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Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur
The history of agricultural education in Kerala can be traced back to the year 1896 when a scheme was evolved in the erstwhile Travancore State to train a few young men in scientific agriculture at the Demonstration Farm, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, presently, the Cropping Systems Research Centre under Kerala Agricultural University. Agriculture was introduced as an optional subject in the middle school classes in the State in 1922 when an Agricultural Middle School was started at Aluva, Ernakulam District. The popularity and usefulness of this school led to the starting of similar institutions at Kottarakkara and Konni in 1928 and 1931 respectively.
Agriculture was later introduced as an optional subject for Intermediate Course in 1953. In 1955, the erstwhile Government of Travancore-Cochin started the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy, Thrissur for imparting higher education in agricultural and veterinary sciences, respectively. These institutions were brought under the direct administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry, respectively. With the formation of Kerala State in 1956, these two colleges were affiliated to the University of Kerala. The post-graduate programmes leading to M.Sc. (Ag), M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees were started in 1961, 1962 and 1965 respectively.
On the recommendation of the Second National Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission, one Agricultural University in each State was established. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) were established in India as an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System to give the much needed impetus to Agriculture Education and Research in the Country. As a result the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) was established on 24th February 1971 by virtue of the Act 33 of 1971 and started functioning on 1st February 1972. The Kerala Agricultural University is the 15th in the series of the SAUs.
In accordance with the provisions of KAU Act of 1971, the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, were brought under the Kerala Agricultural University. In addition, twenty one agricultural and animal husbandry research stations were also transferred to the KAU for taking up research and extension programmes on various crops, animals, birds, etc.
During 2011, Kerala Agricultural University was trifurcated into Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU).
Now the University has seven colleges (four Agriculture, one Agricultural Engineering, one Forestry, one Co-operation Banking & Management), six RARSs, seven KVKs, 15 Research Stations and 16 Research and Extension Units under the faculties of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry. In addition, one Academy on Climate Change Adaptation and one Institute of Agricultural Technology offering M.Sc. (Integrated) Climate Change Adaptation and Diploma in Agricultural Sciences respectively are also functioning in Kerala Agricultural University.
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ThesisItem Open Access Development and quality evaluation of a jackfruit based nutri flour(Department of Community Science, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2022) Soumya, P S; KAU; Suma, DivakarThe study entitled “Development and quality evaluation of a jackfruit based nutri flour” was carried out at the Department of Community Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, during the period 2018-2021. The main objectives of the study were to formulate and standardize a jackfruit based nutri flour comprised of all the edible parts of the fruit and to evaluate its qualities and invitro therapeutic efficacy. Jackfruit cv. Koozha and varikka based nutri flour was developed on the basis of glycemic index of the various parts of the fruit. Raw jack fruits (12 weeks maturity) were selected. Weight of bulbs, perigones, seeds, rind, core and testa were recorded separately to get the final yield, wet and dry weight, moisture percentage, processing loss and dry matter percentage of the product. The order of glycemic index of jackfruit parts were observed as KJRF˃ KJTF ˃VJTF ˃VJRF ˃ KJPF ˃ VJPF ˃KJCF ˃VJCF ˃ KJBF ˃KJSF ˃ VJBF ˃VJSF. The major flour was constituted with greater percentage of fruit parts with low glycaemic index (50 – 60 %) and 40 % was formed by other components in different proportions. Ten formulations of nutri flour and control were evaluated for their sensory qualities. For these three popular breakfast dishes like “puttu”, “ada” and “oratti” were developed. On the basis of analysis of mean scores of sensory parametersF9 was selected as the best combination. Among the three products based on overall acceptability scores ‘oratti’ was found to be more acceptable. Analysis of functional quality revealed that nutri flour had lower swelling power (7.65g), solubility (1.48%), water absorption capacity (4.36%) and bulk density (1.04g/ml) compared to jackfruit bulb flours. The proximate composition of carbohydrate (31.59 g/100g), protein (7.03g/100g), dietary fiber (13.58 g/100g) were significantly high in nutri flour compared with koozha and varikka bulb flours. The moisture content of nutri flour was lower (0.96%), than koozha jackfruit bulb flour and varikka jackfruit bulb flour (1.28% and 1.39%) respectively. The mineral content such as, total minerals (0.98g), calcium (114.32mg), phosphorus (47.92mg), sodium (10.21mg), potassium (418.10mg), iron (1.67mg), manganese (1.59mg), copper (0.457mg) and zinc (0.923mg) content were higher in nutri flour in comparison to koozha and varikka jackfruit bulb flours. The nutraceutical components like phenol (3.03mg) phytic acid (166.77mg), tannin (19.45mg), β carotene (65.98 μg) and antioxidant content (35.85 μg) was significantly higher in nutri flour compare to koozha and varikka jack bulb flours. The developed jackfruit nutri flour formulation (F9) was packed in metallised laminated pouches and kept for storage studies under ambient conditions for a period of six months storage. During the storage period moisture content, microbial profile and organoleptic qualities were found to be acceptable. To reduce the level of oligosaccharides and to increase the starch digestibility the flour was fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae @ 5g/kg for 8hrs. In HPLC analysis, at a retention time of 6.93 minutes standard stachyose, untreated and treated nutri flour. Nutri flour treated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae @ 8 hrs was found to be low in oligosaccharides compared to control. In vitro starch digestibility was significantly high in yeast treated nutri flour (82.81%) when compared to untreated nutri flour (54.84%). Anti-diabetic activity of nutri flour was investigated through α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activity, by using different solvents. A maximum inhibitory activity was observed in petroleum ether extracted of nutri flour at a concentration of 100 μg/mL in α -amylase (47.17%) and α -Glucosidase (63.93%) enzymes. Hypolipidemic activity of nutri flour showed, highest inhibition percentage with petroleum ether (78.06%) and lowest with distilled water (39.53%). Hepato protective effect of nutri flour was higher in cells treated at 50% concentration. From the above study, it can be concluded that jackfruit based nutri mix has hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic as well as hepatoprotective properties. The nutri mix is formulated from all edible parts of jackfruit, which adds on to the therapeutic value of the product. The entire fruit utilization answers the answers the problem of environmental contamination with these underutilized fruit parts.ThesisItem Open Access Profiling bioactive compounds and nutrients in jackfruit (artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) and developing a jackfruit based textured vegetable protein(Department of Community Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2018) Anila, H L; KAU; Suma DivakarThe investigation entitled “Profiling bioactive compounds and nutrients in Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) and developing a jackfruit based textured vegetable protein‟‟, was carried out at College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram during the period of 2015-2018. The objectives of the study were to ascertain the bioactive compounds and nutrients present in different jackfruit types. The study also envisaged the improvement of digestive quality of jackfruit through reduction of oligosaccharides and developing a jackfruit based textured vegetable protein. The study was conducted in three experiments; viz. analysis of nutrient and chemical profile along with antioxidant activity of the selected types of jackfruit; analysis of measures for reducing antinutrients in raw jackfruit and development of raw jackfruit based textured vegetable protein. For the component wise analysis, five types of jackfruits viz Muttom varikka, Then varikka, Sindoor, Chempikalom varikka and Local cv Koozha were selected; their raw and ripe stages as well as both bulbs and seeds were analysed separately. Analysis of proximate composition, vitamins, minerals, bioactive compounds, antinutrients and antioxidant activity were covered in the first experiment. The results showed that nutrient wise, raw seeds of Chempikalom and ripe bulbs of Sindoor scored higher than the rest of treatments while with respect to antioxidant activity, ripe seeds of Koozha were better than other treatments. The profiling of nutrients and bioactive compounds in the each part of the experiment is an eye opener on specific features of the common jackfruit type that can be exploited according to varying needs. The delicacy factor for non acceptability of jackfruit, despite its useful composition is that, it has a flatulence factor. This study has thrown light in to the measures to reduce these causative factors. For this purpose in the second part of the experiment, one treatment is with enzyme α galactosidase and another treatment with Saccharomyces cerevisiae was carried out on milled raw jackfruit bulbs and seeds of cv koozha to reduce the level of anti nutrients. Enzyme α galactosidase was premixed with the dry flour of jackfruit seed and jackfruit bulb separately in the ratio 1:100 and the moisture level was varied from 25 – 200% (dough to batter stage). The hydrolysis was carried out for 90 minutes in both jackfruit bulb flour and seed flour. The products were evaluated for the breakdown of oligosaccharides (Raffinose) using HPTLC method. The results showed that the level of Raffinose after treatment with bulb flour and seed flour was seen to decrease with increase in moisture content (25-100%). Thereafter the content slightly staggered and then reduced (125%, 150%, 175%, 200%). However the level of oligosaccharide decreased in comparison to levels in control (0.97 μg g-1). When flours were to be made into batter and subjected to fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae @ 5g/kg for 6 hrs, 8 hrs and 12 hrs and analyzed through HPTLC assay; raffinose content in jackfruit bulb flour reduced from 0.75 μg g-1 to 0.63 μg g-1, 0.58 μg g-1 and 0.74 μg g-1 after 6, 8 and 12 hours respectively. Raffinose content in jackfruit seed flour reduced from 1.28 μg g-1 to 0.42 μg g-1, 0.31 μg g-1 and 0.62 μg g-1 respectively after 6, 8 and 12 hours of fermentation. Considering the reduction of raffinose content and sensory evaluation of the treated flour, eight hour fermentation (F2) was selected as the best treatment. The demand for convenience foods among the literate consumers is on the rise around the globe. It has been argued that convenience is a barrier to achieving proper nutrition using adequate servings. In order to incorporate the fruit based nutritional benefits, it has become important to develop newer and novel foods that could reach the consumers‟ acceptance. With this background an attempt was visualized to develop jackfruit based textured vegetable protein (TVP) to make jackfruit more popular among the health conscious people. In the third experiment, Jackfruit based TVP was formulated by using the ingredients - jackfruit bulb flour and seed flour along with gluten, yeast and soya flour to form chunks using standardized methods. Totally eleven combinations of TVP were worked out. All the eleven treatments were cooked and evaluated by a panel of ten members. Based on the sensory attributes such as appearance, colour, flavour, texture, taste and overall acceptability, the highest score was obtained for T7 which was followed by T8 and these two treatments were seen to be on par. The lowest score was obtained by treatment T4; T7 was taken up for quality analysis, it had a protein content of 61.50g, carbohydrate content of 34.97g and lesser cooking time (7.33 minutes). The physico chemical and textural qualities were on par with soyachunks available in the market. Processed TVP showed good storage stability up to three months. The third part of the study concluded with a positive note on scope of commercializing this jackfruit based protein concentrate. The product is both novel and healthy, raising its popularity for sailing up. Thus, the study finds that there is variation in jackfruit types with respect to nutrients, chemical and bioactive compounds. The efficacy of enzyme α galactosidase and Saccharomyces cerevisiae to reduce oligosaccharide levels in jackfruit flour is feasible. With high acceptable food like meat analogue was also standardized based on jackfruit flours, which can be recommended for commercialization.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 Development, quality assessment and clinical efficacy of functional food supplement (FFS) for life style disease management(Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2014) Krishnaja, U; KAU; Mary Ukkuru, PWith a global increase in the prevalence of lifestyle diseases, both nutrition and functional foods play key roles in its prevention and management. Functional foods from natural sources are cost effective, sustainable and reduce the risk factors. In this context, the present investigation entitled “Development, quality assessment and clinical efficacy of ‘Functional Food Supplement’ (FFS) for life style disease management” was conducted to develop a Functional Food Supplement (FFS) using locally available food ingredients that are not included in our daily diet due to ignorance or over sight but are rich in bioactive compounds with the twin ability of nourishment and therapeutic action. The constituents selected for the FFS contain barley, ragi, banana, defatted soy flour, drumstick leaves and mushroom. Different proportions of the ingredients were worked out based on their nutritional qualities, amino acid scores, fibre content and other health promoting properties and sensory qualities. Dehydration and fermentation were the two processing techniques applied to standardize the FFSs. From the twenty combinations worked out, after different levels of screening, four combinations were selected under the dehydration technique. In the fermentation technique, one combination (combination XIV) selected from the dehydration techniques subjected to four different treatments was identified for further investigation. Best suitable combination from each processing technique was identified based on functional properties and sensory qualities. Thus DT4 (B: R: Bp: DSF: DLp: Mp = 3.5:2.0:1.5:2.5:0.25:0.25) from FFS I was selected for in-depth investigation. While in the case of FFS II yeast fermented batter (FT4) was identified as the best combination. The identified FFS I & II were subjected to indepth investigations such as quality analysis based on nutrient content, functional properties, phytochemical content, storage stability and clinical efficacy on the lifestyle diseases. Significant differences were found in the nutrient contents of FFS I & II. FFS I had higher energy content of 384 kcal, protein 21.4 g and fat 1.88g. Nutrient status of FFS II showed (378 kcal) of energy, 16.5 g of protein and 1.56 g of fat which were considerably lower than that of FFS I. Fibre and β – glucan content of FFS I were (4.0 g) and (1.60 g) respectively. Though FFS II is found to contain higher amounts of β–glucans (1.68 g) compared to FFS I, it had significantly lower fibre content of 3.33 g. The variation noted in the carbohydrate content of FFS I was 60.5 g against 58 g of FFS II which were statistically insignificant. FFS II on fermentation had produced a remarkable increase in the β-carotene (2910 µg), thiamine (1.63 mg), riboflavin (1.3 mg), niacin (2.68 mg) and folic acid (40.0 mg) levels. However, vitamin E (3.35 µg) and Vitamin C (8.73 mg) content of FFS I was significantly higher than FFS II. FFS I had a significantly higher composition of all the macro (potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus), micro (iron, copper, zinc, manganese) and trace elements (selenium) compared to FFS II. The total antioxidant activity and DPPH free radical scavenging activity of both FFS I & II developed proved to be in favour of the disease management. Phytochemical contents of FFS I was significantly higher than FFS II. Amino acid profile depicted that, Glutamic acid (132.9 nmoles/ml) is the highest amino acid in FFS I while FFS II elicited high amounts of Glycine (107.6 nmoles/ml). The Total Essential Amino acid (TEAA) content, Essential Amino Acid index and Nutritional index per cent were higher in FFS I when compared to FFS II. Assessment of functional qualities of the developed functional food supplements based on the parameters viz. pasting properties, textural properties, colour attributes and particle size showed that, both FFS I & II were equally acceptable and had higher market potentials. Moisture, peroxides and microbial contents were bare minimum during storage, promoting them for better marketability. The cost of one Kg of both FFS I & II was Rs. 200/- and the cost of one portion size of the products was only Rs. 4.0/- indicating better economic viability when scaled up against health. Efficacy of the developed FFS was tested in the selected subjects from Elamkulam panchayat of Malappuram district, with lifestyle diseases viz. hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia and hypertension. Impact of the supplementation (20 gm per day) of FFS (I & II) on selected subjects was closely monitored through clinical parameters like fasting and post prandial blood sugar, Glycemic Index, blood pressure and lipid profile and general health and morbidity. The findings proved that both FFS I & II were equally good in lowering the FBS, PPBS, Total Cholesterol, LDL, VLDL, Triglycerides and blood pressure levels of the subjects. Both FFS I & II also had a favourable role in enhancing HDL levels. Except, blood pressure all the other parameters of the subjects had come to normal values at the end of supplementation period. Glycemic Index values of FFS I & II and Glycemic load were low which further supports the therapeutic function of the products. Findings of the present investigation strongly recommend that both FFS I & II developed proved to be efficient in the dietary management of the subjects with lifestyle diseases as the developed FFSs are proved to contain therapeutic and health promoting properties. The study recommends that natural food ingredients can be effectively utilized for the development of functional food supplements for the management of lifestyle diseases. With the virtue of the studied parameters, the FFSs could be promoted for commercialization. In vivo studies to prove the therapeutic role of the developed functional food supplements in managing the lifestyle diseases can be taken as a future prospective. Large scale studies to strengthen and validate the clinical role FFS has to be undertaken. Commercialization and market acceptability of the developed FFS has to be promoted for the benefit of subjects who are obsessed with food but are instead stuck to medicines for treatment and management of diseases.ThesisItem Open Access Optimisation and utilisation of resistant starch for value addition in rice products(Department of Home Science, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2014) Lilia Baby; KAU; Indira, VThe present study was undertaken to standardise processing treatments for optimising resistant starch (RS) formation in rice starch and to evaluate the changes in rice starch properties. The study also aimed to standardise rice flour supplemented with RS, to evaluate its quality attributes during storage and the effect of RS supplemented food products on postprandial glycaemic response. Starch was isolated from the raw and parboiled rice of variety Uma. Raw rice had lower starch content and higher RS, compared to parboiled rice. The effect of processing conditions on the RS content of rice starch was studied in 48 treatments by autoclaving at 121°C and 141°C for 20, 40 and 60 minutes without moisture and with 10, 20 and 40 percentage moisture levels. After autoclaving, the samples were cooled at room temperature and at -20°C. The yield of RS was found to be maximum in samples autoclaved at 141°C for 40 minutes with 10 per cent moisture and cooled at -20°C. Increasing the duration of autoclaving up to 60 minutes at a lower temperature of 121°C was also found to be effective in improving the RS content of rice starch. RS formation not only depends on a single factor but also on multiple factors like time and temperature of autoclaving, moisture as well as cooling conditions. To study the effect of repeated autoclaving and cooling, five treatments yielding maximum RS content were selected. The RS content increased with increase in the number of autoclaving and cooling cycles irrespective of the temperature and time of autoclaving, moisture content and cooling conditions. Repeated autoclaving and cooling lowered the content of rapidly and slowly digestible starch. The moisture and protein content of repeatedly autoclaved and cooled samples were significantly lower than the native starch. The total carbohydrate and amylose content increased during processing and found to be maximum in samples autoclaved at 141°C for 40 minutes and cooled at -20°C. The standardisation of resistant starch supplemented rice flour (RSRF) was carried out by incorporating 10, 15 and 20g of RS to 100g of puttu and idiappam flour. For this, two treatments with maximum RS content were selected. Physical qualities of the flour, in vitro starch digestibility and organoleptic qualities of the products were evaluated. Incorporation of RS decreased the bulk density (BD) and water absorption index (WAI) of flour whereas water solubility index (WSI) increased. In vitro starch digestibility was found to be inversely proportional to the RS content of rice flour. The puttu and idiappam prepared with RS supplemented rice flour were found to be organoleptically acceptable. The storage studies of RSRF were carried out by selecting RS incorporated puttu and idiappam flour having better organoleptic acceptance of their products. The flour was stored for six months under ambient condition after packing in polythene bags. The physical qualities like BD, WAI and WSI of puttu and idiappam flour decreased during six months of storage. A decrease in protein and total carbohydrate content was noticed with an increase in the moisture level. The RS content of flour improved during storage. The count of bacteria, yeast and fungi increased towards the end of storage in both the flour. Insect infestation was not observed throughout the storage period. The organoleptic qualities of the puttu and idiappam decreased slightly, when they were prepared from stored flour. Postprandial glycaemic responses of puttu and idiappam supplemented with RS was assessed among diabetic and non-diabetic individuals in comparison with non-supplemented products. The increase in blood glucose level was relatively at a lower rate when RS supplemented puttu and idiappam were given to diabetic as well as non diabetic subjects. Better response was observed among diabetic subjects.ThesisItem Open Access Food and nutritional security scenario of BPL families of central zone of Kerala(Department of Home Science, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2013) Blossom, K.L; KAU; Indira, VThe study entitled “Food and Nutritional Security Scenario of BPL Families of Central Zone of Kerala” was undertaken to assess the extent and determinants of food and nutritional security among the BPL families of Central Kerala and to study the impact of food security on the nutritional status of women and preschool children. All the four districts of Central Zone of Kerala namely Thrissur, Ernakulam, Palakkad and Malappuram were selected for the study. A total of 400 BPL families comprising 100 families from each district formed the sample for the study. Detailed study on nutritional status of women and preschool children as well as Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) were conducted among 60 women in the age group of 25 to 35 years and 60 preschool children in the age group of 3 to 5 years. The food security of the families was assessed by the three dimensions namely food access, availability and absorption of nutrients. Access and availability were assessed by the socioeconomic status, food consumption pattern and food purchasing pattern of the families. Absorption was determined by assessing the nutritional status of the family members. Overall food security of the families was measured using USDA (2000) module and MSSRF (2008) index. Nutritional security of the families and family members were determined from the intake of nutrients. Nuclear family system with four to six members was observed among most of the families. Educational and occupational status indicated that most of the adult members were literate and working as labourers on daily wages. The monthly income of 72 per cent of families varied from Rs. 4001/- to 12,000/. Most of the families did not earn any income from domestic animals and 27.25 per cent had the habit of saving money. The monthly expenditure pattern of the families revealed that 76 per cent spent up to 50 per cent of their income for food. Most of the families had own houses built with bricks, tiled roofing and cement flooring. Electricity and toilet facilities were present in almost all houses. Health care facilities were found to be satisfactory and 82 per cent of families utilised the public health facilities available in their locality. Three meal a day pattern was followed by 98 per cent of the families and they kept regular time schedule for taking meal. However, only 37 per cent planned their meal in advance and only 48 per cent of families included raw fruits and vegetables in their diet. Most frequently used food items were cereals, pulses, other vegetables, fats and oils, sugar and fish. Green leafy vegetables, roots and tubers, fruits, milk and milk products and eggs were used to a lesser extent. All families spent upto ten per cent of their food expenditure for the purchase of cereals. Fifty five to 61 per cent of the families spent 11 to 20 per cent of the monthly food expenses for the purchase of fish and other vegetables. The quantity of vegetables, fruits and milk and milk products purchased by majority of the families satisfied less than 25 per cent of the requirement. Gross inadequacy in the intake of all food groups except non vegetarian items was noticed among the family members. The intake of macro and micronutrients was also found to be lower than the recommended dietary allowances suggested by ICMR. Different grades of malnutrition were noticed among children, adolescents and adult members. On the basis of anthropometric indicators, normal nutritional status was noticed only among 37 per cent children below 12 years, 45 per cent adolescents, 48 per cent adults and 55 per cent elderly. Gross deficit in the intake of certain food groups and nutrients was also noticed among women and preschool children. Mild form of nutritional anaemia was prevalent among 40.82 per cent women and 31.71 per cent preschool children. However, clinical signs of nutritional deficiencies were noticed only to a lesser extent among women and preschool children. The blood profile for serum protein, albumin, globulin and creatinine was also found to be in the normal range indicating adequacy in the protein status among women and preschool children. The overall food and nutritional security was found to be below 20 per cent among the BPL families of Central Kerala. Families without children had better food and nutritional security. Comparatively, severe food and nutritional insecurity affected only a small proportion of the families. Mild to moderate forms of insecurity were more prevalent. Food security had a positive impact on the nutritional status of women and preschool children. Among the different factors affecting food security, family size was found to be the most important one.ThesisItem Open Access Quality evaluation of medicinal rice (Oryza sativa L) ev. njavara for product development and therapeutic value(College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2012) Reshmi, R; KAU; Nandini, P VA study entitled “Quality evaluation of medicinal rice (Oryza sativa L.) cv. Njavara for product development and therapeutic value” was conducted to assess the major quality parameters such as physico-chemical characteristics, nutritional composition and antioxidant activity. Two eco types of Njavara rice Njavara black (NB) and Njavara yellow (NY) were procured from RRS, Moncompu and one eco type of Hraswa was obtained from ARS, Mannuthy. Hraswa was treated as the control. The study was conducted in three phases. The first phase experiment envisaged the quality evaluation of the selected rice varieties. In the second phase of experimentation, a product (grits) was developed using both the ecotypes of Njavara; Its physical, chemical, nutritional composition, sensory and shelf life qualities was assessed and finally in the third phase of experiments the product was tested for its therapeutic value viz. glycemic index and antioxidant properties. In the first experiment, the parameters selected to study under physico-chemical characteristics were moisture, size, shape, length, width, L/B ratio, colour, thousand grain weight, gel consistency, bulk density, gelatinization temperature, chalkiness index, viscography and hardness. Regarding the colour of the rice samples all the samples were red in colour. The L/B ratio and moisture content was recorded highest for NY among the three selected rice varieties. Thousand grain weight was highest for the variety Hraswa (control) and lowest for NY. The assessment of the calorific value/energy of the three rice varieties revealed that NY had the highest value for calories when compared to the other two varieties. The protein content was found to be higher in NB and lowest in Hraswa (control) variety. The evaluation of protein quality showed that values of essential amino acids like threonine, valine, methionine and isoleucine of Hraswa (control variety) was lower than the values of raw Njavara rice samples. Whereas leucine, phenylalanine, lysine and tryptophan values of Hraswa were higher than Njavara black and yellow varieties. Amino acid score (AAS) of the rice samples revealed that NY had more amino acid score than NB. Soluble fibre content was more for NB and lower for Hraswa (control) variety. NB had the highest value for total phenol content. Trace element content of the rice samples revealed that NB had the highest value for Fe. As for Mn, Zn, Cu and Se, Hraswa (control) variety had the highest values. The results of the antioxidant properties revealed that for DPPH scavenging activity and hydroxyl radical activity NY had highest antioxidant activity, with an IC50 value of 31.62 µg/ml for DPPH and 46.00 µg/ml for hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. For superoxide radical scavenging activity, NB had the highest activity with an IC50 value of 48.78 µg/ml. In the second phase of the experiment, both the Njavara ecotypes were first parboiled and then converted to grits form and its nutritional composition, sensory and shelf life qualities were assessed. The results revealed that the energy content of the NY (G) was higher when compared to NB (G). It was found that processing influences the calorific values of rice positively. The protein content was found to be highest in NY (G) and the results showed a decrease in protein content due to processing when compared to raw values. As a result of processing the essential and non-essential content of both the Njavara varieties were found to decrease and the decrease was found more in NY (G) when compared to NBG). The EAA index of the rice samples showed that NB (G) had higher value. NY (G) had higher soluble fibre content; the results revealed that soluble fibre content has decreased as result of processing. NB (G) had the highest value for total phenol content and the results revealed that after processing the total phenol content had increased. Trace element analysis of the Njavara rice samples in the present study revealed that all the trace elements viz., Fe, Mn, Zn Cu and Se increased in content after processing with NB(G) having the highest value for all the trace elements. Antioxidant properties showed that for DPPH scavenging activity NY grits had highest antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 35.89 µg/ml. For hydroxyl radical scavenging activity also NY grits was having highest activity. (IC50 = 53.78 µg/ml). Superoxide radical scavenging activity showed that NB grits had highest activity (IC50 value = 48.78 µg/ml). To ascertain the shelf life quality of the developed product, moisture percentage, peroxide value, insect count and microbial growth was determined. The assessment of microbial growth revealed that the highest microbial load was found in NB(G) but these levels were within the prescribed specification. Results of the selection of superior variety showed that NB (G) was found to be superior in quality, but statistically the values of NY (G) and NB(G) were not having much difference. In the third phase of experiments, Njavara grits were tested for their therapeutic value viz. glycemic index and antioxidant properties. For assessing the therapeutic value, different breakfast recipes like uppuma, porridge, kozhukatta and oratti were tried in the laboratory incorporating Njavara rice grits. The formulated recipes were then subjected to sensory evaluation. Njavara grits uppuma obtained the highest score for overall acceptability. For assessing the efficacy of Njavara on the blood sugar levels, a feeding trial for 3 months was conducted among five diabetic subjects in the age group of 40-50 years. Blood sugar levels was monitored initially (before the supplementation) and finally (after the supplementation). The results revealed that, for all subjects, blood sugar levels decreased after supplementation study. Mean glycemic index and Glycemic load of the Njavara rice was found to be 72 and 36 respectively. Antioxidant properties in the blood samples of the subjects revealed that after the supplementation with Njavara the DPPH scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical activity and superoxide anion-radical scavenging activity of all the five subjects under study had appreciably increased.
