.T4, T9 and T14 @ 70:30 along with control (T1) (100% refined flour)were selected for in-depth analysis such as physical parameters, nutrient composition, storage stability and glycemic index. Results of physical parameters revealed an increase in weight of cookies with addition of bran. The weight of cookies ranged between 13.33 to 16.00g. The control cookies (T1) exhibited less diameter (3.67cm). The maximum thickness was found in T14 cookies (1.29cm). The spread ratio revealed a significant difference between control and bran based cookies. The nutrient composition of cookies revealed that the moisture content of cookies ranged between 2.53 to 3.98 per cent. There was a significant difference between control and bran based cookies with respect to energy content. The highest energy content was observed in control cookies i.e.524 Kcal /100g (sweet) and 485 Kcal/100g (savory). Fiber content was found to be highest in T14 (3.50g/100g) and lowest (1.40/100g) in T1. Higher fat content was obtained in rice bran + wheat bran sweet cookies (T14) being 17.51g and 17.63g/ 100g for savory cookies. The protein content was found to be higher in T14 both in the case of sweet and savory (8.49g and 8.84g/100g) cookies. The total mineral content was found to be highest in rice bran + wheat bran cookies both in the case of sweet and savory cookies (2.33g and 2.22g/100g). The shelf stability of the cookies was assessed by storing the cookies in laminated pouches at ambient condition for a period of three months. The organoleptic qualities, moisture and peroxide value was determined initially and at the end of each month. A slight increase in moisture content was observed during the storage period. FSSAI type tests were administered to the cookies and found that moisture content was within the prescribed limits. Peroxide value was not detected up to three months. Analysis of organoleptic scores indicated that overall acceptability scores did not vary significantly over the storage period. The yield ratio was found to be more in bran based cookies. The cost of bran based cookies was found to be less (Rs 9.50 to 12.82/ 100g) when compared to fibre enriched proprietary cookies (Rs.20.00, 36.00 and 40.00/100g) available in the market. Consumer acceptance study unveiled that T9 (wheat bran sweet cookies) ranked the best having a score of 90. Lowest GI was noticed in T9 followed by T14(savory cookies). It can be concluded that replacement of wheat flour with cereal bran up to 30 per cent level is possible without adversely affecting physical parameters, sensory qualities and nutrient composition.ThesisItem Open Access Empowerment of mushroom growers through technology transfer of value added products(Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2015) Saima, Usman; KAU; Soffi, CheriyanThe study entitled "Empowerment of mushroom growers through technology transfer of value added products" was conducted at the Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, during 2012-14. The study was aimed at the standardization of processed mushroom products and to empower mushroom growers through technology transfer. Impact of the technology transfer on the profitable utilization of mushroom was also assessed. Commercially cultivated varieties of mushroom such as Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus florida) and Milky mushrooms (Calocybe indica) were purposively selected and collected from the Instructional farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani and also from the local mushroom growers in Thiruvananthapuram for the purpose of study. Five processed products namely, dehydrated mushroom, mushroom soup powder, mushroom chutney powder, mushroom pickle and mushroom wafers were selected and standardised and their acceptability and shelf life for a period of four months were also ascertained. During the period of four months of observation it was found that there were no significant changes in moisture, peroxide, pH, acidity and microbial count. The cost of production of various products was also affordable indicating better economic viability. The technology transfer of these standardized products was conducted among twenty five mushroom growers selected from those who were trained at College of Agriculture, Vellayani. Data regarding the socio-economic status, knowledge and attitude of respondents towards value addition of mushrooms were also obtained using interview schedule. The respondents were provided training on mushroom value addition for three days in the Department of Home science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani. The impact of training programme was evaluated after a lapse of two months. All the respondents were of the opinion that mushroom cultivation is profitable and forty percent of the respondents obtained an income of rupees four thousand per month from mushroom cultivation. Majority of the respondents (56%) were facing the problem of spoilage of about 1000-2000g of mushroom per harvest. Study of the knowledge gain of the trainees and their attitude after two months of training programme revealed that their knowledge improved significantly and their attitude towards processing mushroom too showed significant change. After the training programme, majority of the respondents (88%) started making mushroom pickle followed by 72% making chutney powder and 60% dehydrated mushrooms for sale. Seventy two percent of trainees were started selling mushroom chutney powder. As the time gap was limited between the intervention and the impact evaluation it was seen that majority of the trainees repressed into household level of processing and marketing with satisfactory profit. Hence it could be concluded that the study has been successful in empowering mushroom growers through technology transfer of value added products of mushroom by making them aware of various processing methods and different mushroom products. The study was also useful for enhancing their attitude towards value addition of mushroom and ensuring a steady income through sale of mushroom products by avoiding wastage of their produce. Establishment of a sound marketing linkage with organisation like kudumbasree will help to enhance production and marketing of mushroom products by growers.