JOSHI, V.K.NAVEEN, KUMAR2017-05-022017-05-022014http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810010436ABSTRACT Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) a member of the cucurbitaceae family, is known asbitter melon, bitter gourd, balsam pear and karela. It grows in tropical areas of the Amazon, East Africa, Asia, India and South America. Momordica charantia is traditionally used as a medicine. Bitter gourd is a popular vegetable among gourds, though due to its peculiar taste and flavour, it may not be liked by many of the persons. Nevertheless, it has high nutritive value among different gourds. It is a rich source of ascorbic acidbut is a fair source of protein, minerals and dietary fibers. Thefruit has several medicinal uses in the traditional methods of medicine. Fruits and seeds of bitter gourd are traditionally used as a medicinal herb as anti- HIV, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory, antileukemic, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic and anti-tumer. Recently, the antidiabetic properties of the fruit are under intensive investigation. Preservation by different methods such as steepping preservation, sun drying and dehydration has been carried out, but very little work has been done to prepare beverage/ juice in India. Being a highly medicinal crop, the vegetable can be used to prepare different processed products including alcoholic beverages. Preparation of alcoholic beverages including wine is one of the options available. Standardization of bitter gourd juice extraction was carried out with enzymatic maceration and by using water dilutions. On the basis of physico-chemical characteristics, enzymatic treatment having pectin esterase 0.5% concentration for 4hrs was rated as the best. Standardization of apple/grape juice concentrations, DAHP concentrations and concentrations of inoculum size was done by applying central composite design (CCD) of RSM for preparation of bitter gourd based wine. Bitter gourd based wine was prepared by using optimized conditions from response surface methodology experiment. On the basis of physico-chemical and sensory characteristics, runs having 40% apple/grape juice concentration, 0.15 % DAHP and 2.5 % inoculum level were rated as the best. After fermentation, bitter gourd based wine was treated with different wood chips i.e. Acacia spp., Bombaxspp. and Quercusspp. These wines were matured for a period of three months and were evaluated for physico-chemical and sensory quality characteristics. Out of three wood chips, Quercus spp. treated wine was preferred by the judges, followed byAcacia spp. and thenBombax spp. The product being low alcoholic need pasteurization at 62 0 C for 20 min. keeping a head space of 2.5 cm in a bottle. Bitter gourd wine so prepared was holds promise to make a patable yetretaining the product with medicinal properties.ennullThesis