Development of Iron rich value-added products from locally available underutilized leaves

Abstract

The present study was done on underutilized green leafy vegetables which are rich source of iron and other micronutrients. Moreover there are varieties of green leafy vegetables rich in iron and other micronutrients whose consumption is very less in general population due to lack of awareness or ignorance. Therefore, the effort was made to develop iron rich value added products. Two commonly consumed products namely Idli and Appe were developed from underutilized dry leaves. Curry leaves, Fenugreek leaves, Cauliflower leaves, Turnip leaves and Beetroot leaves were taken 5 gm each. Acceptability evaluation of prepared recopies was performed by semi trained panel through 9 point Hedonic rating scale test. The result revealed that among the recipes (Idli and Appe) prepared by adding 5 gm Powder of dried leaves in which beetroot leave product were acceptable when compared to product developed by Curry leaves, Fenugreek leaves, Cauliflower leaves and Turnip leaves. This study concluded that these innovative value-added products can supplement iron to a wide range of population with effective utilization of low cost underutilized leaves.