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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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2015 - 20162
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Subject: Food and Nutrition × End date: 2019 × Start date: 2015 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: Ph.D ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    PHYSICO-BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISATION AND VALUE ADDITION TO SELECTED MINOR FRUITS OF ASSAM
    (AAU, Jorhat, 2016-07) Firdusi, Syeda Nishat; Bhattacharyya, Ruma
    The present investigation entitled “Physico-Biochemical Characterisation and Value Addition to selected Minor Fruits of Assam” was carried out in order to study the physico-chemical properties of the selected minor fruits namely Rhus semialata (Local name- Nagatenga), Baccaurea sapida (Local name- Leteku), Flacourtia gangomos (Local name - Poniol) and Garcinia cowa (Local name – Kujithekera) and products were developed from these selected fruits. The qualities of the developed products were also evaluated. The entire study was sectioned in four well defined separate parts i.e. 1) Evaluation of the physico-chemical composition of the selected minor fruits. 2) Development of products from the selected fruits and their quality evaluation, 3) Quality evaluation of the developed products across storage, 4) Microbial load of the developed products was studied to determine the shelf life of the products. The physical parameter of the minor fruits was studied and found that all the fruits possess good amount of edible portion except Leteku. The shelf-life of Nagatenga (Rhus semialata), Leteku (Baccaurea sapida), Poniol (Flacourtia gangomas) and Kujithekera (Garcinia cowa ) was recorded as 1.83±0.28, 6.00±1.00, 4.00±1.00 and 2.33±0.57 days respectively under ambient temperature. The shelf life of fruits can be extended by processing it to different food products like jam, jelly and squash. In case of value addition to Leteku (Baccaurea sapida) only those products should be considered which required juice of fruits such as beverages as the pulp content (26.16±1.25 g/100g) of the fruit is very low with high juice content (40.00±2.64 ml/100g). The acid content of Nagatenga (Rhus semialata) (3.46±0.25%) and Kujithekera (Garcinia cowa) (4.87±0.19%) are high with good amount of pulp content and so can be consider for pickle, chutney and sauce making. The juice content of Poniol (Flacourtia gangomas) was found to be low (20.33±4.04 ml/100g) but the TSS content of the fruit was highest (21.33±3.21°Brix) and thus can be preferred to develop beverages products from the fruit. A considerable amount of pectin was present 0.94±0.10%, 0.64±0.07%, 1.55±0.05% and 0.43±0.07% in the selected minor fruits - Nagatenga (Rhus semialata), Leteku (Baccaurea sapida), Poniol (Flacourtia gangomas) and Kujithekera (Garcinia cowa) respectively which are enough to develop jelly but due to pH below 3.0, fruits other than Poniol (pH -3.28±0.15) do not produce good jelly. The selected minor fruits are lauded for their pleasing flavor and colour as well as therapeutic properties and encompassed with most of the nutritional qualities. All the selected minor fruits Nagatenga (Rhus semialata), Leteku (Baccaurea sapida), Poniol (Flacourtia gangomas) and Kujithekera (Garcinia cowa) can be considered as good source of fibers (3.51±0.21 g/100g, 2.37±0.31 g/100g, 8.40±0.33 g/100g and 10.34±0.44 g/100g respectively), minerals (iron -26.33±1.15 mg, 7.16±1.44 mg, 29.83±1.44 mg and 15.16±2.25 mg per 100g respectively, calcium - 250.44±5.05 mg/100g, 143.24±4.00 mg/100g, 65.83±3.52 mg/100g and 192.81±2.44 mg/100g respectively and potassium - 111.0±7.0 mg/100g, 59.00±4.00 mg/100g, 44.00±3.00 mg/100g and 33.33±4.04 mg/100g, respectively), vitamins (ascorbic acid -216.66±14.40 mg, 24.16±7.21 mg, 43.33±7.21 mg and 67.78±3.40 mg per 100g of fruits respectively and carotenoids - 126.60±0.06 μg/100g, 50.76±0.99 μg/100g, 190.16±0.33 μg/100g and 890.33±0.94 μg/100g respectively) and phytochemicals (the total phenolic content-538.83±5.01 mg, 149.5±2.17 mg, 261.16±1.04 mg and 347.00±3.04 mg per 100g respectively, flavonoid - 246.45±21.55 mg, 44.64±5.61 mg, 87.17±2.70 mg and 98.03±2.01 mg respectively and total alkaloid - 104.00±13.52 mg, 170.33±5.77 mg, 143.33±7.09 mg and 156.33±1.52 mg respectively) as well as low in fat (1.02±0.05 g/100g, 0.66±0.09 g/100g, 0.88±0.10 g/100g and 0.25±0.02 g/100g, respectively). Based on the quality characteristics of the selected minor fruits, following products were developed namely – squash, spicy squash and sauce from Nagatenga (Rhus semialata), squash and RTS from Leteku (Baccaurea sapida), squash and jelly from Poniol (Flacourtia gangomas) and squash, candy and pickle from Kujithekera (Garcinia cowa). The acceptability of the products was determined through organoleptic evaluation using 9 point Hedonic scale by 10 panel judges and found highly acceptable, except the colour and appearancee of Nagatenga sauce was scored low (7 point). The chemical parameters namely TSS, acidity and pH of the products was evaluated and was within the range of FSSAI specification (squash TSS- ≥40 and acidity - ≤3.5, sauce TSS- ≥15 and acidity – ≥1, RTS TSS- ≥10 and acidity - ≥0.3, jelly TSS- ≥65 and acidity - 0.5-0.75 and candy TSS- ≥70). The nutrient content of the products was evaluated and found good amount of nutrients, that help to improve nutritional status of the people. The present investigation reveals that the RTS is more susceptible to spoilage due to high moisture content (89.04±1.13%) and low sugar content (11.93±0.28%) followed by the squashes. Whereas sugar based products jelly and candy have low moisture content (40.26±1.37% and 37.59±0.36% respectively) and good amount of sugar (75.01±3.06% and 90.47±5.69% respectively) may be considered to have long shelf life. Again pickle contain good amount of oil (17.56±1.86%) and salt which enhance quality retention thus increasing shelf life. The results as per physico-chemical parameters, sensory evaluation and microbial assay across storage reveals that in case of Nagatenga squash stored in glass bottle, plastic bottle and standing pouch are safe for consumption upto 180 days, 150 days and 60 days respectively. The Nagatenga spicy squash stored in glass bottle, plastic bottle and standing pouch showed a shelf life of 180 days, 150 days and 60 days respectively. The shelf life of Nagatenga sauce was 180 days in all the packaging materials. The shelf life of Leteku squash stored in glass bottle, plastic bottle and standing pouch are 180, 180 and 150 days respectively. The Leteku RTS can be consume safely upto 30 days when stored in glass bottle and get spoiled in other two packaging material on the 30 days of storage. The shelf life of Poniol squash stored in glass bottle and plastic bottle are upto 180 days and when stored in standing pouch the shelf life is till 150 days. The Poniol jelly stored in all the three packaging material showed acceptable shelf life across the entire storage period. The Kujithekera squash stored in glass bottle, plastic bottle and standing pouch are at safe and consumable state upto 180, 180 and 90 days of storage respectively in terms of physic-chemical evaluation. The Kujithekera candy was safe and within acceptable quality during all the storage period (0-180 days) stored in the all the three packaging material. The results depicts that in terms of sensory, physico-chemical (Significant at P < 0.05) and microbial evaluation of the developed products in different packing material across storage it can be concluded that glass bottle packaging is the best packaging materials for storing both liquid and solid products due to its highly inert, durable and chemical resistant properties. Plastic bottle can be considered next to glass bottle in terms of light weight and easy to handle properties and this packaging material also showed less prominent spoilage characters compared to standing pouch.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    PROCESSING AND VALUE ADDITION OF JACKFRUIT (Artocarpus heterophyllus. Lam.)
    (AAU, 2015) Baruah, Barnali; Dr Mridula Saikia Barooah
    A series of laboratory experiments were carried out to study the prospects of processing and value addition of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam). Initially, five widely grown indigenous jackfruit genotypes of Assam i.e. Dhol Kathal, Nohoru-phutia Kathal, Pat-kathal, Mridongia Kathal and J-5 were collected and among these, Dhol Kathal having superior pulp quality and seed yield, which was selected for further evaluation. The study was confind under four well defined separate aspects i.e. 1) Study on physico-chemical composition of jackfruit seed and pulp 2) Standardization of seed-flour extraction process and quality assessment of seed-flour stored in different packaging materials 3) Incorporation of jackfruit seed flour in different baked products and study of their quality characteristics 4) Standardization of processing methods for jackfruit pulp-products and their quality assessment. Crude protein, crude fat, ash, crude fiber, iron and total sugar contents of jackfruit pulp was recorded to be 1.74 (g/100g), 0.28 (g/100g), 1.26 (g/100g), 1.30 (g/100g), 0.70 (mg/100g) and 18.52 (g/100g) respectively, whereas for seed these were 9.18 (g/100g), 1.28 (g/100g), 1.34 (g/100g), 1.68 (g/100g), 1.84 (mg/100g) and 7.32 (g/100g) respectively. Two different seed flour extraction methods for raw (Flour I) and heat processed seeds (Flour II) were standardized. Between Flour I and Flour II, no significant difference in nutrient contents was observed, however, they differed significantly in their functional properties. Heat processing significantly improved the functional properties rendering the Flour II suitable for use in bakery industry. Flour I and Flour II were further stored for 180 days in three different packaging materials viz. Laminated Aluminum (LA) foil pouches (100G), Polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET) containers and Poly propylene (PP) pouches (100 microns). The moisture content of Flour I stored in PP pouch was increased from 6.09% to 14.14% whereas in Flour II it was increased from 6.13% to 11.77%. In all the packaging materials, Flour II exhibited better storage quality. This flour can be stored safely for 180 days in LA foil pouches, 90 days at PET container and PP pouches, whereas Flour I can be kept better only for 90 days and 30 days in LA foil pouches and PP pouches, respectively. Wheat flour was successfully substituted up to 50% and 60% by Flour II in biscuits and cakes respectively with acceptable sensory qualities. Nutritional and sensory qualities remained unaltered up to 180 days and 30 days in Flour II incorporated biscuits cakes respectively. Processing methods of toffee, leather and jam prepared from jackfruit pulp were standardized. With the increase in pulp percentage in jackfruit toffee, a marked decrease in sensory scores (texture, hardness, taste, smell and over all acceptability) were observed. Toffee with 10% jackfruit pulp recorded the highest mean sensory score (7) for overall acceptability. Though there was a significant change in moisture content of toffee from initial (7.73%) to 180 days storage (8.63%) period, the other nutritional and sensory parameters showed no significant change during storage. The texture of the leather was not affected by the increase in sugar content, however 5% added sugar level got the highest sensory score for taste (8.8) as compared to 10% (6.6) and 15% (5.4) level in 9 point Hedonic scale. Drying method had a pronounced impact on the moisture content, taste and aroma of jackfruit leather. The sundried leather had a higher percentage of moisture content (12.56) as compared to oven dried (9.38) one. Moreover, the sundried leather obtained a significantly lower sensory score. Jackfruit leather was found to be a shelf stable product in terms of nutritional and sensory quality. The processing method for jackfruit jam was standardized to meet the FPO specification for fruit jam. The sensory and nutritional qualities were observed to be intact during 180 days of storage period. From the study it can be concluded that there is immense scope for product development from jackfruit and enhancing farm income through entrepreneurship and industrial exploitation of the fruit.