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Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat
Assam Agricultural University is the first institution of its kind in the whole of North-Eastern Region of India. The main goal of this institution is to produce globally competitive human resources in farm sectorand to carry out research in both conventional and frontier areas for production optimization as well as to disseminate the generated technologies as public good for benefitting the food growers/produces and traders involved in the sector while emphasizing on sustainability, equity and overall food security at household level.
Genesis of AAU -
The embryo of the agricultural research in the state of Assam was formed as early as 1897 with the establishment of the Upper Shillong Experimental Farm (now in Meghalaya) just after about a decade of creation of the agricultural department in 1882. However, the seeds of agricultural research in today’s Assam were sown in the dawn of the twentieth century with the establishment of two Rice Experimental Stations, one at Karimganj in Barak valley in 1913 and the other at Titabor in Brahmaputra valley in 1923. Subsequent to these research stations, a number of research stations were established to conduct research on important crops, more specifically, jute, pulses, oilseeds etc. The Assam Agricultural University was established on April 1, 1969 under The Assam Agricultural University Act, 1968’ with the mandate of imparting farm education, conduct research in agriculture and allied sciences and to effectively disseminate technologies so generated. Before establishment of the University, there were altogether 17 research schemes/projects in the state under the Department of Agriculture. By July 1973, all the research projects and 10 experimental farms were transferred by the Government of Assam to the AAU which already inherited the College of Agriculture and its farm at Barbheta, Jorhat and College of Veterinary Sciences at Khanapara, Guwahati.
Subsequently, College of Community Science at Jorhat (1969), College of Fisheries at Raha (1988), Biswanath College of Agriculture at Biswanath Chariali (1988) and Lakhimpur College of Veterinary Science at Joyhing, North Lakhimpur (1988) were established. Presently, the University has three more colleges under its jurisdiction, viz., Sarat Chandra Singha College of Agriculture, Chapar, College of Horticulture, Nalbari & College of Sericulture, Titabar. Similarly, few more regional research stations at Shillongani, Diphu, Gossaigaon, Lakhimpur; and commodity research stations at Kahikuchi, Buralikson, Tinsukia, Kharua, Burnihat and Mandira were added to generate location and crop specific agricultural production packages.
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ThesisItem Open Access BIOCHEMICAL STUDY ON TRADITIONAL RICE PRODUCTS OF ASSAM WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO RESISTANT STARCH(AAU, Jorhat, 2017-07) Banik, Rajesh; Das, PriyankaRice is the most important food crop of the world after wheat. South East Asian countries are heavily reliant upon rice for their dietary energy supply. 70% of total arable agricultural land of India lies under the rice cultivation. In North Eastern region, rice is the main staple food and in Assam there are several traditional rice based processed products which are also largely used as food. These are bhoja chaul, sandah guri, korai, popped rice, flaked rice, puffed rice, komal chaul (soft rice) and hurum. The moisture content, on wet basis varied from 5.83-11.61%. on dry weight basis, the crude protein content of different rice products ranged from 7.74-9.40%, the lowest in puffed rice and the highest in popped rice. The total ash content was determined on dry weight basis and it ranged in between 0.61-4.33%. The crude fiber percentage was the highest (1.04%) in bhoja chaul and sandah guri and the lowest (0.63%) in popped rice. The crude fat content is the lowest in hurum (0.11%) and the highest in korai (0.31%). The total carbohydrate percentage of these traditional rice products ranged between 49.33-67.55% and the highest in sandah and the lowest in flaked rice. The total starch content (on dry weight basis) was found to be the highest (58.08%) in popped rice and the lowest (39.37%) in korai, whereas, the resistant starch content was found to be highest (5.42%) in sandah and the lowest (3.24%) in puffed rice. The present study indicated that the rice based traditional processed products of Assam are good sources of carbohydrate, proteins and crude fiber. The said products are having good amount of resistant starch, which is very much useful for the better health. In future, further studies are required for the determination of other nutrients such as different micronutrients, and physical properties of the rice based traditional products of Assam, that may reveal useful information for the human health.ThesisItem Open Access Phytochemical Characterization of Some Ginger Cultivars from Tripura(AAU, Jorhat, 2017-07) Nandy, Pratul Kumar; Baruah, A.M.Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.), under the family Zingiberaceae, is one of the most famous spices all over the world. It is commonly known as Ada (Assamese and Bengali name), originated from South East Asia. Ginger plants are used for thousands of years in Indian health care systems for their biological activities. Ginger is also used as home remedy and is of immense value in treating various gastric ailments like constipation, belching, bloating, gastritis, epigastric discomfort, gastric ulcerations, indigestion, and vomiting. Ginger with spicy, penetrating, pungent, and slightly biting flavor finds extensive use in foods. The present study was carried out to investigate the some major secondary phytochemicals of four different ginger cultivars from Tripura. The moisture content was highest in Gandacherra cultivar (86.167g/100g) and lowest in Satpara cultivar (82.580g/100g). Total phenol content was highest in Belonia cultivar (0.733g/100g) and lowest in Gandacherra cultivar (0.395g/100g).The total flavonoid content was highest in Satpara cultivar (0.379g/100g) and lowest in Gandacherra cultivar (0.103g/100g). The total tannin content was highest in Belonia cultivar (4.237g/100g) and lowest in Satpara cultivar (2.793g/100g).The total soluble sugar content was highest in Gandacherra cultivar (2.760g/100g) and lowest in Dharmanagar cultivar (1.243g/100g). The total crude fat content was highest in Satpara cultivar (8.267g/100g) and lowest in Dharmanagar cultivar (6.967g/100g). The total crude fiber content was highest in Satpara cultivar (6.040g/100g) and lowest in Gandacherra cultivar (4.685g/100g). The antioxidant activity (by DPPH, 2, 2-diphenyl-picrylhydrazide) reveals that the IC50 was highest in Gandacherra cultivar (0.853μg/ml) and lowest in Belonia cultivar (0.809 μg/ml). The total oil content was highest in Dharmanagar cultivar (4.180ml/100g) and lowest in Gandacherra cultivar (3.275ml/100g). The highest acid value was recorded in Belonia cultivar (19.635μg KOH/mg fat) and the lowest acid value was recorded in Gandacherra cultivar (11.220μg KOH/mg fat). The highest iodine value was observed in Belonia cultivar (71.063g I2/100g fat) and the lowest iodine value was observed in Dharmanagar cultivar (64.719g I2/100g fat). The highest saponification value is observed in the Gandacherra and Satpara cultivar (196.350 mg KOH/g fat) and the lowest saponification value was observed in Belonia cultivar (168.300 mg KOH/g fat).ThesisItem Open Access Studies on chemical composition and medicinal property of Amomum aromaticum Roxb.- a rare species of cardamom found in North East India(AAU, Jorhat, 2017-07) Das, Poulami; Kandali, R.Wild cardamom (Ammomum aromaticum Roxb.) has been recently discovered in large patches of forests of Tripura by forest department during 2014-15. It is popularly known by the local tribals as „Beering‟ in their vernacular language, whose stump is used in the local culinaries to induce aroma to the dishes. Botanically it belongs to Zingiberaceae family. Processed dry fruit is the economic produce which can be used largely as spice because of its sweet aroma and in the ayurvedic medicine because of its medicinal value. As per the available literature it is mentioned to be found in the eastern Himalayan track and Chittagong hill track. It is typically found in patches along the banks of streams and streamlets. It is a notified forest product and can be collected by the forest dwellers and after being processed (drying) on desi bhatta can be sold out to the authorized traders who are dealing with aromatic oils and medicinal products. The present investigation was intended to study the chemical composition and medicinal property of A. aromaticum Roxb.- a rare species of cardamom found in North East India. The plant materials were collected from forest of Tripura- Kunjaban village, Kalyanpur block, Khowai district and authenticated. The morphological data were taken from the mature plant to narrate the botanical information. Leaf and seed samples of this species were analysed for total alkaloids and total phenolics. The essential oil was extracted from seed and the volatile components were identified. The antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of the plant extracts were determined. From the results of the present investigation it was observed that a significant variation in the total phenolic content in the leaf and seed was obtained which were 12.7 mg/g and 10.1 mg/g, respectively. The alkaloid content of the leaf was found to be 1.27 g/100g and in case of seed it was 4.2 g/100g on dry weight basis. The essential oil was extracted from both dried & raw capsules of the matured plant by hydro-distillation method. The fresh moisture content in capsules at harvest was 75 per cent and the moisture content reduced to 14 per cent in case of seeds which were sundried for 10 days. The essential oil content in seeds of A. aromaticum was found to be 2.0ml/100g in raw fresh capsules and 1.0 ml/100g in sun dried capsules. GC-MS analysis of essential oil revealed the presence of components such as. Myrcenol, D-limonene, P-mentha-1- en-9-ol, Linalool, Isopulegol, P-menth-8-en-1-ol, Linalyl acetate, Sabinene hydrate, α- terpineol, Eucalyptol, Terpinyl acetate, Menthol, Nanocosane and 2,3- pinanediol. In addition, a few new components have also been detected such as 4,6 di-tertbutylresorcinol, 5-iodo-2,7-dioxa-tricyclo{4,3,1,0(3,8)}decane, triacontane, 1 monolinoleoyl glycerol, trimethyl silyl ether, eicosanoic acid, di-N-decylsulfone and Pentatriacontane. The antimicrobial activity of different solvent extracts of leaf and seeds of A. aromaticum Roxb was evaluated against. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. The essential oil extracted from the seeds did not show any antimicrobial activity against E. coli, S. aureus and B. subtilis. The hydrodistilled volatile oil from seeds and ethanol extracts of the seeds and leaves did not show antimicrobial activity. On the other hand, the methanol extract of seeds showed potential antimicrobial activity against these human pathogens. The antibiotic streptomycin was used as positive control and 80 % methanol was used as negative control in this experiment. The zone of inhibition for E. coli, S. aureus and B. subtilis. was found to be 15.2 mm, 17.4 mm and 14.5 mm, respectively. The antioxidant activity was determined in the methanol extract obtained from both leaf and seed of this species. Both the extracts showed antioxidant activity. The percent inhibition of DPPH was observed to be 74.1 for seed extract and 60.8 for leaf extract. The IC50 value for leaf and seed extract were 0.815μg/ml, 0.641μg/ml respectively. Moreover, the genomic DNA was extracted from the mature fresh leaf tissues of A. aromaticum Roxb and the extraction procedure was standardized. The quantity of the extracted DNA as determined by “Nanodrop-1000” (make: thermo-scientific) was 1282.09 ng/μl. The purity of the extracted DNA was determined from the ratio of optical density at 260 and 280 nm respectively which was found to be 1.79 (A260:280). Vast medicinal plant resources of North East India have not been fully identified, inventoried and characterized. It is of utmost importance that these should be characterized and evaluated in the light of modern scientific approaches, which may lead to the development of some new drug molecules that can combat various side effects of the commercially available synthetic drugs, and thereby reducing the cost of medication. So a detail study about this traditionally underutilized herbal spice species- Amomum aromaticum Roxb. will help to develop new drugs and a number of herbal tonic or feed additives. More studies will be required to find out the favourable conditions to achieve the full potential of the plant in order to establish this plant as one of the important spice species.ThesisItem Open Access Phytochemical analysis and antimicrobial activity of Aparajita (Clitoria ternatea Linn.) against rice pathogens(AAU, Jorhat, 2018-07) Debnath, Abhijit; Kandali, R.Clitoria ternatea Linn. commonly known as butterfly pea and Aparajita belongs to the family fabaceae. It was originated from tropical Asia and afterwards widely distributed to African countries. Generally it is grown as ornamental plant due to its attractive flower colour. In traditional ayurvedic medicine, it has been used for centuries as a memory enhancer, antistress, anxiolytic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant, tranquillizing and sedative agent. The tribal people of Tripura use leaf and root part of Aparajita against urinary tract infections due to its antimicrobial property. The present investigation was intended to study the phytochemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Clitoria ternatea Linn against rice pathogens. The plant materials were collected from Jagduar, Teok, Jorhat, Assam and Matabari, Gomati District, Tripura and authenticated. The morphological data were taken from the mature plant to narrate the botanical information. Leaf, stem and twig samples of this species were analyzed for total alkaloids, total phenolics and total terpenoid content by standard protocol. The antimicrobial activity of the methanolic plant extract has been tested against some rice pathogens by poison food technique and the natural food colorant from the flower of C. ternatea L extracted. From the results of the present investigation it was observed that the difference in plant morphological characteristics in the two samples was not significant and found statistically at par. The variation in moisture content on fresh weight basis between the two samples viz. Assam (S1) and Tripura (S2) of Clitoria ternatea L. was not significant. On the other hand, the highest moisture content on dry weight basis was found in flower of S1 collected from Assam which was 13.70% while the leaf recorded the lowest 8.82% of moisture. The total phenolics content recorded in the leaf were 1.524g/100g and 1.277g/100g, in stem 0.706g/100g and 0.682g/100g, and in twig 1.110g/100g and 1.209g/100g in S1 and S2 sample, respectively. The alkaloid content of the leaf was found to be 1.000g/100g and 0.875g/100g, in stem 0.753g/100g and 0.627g/100g, and in twig 1.627g/100g and 1.253g/100g in S1 and S2 sample, respectively. By the qualitative test it was observed that the terpenoid was absent in leaf, stem, and twig in the both Assam (S1) and Tripura (S2) sample but was present in flower of both the sample although the variation was not significant. The total terpenoid content of flower was found to be 0.698g/100g and 0.675g/100g in Assam (S1) and Tripura (S2) sample respectively. The antimicrobial activity of methanolic plant extracts of Clitoria ternatea L. was evaluated against Magnaporthe grisea, Drechslera oryzae, Rhizoctonia solani, Sarocladium oryzae and Fusarium sp. Although the methanolic plant extract of C. ternatea L could not inhibit the mycelia growth of Drechslera oryzae but the extract proved effective in inhibiting the growth of other remaining pathogens viz Magnaporthe grisea, Rhizoctonia solani, Sarocladium oryzae and Fusarium sp.. Highest inhibition of growth was recorded in Rhizoctonia solani. The natural food colorant has been extracted from Clitoria ternatea L. flower. Variation in color has been observed at different pH. The changes in pH were brought about by adding lemon juice and alkali extracted from vimkol. To immobilize the color on to edible inert carrier food material, glucose powder was effective in color immobilization. Further studies will be required for assessing mode of antimicrobial activity of the methanol extract on the plant pathogens, which will open an interesting area to manage various diseases in crop plants under organic cultivation. More studies will be required to find out the efficacy of the plant extract against other pests. The study further suggested that some of the plant extracts possess compounds with bioactivity properties that could be used as active principles or agents in new drugs for the therapy of infectious diseases. The food colour extracted from the flower of C. ternatea L. could be an ideal natural colorant for the food industry in future.ThesisItem Open Access Quality analysis of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) genotypes of Assam(AAU, Jorhat, 2019-07) Thakur, Mousumi; Baishya, S.Buckwheat (F. esculentum) is a gluten-free pseudocereal with high biological value. It occupies a special place amongst cultivable crops due to its nutritional, dietetic and therapeutic properties. Buckwheat grain is characterized by a high content of starch, protein with an advantageous amino acid composition, a low content of α-gliadin and a high content of dietary fibre. The protein of buckwheat is of excellent quality and is high in the essential amino acid lysine, unlike common cereals. It was a very popular food during the 17th-19th centuries, lost its popularity because of competition from wheat during 20th century, but has recently become popular again because of its health-promoting properties. In the present investigation, sixteen buckwheat germplasm from RARS, North Lakhimpur were evaluated for biochemical constituents of quality significance. Buckwheat germplasm were found varying significantly in their proximate composition with moisture content ranging from 7.52-9.11%, crude protein from 7.23-9.53%, crude fat 1.97-3.62%, ash 1.83-2.93% and crude fibre from 3.71-4.78% on dry weight basis. Starch, amylose and resistant starch were found in the range of 63.18-72.61%, 22.45-24% and 15.20-20.53% respectively with nitrogen free extract ranging from 71.41-76.97%. Total soluble protein ranged from 4.58% to 7.40% and globulin was the major fraction (2.12-3.53%), followed by glutelin (0.96-1.65%), albumin (0.76-1.35%) and prolamin (0.13-0.24%). Buckwheat contained calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and sodium from 144.00-215.33, 2.50-3.50, 242.61-282.00, 237.00-298.27 and 1.56-4.24 mg/100gm respectively. Total phenolic content was found between 378.41 to 652.71 mg/100g and flavonoids between 33.80 to 60.11 mg/100g on dry weight basis. Of the sixteen buckwheat germplasm used in the study, released genotypes Himpriya, VL-7 and PRB-1; local genotypes BWC-1, BWC-2, Jonai and Kharupetia-2; accession genotypes EC-218742 and EC-27242 were found superior over the others in terms of nutritional quality.ThesisItem Open Access NUTRITIONALEVALUATION OF FEW SESAME GENOTYPES OF ASSAM(AAU, Jorhat, 2019-07) Thengal, Horipriya; Pathak, KhaninSesame (SesamumindicumL.) is an important and oldest oilseed crop of tropical and sub-tropical region with high oil contentand hence it is known as the king of oil seeds. Sesame seeds are popularly known as ‘til’ in India.The sesame oil is markedly different from other vegetable oils due to its high nutritional and therapeutic values. Besides, its high oil content, it is also known for the properties of good health which consists of plethora of nutrients viz., proteins, carbohydrates, antioxidants, lignans, tocopherols and other micronutrients. Sesame seeds with high amounts of nutritional components are consumed as a traditional health food for its specific antihypertensive effect, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activity. In the present investigation, thirteen sesame genotypes from RARS (Regional Agricultural Research Station, Diphu were evaluated for its nutritional composition and characterization of oil. The genotypes showed a considerable variation among different constituents analyzed.Moisture contents of sesame genotypes ranged from 5.19 to 7.66 per cent, carbohydrate from 11.25 to 19.54 per cent, crude protein from 19.32 to 22.81 per cent, crude fat from 35.81 to 49.25 per cent, crude fiber from 3.23 to 9.74 per cent and ash from 1.50 to 5.53 per cent on dry weight basis. Total phenolic content was found between 0.88 to 1.98 mg catechol equivalent/g, flavonoids content between 0.11 to 0.19 mg quercetin equivalent/g and DPPH inhibition percentage between 59.30 to 67.75 per cent on dry weight basis. The iodine, saponification value and acid value were found in the range of 81.64 to 113.79 g I2/100g oil, 159.89 to 206.64 mg KOH/g oil and o.56 to 2.16 mg KOH/ g oil respectively. Sesame contains minerals like iron, calcium, sodium and potassium ranged from 1.34 to 10.01mg/100g, 975.33 to 1282.67 mg/100g, 17.80 to 65.40 mg/100g and 108.00 to 379.33 mg/100g respectively. From the results of the present investigation, it can be concluded that the genotypesʻNemposoksu, AUDT-303-1-1 and Meghalaya local-1ʼ are found to be superior. The present findings suggest to study the complete fatty acid profiling, protein profiling, mineral profiling, amino acid profiling, vitamin contents etc. for nutritional evaluation of the sesame genotypes.The study also necessitates for the evaluation of some sesame genotypes so that the nutritionally superior cultivars which can be differentiated.ThesisItem Open Access STUDIES ON NEPTUNIA OLERACEA LOUR. (WATER MIMOSA) – A PLANT WITH PHYTOREMEDIATION POTENTIALITY(AAU, Jorhat, 2019-07) Supriya, Yenkokpam; Kandali, R.Because of the enormous diversity in flora & fauna, the north eastern region of India has long been recognized as the biodiversity hotspot. A great diversity has also been observed in aquatic plants growing in this region. These plants are widespread in natural and man-made wetlands. Although a number of studies have reported several of them as being useful, but many of them are still unexplored. Neptunia oleracea Lour. commonly known as water mimosa or water sensitive plant is a wild aquatic legume. In India, the plant is distributed in Assam, Manipur and Tripura in North-East India. In Manipur, this plant is used as a vegetable by the Meiteis, the valley inhabitants and is considered as a local delicacy. Moreover, the ability of this plant to accumulate heavy metal can be explored for its use in phytoremediation of soil. The present investigation was intended to study the morpho-phenological as well as biochemical characteristics of Neptunia oleracea Lour. and evaluation of its phytoremediation potentiality on arsenic contaminated water. The plant materials were collected from West Imphal district, Manipur. The study of plant morphology revealed that the stem length at the maturity was 1.47m. Mature leaves were green in color with length and breadth of 7.06 cm and 4.9 cm, respectively. The roots were adventitious and fibrous with average number of root nodules to the extent of 20.66 per plant. The phenological characteristic showed that flower developed during July-September in rainy season. The flowers were bright yellow in color, silky and bloomed for about 7-11 days. The inflorescence type was spike where it was a type of raceme with flowers that were absence of pedicel and erect. The mean length of inflorescence was 11.1 cm with peduncle length of 9 cm. The fruit occurred in October-November with mean length of 6.16 cm. An average of 32 seeds/fruit was observed where as in each pod 5 seeds with mean seed weight of 12.9 mg were recorded. The percent moisture content in shoot and root was found to be 79.200% and 71.033%, respectively which significantly varied (C.D P>0.05=5.732). The crude protein content in the shoot was 6.410 g/100g and in the root 7.933 g/100g. There was a significant difference (C.D P>0.05=0.586) in the crude protein content in shoot and root of Neptunia oleracea Lour. In this investigation the crude fat content in shoot was 0.403g/100g and in root it was recorded to be 0.173g/100g. The amount of vitamin C in the shoot was found to be 1.698 mg/100g and in root it was recorded to be 1.357mg/100g on fresh weight basis. Statistically, there was a significant difference (C.D P>0.05=0.272) in the shoot and root vitamin C content. Soluble protein recorded in the shoot of Neptunia oleracea Lour. was 2.560g/100g and in root it was 1.377g/100g on a dry weight basis. Statistically, there was a significant difference in the shoot and root content of soluble protein in Neptunia oleracea Lour (C.D P>0.05=0.316). In this investigation the starch content in shoot was 1.355g/100g and in root was 1.177g/100g on dry weight basis while the total soluble sugar found in the shoot was 0.572g/100g and in root it was 0.320g/100g on dry weight basis. There was a significant difference found in the total soluble sugar content in shoot and root (C.D P>0.05= 0.0874). The ash content obtained in this investigation was 1.390g/100g and 0.940g/100g in shoot and root respectively with a significant difference (C.D P>0.05=0.0642). The mean calcium content recorded in the shoot was 344.960 mg/100g and in root was 358.830 mg/100g on dry weight basis which varied significantly (C.D P>0.05=7.321). The sodium content in shoot was 224.100 mg/100g and in root was 197.660 mg/100g on dry weight basis which significantly varied (C.D P>0.05=7.542). There was high potassium content in shoot of about 622.330 mg/100g and in root it had a value of 530.033 mg/100g on dry weight basis. The zinc content was recorded to be 10.310 mg/100g in shoot and 9.960 mg/100g in root on dry weight basis. The experiment on phytoremediation of arsenic contaminated water using Neptunia oleracea Lour revealed that the plant tissue with the treatment T3 (2.5mg/L) showed an arsenic accumulation to the tune of 1472 ppb which was about 60% of the initial arsenic content in water thus making it a strong candidate for phytoremediation of arsenic contaminated water. From the present investigation it can be concluded that Neptunia olercea Lour. had high crude protein, potassium, calcium and ash content. Further, a low crude fat was advantageous. The high content of some important minerals, such as potassium and calcium makes it nutritionally superior. The plant also displayed a strong phytoremediation potentiality by removing as much as sixty per cent of the arsenic present in water which might be useful to develop suitable technology to remove excess arsenic in freshwater systems as well as underground water in north east India where arsenic is a major contaminant.ThesisItem Open Access NUTRITIONAL AND ANTINUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES OF SOME EDIBLE INSECTS OF ASSAM(AAU, Jorhat, 2019-07) Sailo, Saihlupuii; Pathak, KhaninEdible insects are considered as underutilized foods that offer significant potential to meet the future global food demands. Insects, traditionally were an integral element of human diets in nearly 100 countries of the world, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Edible insects provide satisfactory energy, protein, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids and rich in several minerals such as copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, selenium, zinc and vitamins such as riboflavin, pantothenic acid, biotin and folic acid etc. Besides nutritional importance, the edible insects also possess an ample sources of antioxidant properties such as phenol, flavonoid as well as some antinutritional components. In the present investigation, five different edible insects like red ant (Oecophylla smaragdina),muga silkworm(Antherea assamensis),honey bee(Apis cerana),winged termite(Odontotermes obesus) and eri silkworm(Samia ricini) were evaluated for biochemical constituents. The range of moisture, crude fat, crude protein, total soluble protein, crude fibre, carbohydrate and ash were between 6.30-16.04 per cent, 10.20-36.08 per cent, 23.31-52.35 per cent, 12.54-18.71 per cent, 3.16-9.71 per cent, 7.20-16.84 per cent and 2.58-5.60 per cent respectively. Five different edible insect species had sodium content ranging from 10.67-149.10 mg/100g, potassium from 9.68-710.49 mg/100g, calcium from 20.65-222.83 mg/100g, iron from 5.70-25.18 mg/100g and zinc from 5.40-35.18 mg/100g respectively. Antinutritional components like tannin, phytic acid and oxalate were recorded as of 97.82-236.31 mg tannic acid equivalent/100g, 8.55-97.91 mg/100g and 1.49-3.79 mg/100g respectively. The range of phenol content, flavonoid content and antioxidant activity (DPPH) were recorded between 25.78-210.06 mg catechol equivalent/100g, 4.96-44.68 mg quercetin equivalent/100g and 89.36-94.41 per cent respectively. All the five edible insect species exhibited a well-balance nutrient profile and therefore, these could be the potential source for human food and animal feed.ThesisItem Open Access Quality analysis of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) genotypes of Assam(AAU, Jorhat, 2019-07) Thakur, Mousumi; Baishya, S.Buckwheat (F. esculentum) is a gluten-free pseudocereal with high biological value. It occupies a special place amongst cultivable crops due to its nutritional, dietetic and therapeutic properties. Buckwheat grain is characterized by a high content of starch, protein with an advantageous amino acid composition, a low content of α-gliadin and a high content of dietary fibre. The protein of buckwheat is of excellent quality and is high in the essential amino acid lysine, unlike common cereals. It was a very popular food during the 17th-19th centuries, lost its popularity because of competition from wheat during 20th century, but has recently become popular again because of its health-promoting properties. In the present investigation, sixteen buckwheat germplasm from RARS, North Lakhimpur were evaluated for biochemical constituents of quality significance. Buckwheat germplasm were found varying significantly in their proximate composition with moisture content ranging from 7.52-9.11%, crude protein from 7.23-9.53%, crude fat 1.97-3.62%, ash 1.83-2.93% and crude fibre from 3.71-4.78% on dry weight basis. Starch, amylose and resistant starch were found in the range of 63.18-72.61%, 22.45-24% and 15.20-20.53% respectively with nitrogen free extract ranging from 71.41-76.97%. Total soluble protein ranged from 4.58% to 7.40% and globulin was the major fraction (2.12-3.53%), followed by glutelin (0.96-1.65%), albumin (0.76-1.35%) and prolamin (0.13-0.24%). Buckwheat contained calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and sodium from 144.00-215.33, 2.50-3.50, 242.61-282.00, 237.00-298.27 and 1.56-4.24 mg/100gm respectively. Total phenolic content was found between 378.41 to 652.71 mg/100g and flavonoids between 33.80 to 60.11 mg/100g on dry weight basis. Of the sixteen buckwheat germplasm used in the study, released genotypes Himpriya, VL-7 and PRB-1; local genotypes BWC-1, BWC-2, Jonai and Kharupetia-2; accession genotypes EC-218742 and EC-27242 were found superior over the others in terms of nutritional quality.
