DEVELOPMENT OF PROCESS PROTOCOL FOR THE DRYING OF MORINGA LEAVES
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Date
2023-12-27
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UHF Nauni
Abstract
The present study entitled “Development of process protocol for the drying of Moringa
leaves” was conducted in the Department of Food Science and Technology, Dr. Yashwant Singh
Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh. Moringa oleifera is
the most widely cultivated species of genus Moringa and belongs to the family Moringaceae. The
leaves of Moringa are a rich source of proteins, minerals and many health promoting antioxidants like
carotenoids, zeatin, sitosterols, etc. However, the leaves are still under-utilized due to the presence of
anti-nutritional factors like saponins, glycosides, hydrogen cyanide etc. which affect the taste, aroma
and bioavailability of nutrients present in the leaves. In this study, the leaves were harvested from
areas of Karsog (Mandi) and were washed and nutritionally analyzed which revealed high content of
moisture (63.87%), total phenols (277.53 mg GAE/100g), ascorbic acid (249.79 mg/100g), crude
protein (27.35%), ash (8.33%) and total chlorophyll (10.13 mg/100g) with high antioxidant activity
(93.13%) with the presence of anti-nutritional factors viz., saponins, glycosides and hydrogen cyanide.
In order to minimize the anti-nutritional factors, chemical blanching for 105 seconds, water blanching
for 240 seconds, and steam blanching for 480 seconds were found effective. The treated leaves
(unblanched, chemically blanched, steam blanched and water blanched) were then dried at different
temperatures (40°C, 50°C and 60°C) and the maximum antioxidant activity, total phenols, ascorbic
acid and total chlorophyll retention was obtained at 40°C. Thus, the leaves dried at 40°C was ground
into powder (250μm) and packed in glass vials and aluminium laminated pouches for conducting
accelerated storage studies. The results revealed that steam blanched leaf powder was comparatively
economical with higher shelf life (336 days) with maximum retention of quality parameters when
stored in aluminium laminated pouches. Hence, blanching process before drying of Moringa leaves
can be effectively used to reduce anti-nutritional factors and further, the powder can be fortified in the
novel products.
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