Physico-chemical and economic evaluation of lassi fortified with Calcutta betel vine (Piper betel) leaves extract

Introduction

India is the leading country in milk production worldwide. In 2020, India produced 194.8 million tonnes of milk, accounting for 40.41% of global milk production (Anonymous, 2021) [1] . A substantial portion of surplus milk is processed into various dairy products such as dahi, lassi, chakka, shrikhand, khoa, paneer, butter, ghee, kulfi, and ice cream. Milk is recognized as an ideal food due to its rich nutritional profile, being a valuable source of proteins, bone-forming minerals, essential vitamins, lactose, and milk fat, along with essential fatty acids. Piper betel L. (synonym: Piper betel Blanco), belonging to the family Piperaceae, is a perennial creeping plant native to Malaysia and widely distributed across tropical Asia and East Africa. It is cultivated extensively in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia, serving as a major cash crop and earning the title "green gold of India." Nearly 20 million people depend on betel vine cultivation, processing, and trade for their livelihood (Biswas et al., 2022) [4] . Lassi is considered a probiotic beverage owing to the presence of Lactobacillus spp., which aid in digestion and improve gut health. It serves as an excellent source of calcium, potassium, magnesium, proteins, and vitamins that support bone health, immunity, and overall metabolic activity (Saha et al., 2021) [11] . Regular consumption has also been associated with reduction of body fat, particularly abdominal fat, due to its lactic acid and vitamin D content. Fermented milk products occupy a significant share in the Indian dairy sector. Nearly 10% of India's total milk production is processed into lassi, making it one of the most popular readyto-serve traditional fermented beverages (Shaik et al., 2017) [12] .

Materials and Methods

Raw materials

Cow milk was procured from the local market of Nagpur for lassi preparation. Fresh betel vine leaves were purchased from local suppliers. Analytical-grade chemicals were used for compositional analysis.

Preparation of lassi

Lassi was prepared from cow milk by incorporating different levels of betel vine leaves extract distillate. The treatment combinations consisted of T1 (control, 100% lassi without extract), T2 (91% lassi with 9% extract), T3 (88% lassi with 12% extract), T4 (85% lassi with 15% extract), and T5 (82% lassi with 18% extract). In all treatments, water and sugar were added at the rate of 10% each to curd before preparation.

Analytical Methods

The prepared lassi samples were analyzed for fat, protein, total solids, moisture, ash, SNF, and acidity as per standard methods.

Cost analysis

The cost of production was calculated considering prevailing market prices of milk, betel vine leaves, sugar, fuel, electricity, and labor. The cost per kilogram of lassi was computed for each treatment.

Results and Discussion

Fat content Table 1: Fat content of lassi prepared by different levels of betel vine leaves (percent)

. The fat content of lassi decreased progressively with increasing levels of betel vine leaves extract, ranging from 2.97% in T1 (control) to 2.52% in T5 (18% extract). The highest fat was observed in T1, while the lowest was recorded in T5. These findings are in agreement with Dhumal (2018) [7] , who reported a reduction in fat content of lassi with increasing levels of pudina extract.

Protein content

The protein content of lassi decreased with increasing levels of betel vine leaves extract, ranging from 3.47% in T1 (control) to 2.74% in T5 (18% extract). The highest protein was observed in plain lassi, while the lowest was in T5. Similar trends were reported by Bawangade et al. (2020), who found a reduction in protein content of lassi with increasing levels of strawberry pulp.

Total solids and moisture

The total solids content of lassi increased with higher levels of betel vine leaves extract, ranging from 20.48% in T1 (control) to 21.59% in T5 (18% extract). The highest total solids were observed in T5, while the lowest were in T1. Similar findings were reported by Chawla (2017) [5] , who noted an increase in total solids of vitamin A fortified lassi prepared with natural sources like mango and beetroot powder. The moisture content of lassi increased with higher levels of betel vine leaves extract, ranging from 82.19% in T1 (control) to 86.40% in T5 (18% extract). The lowest value was observed in T1, while the highest was in T5. These findings indicate that incorporation of betel vine leaves extract enhances moisture content. In contrast, Kedaree et al. (2021) [8] reported a decrease in moisture content of lassi with increasing levels of kiwi pulp.

Ash content

The ash content of lassi increased with higher levels of betel vine leaves extract, ranging from 0.54% in T1 (control) to 0.75% in T5 (18% extract). The lowest value was recorded in T1, while the highest was in T5. These results suggest that incorporation of betel vine leaves extract enhances the mineral content of lassi, which is consistent with findings by Pardhi et al. (2014) [10] , who observed a similar increase in ash content with higher levels of finger millet flour in lassi.

Solids-not-fat (SNF)

The solid-not-fat (SNF) content of lassi increased with higher levels of betel vine leaves extract, ranging from 17.51% in T1 (control) to 19.08% in T5 (18% extract), indicating that incorporation of betel vine leaves extract enhances the SNF content of lassi. The titratable acidity of lassi increased with increasing levels of betel vine leaves extract, ranging from 0.68% in T1 (control) to 0.76% in T5 (18% extract). The lowest acidity was observed in the control, while the highest was in T5, indicating that incorporation of betel vine leaves extract slightly elevates the acidity of lassi. Consistent with Bagal et al. (2016) [2] , who observed that lassi fortified with increasing concentrations of papaya pulp showed a progressive rise in acidity from 0.69% in T1 to 1.18% in T4. The cost of production of lassi increased slightly with higher levels of betel vine leaves extract. The production cost per litre was 62.6, 64.2, 64.7, 65.3, and 65.8 Rs. for T1 (control), T2 (9% extract), T3 (12% extract), T4 (15% extract), and T5 (18% extract), respectively. The increase in cost is attributed to the added expense of betel vine leaves, while other production costs such as milk, sugar, culture, and labor were constant. Similar trends have been reported in previous studies, where fortification with papaya pulp, lemongrass, carrot, sorghum, or coconut milk led to a slight increase in production costs (Bagal et al., 2016; Kumar and Das, 2015; David, 2015) [2,9,6] .

Cost structure

Conclusion

The study concludes that lassi prepared from cow milk maintains its desirable nutritional profile and sensory quality when fortified with betel vine leaves extract up to 15%. The chemical composition reveals improved mineral and solid content, while production cost remains economically sustainable. These findings support the commercial development of herbal lassi as a value-added dairy product.

References

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