Development and standardization of wild date palm (Phoenix sylvestris Roxb) liquid jaggery blend with dry ginger powder

Introduction

The wild date palm (Phoenix sylvestris Roxb.) is a chromosome number of 2n = 36.With a lesser-known fruit plant commonly found in desert and dry regions. Locally called "Khajoor" or "Khejur," it belongs to the palm family (Palmae) and is believed to have originated around the Persian Gulf. Over time, it has been cultivated in India, Africa and Spain since ancient times. In India, wild date palms grow naturally along roadsides, in household gardens, forests, and even on barren lands. It is often considered a staple for poorer communities, especially among tribal and forest-dwelling populations. Due to its low pulp content, larger seeds and lower sugar levels, the fruit has limited commercial value. Instead, it is primarily used for making "Neera," a traditional drink. However, when fully ripe, the fruit is highly valued by villagers and tribal communities, serving as an essential source of nutrition and local produce. Liquid jaggery may be considered as an intermediate product obtained during the preparation of solid jaggery. This form of jaggery is although viscous in nature, but highly rich in nutritive value and can be considered as nutraceutical product due to its medicinal properties. Liquid jaggery can be used in almost all the products in which jaggery is used. It provides a huge possibility of innovation and value addition of different products in the race of natural sweeteners. With the help of research work and technical support from institute like NSI Kanpur, IISR Lucknow, RSJRS Kolhapur, RARS Anakapalle and CFTRI Mysore. Liquid jaggery can play a key role in growth of cottage industry as well as it will be economically beneficial for the country. This paper aim to provide a comprehensive review of the qualitative and nutritive value of liquid jaggery along with its market potential during its upcoming years.

According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), cane jaggery is a by-product of boiling or processing sugarcane juice. Jaggery is generally referred to as "medicinal sugar" due to its use in Ayurveda and its similarity to honey. It is extremely high in minerals, protein and vitamins. "Jaggery" is used as a functional food and is high in protein, minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, phenolic acid and other nutrients, as well as antioxidant and medicinal properties. Jaggery is a type of nutritious food which contains enough carbohydrates (sucrose, fructose and glucose), minerals (calcium, potassium, sodium, iron, zinc, magnesium) and vitamins (B, C, D and E) for normal human growth and function.

Materials and Methods

Experiment site

The sap of wild date palm tree (Phoenix sylvestris Roxb) is the typically harvested during winter season in Chhattisgarh (Bastar) production. while the fruits reach full ripeness in the summer, For this study 14 to 15 years old tree were sap collected in may from Laboratory trial was carried out at Horticulture Processing Laboratory, Krantikari Debridhur college of Horticulture and Research Station (MGUVV) Jagdalpur Bastar (C.G.)-494001

Preparations of date juice

The harvested date fruits were thoroughly washed with water toremove any adhering dust and foreign particles. The seeds were manu-ally separated from the pulp, which was then chopped into small pieces. The prepared pulp was stored in sterile containers at 8 °C until the experiment commenced. For the liquid-state fermentation, the fruit pulp was mixed with distilled water in a ratio of 1:3 by weight. The mixture was heated to 80 °C for 30 min with continuous stirring to eliminate pathogenic and spoilage organisms and to maximize the extraction of reducing sugars. After cooling to room temperature, the mixture was filtered using cheesecloth to remove insoluble materials. The filtrate was then centrifuged (Thermo Scientific Sorvall LYNX 4000) at 18.9 x g for20 min to concentrate the TSS in the juice. Date juice samples with four experimental TSS concentrations (10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%) were prepared by dilution and subsequent heating using a rotary evaporator set at 65 °C. The TSS concentrations were selected based on their relevance to commercial vinegar production, where different sugar levels influence the fermentation process and the final product's acidity, flavor, and antioxidant profile. By exploring these specific levels, this study aims to provide practical insights into the relationship between TSS concentration and vinegar quality.

Determination of Total Soluble Solids (TSS)

A hand held refractometer with 0 to 90 ̊ Brix scale was used for TSS measurement (Patil S. and Anekar S., 2014) [12] . Determination of pH pH was measured according to Rangana S. (1986) using a digital pH meter.

Determination of Total titrable acidity

It was determined by titrating a known weight of liquid jaggery with 0.1N NaOH solution using phenolphthalein as an indicator. The results were expressed as percent anhydrous citric acid (w/w).

Determination of Total sugar

To measure the total sugar, fill a 250 ml flask with a 50 ml solution of clarified sugar. Five millilitres of HCI are added and the mixture is permitted to rest at room temperature (20 °C or above) for a full 24 hours. 0.1 N NaOH is used in combination with a phenolphthalein indicator to reverse this and replenish the volume. It was titrated and the value was noted. The sugar content was all shown as a percentage.

Determination of reducing sugar

Ranganna (1977) [10] explained how reducing sugars were estimated using Lane and Eynon's titrimetric methods.

Determination of Non reducing sugar

The reducing sugar value was subtracted from the total sugar sample to determine the non-reducing sugar value.

Non-reducing sugar (%) = Total sugar (%)-Reducing sugar (%)

Determination of ash

The ash content of burfi was estimated by following the protocol of AOAC (2000). Three g of accurately homogenized sample was taken in clean dry, moisture free silica crucible. The weight of the crucible was noted. The initial ashing was carried out over a low flame to char the sample. The crucible was then placed in muffle furnace at 550 °C to get ash for 6 h. The crucible was then cooled until a constant weight (W2) was achieved.

W2-W2 % Ash = X 100 Weight of sample

Where, W1 = Weight of sample + crucible before ashing W2 = Weight of sample + crucible after ashing

Statistical analysis

The experiments were carried out using Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. The statistical analysis was done by Panse and Sukhatme, (1995) with slight modification.

Analysis of biochemical parameters of fresh sap

Fresh sap of the wild date palm (Phoenix sylvestris Roxb) is a highly nutritious, translucent, nutrient-dense and sweet liquid. The quality of the finished product was assessed by analysing the biochemical characteristics of fresh sap of wild date palm. The biochemical properties of fresh sap of wild date palm are listed in Table 1. Fresh sap of wild date palm was found to have light milky colour. The average TSS (°Brix), pH, Titratable acidity (%), Total sugar (%), Reducing sugar (%) and Non-reducing sugar (%) were 12.33°Brix, 5.65 mg/100 g, 0.24%, 13.07%, 2.35%, 10.72%, respectively.

Table 2 presents the data, which is visually shown in Figure 1. Treatment T 0 , which included 0 g of dried ginger powder, had the greatest moisture content (6.48%), statistically comparable to treatment T 1 , which contained 2 g of dried ginger powder (6.28%). The moisture content of Treatment T 7 , which contained 18 g of dried ginger powder, was significantly lower at 7.71%.

Table 2 presents the data, which is visually shown in Figure 1. Treatment T 7 , which included 18 g of dried ginger powder, had the highest iron content (2.75 mg/100 g), statistically at par to treatment T 6 , which contained 14 g of dried ginger powder (2.59 mg/100 g). Treatment T 0 , which included 0 g of dried ginger powder, had the lowest iron content (2.32 mg/100 g).

Table 2 presents the data, which is visually shown in Figure 1. Treatment T 7 , which included 16 g of dried ginger powder, had the highest magnesium content (93.12 mg/100 g), statistically at par to treatment T 2 contained 5 g of dried ginger powder (89.42 mg/100 g), T 3 contained 10 g of dried ginger powder (91.33 mg/100 g), T 4 contained 12 g of dried ginger powder (91.77 mg/100 g), T 5 contained 14 g of dried ginger powder (92.33 mg/100 g) andT 6 , which contained 16 g of dried ginger powder (92.52 mg/100 g). Treatment T 0 , which included 0 g of dried ginger powder, had the lowest magnesium content (76.90 mg/100 g).

Phosphorus (mg/100 g) Table 2 presents the data, which is visually shown in Figure 1. Treatment T 7 , which included 16 g of dried ginger powder, had the highest phosphorus content (144.34 mg/100 g), statistically at par to the treatment, T 5 contained 14 g of dried ginger powder (143.89 mg/100 g) andT 6 , which contained 16 g of dried ginger powder (140.16 mg/100 g). Treatment T 0 , which included 0 g of dried ginger powder, had the lowest phosphorus content (121.37 mg/100 g).

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementWe express our gratitude to provided supervision by Er. Bhagwat Kumar, Assistant Professor, KDCHRS, Jagdalpur, Bastar, (C. G.), Dr. G.P. Nag, Dean, KDCHRS, Jagdalpur, Bastar (C.G.) and other faculties of KDCHRS, Jagdalpur, Bastar (C.G.) during the research work. We express our gratitude to supervision provided by Er. Bhagwat Kumar, Assistant Professor, KDCHRS, Jagdalpur, Bastar, (C. G.), Dr. G.P. Nag, Dean, KDCHRS, Jagdalpur, Bastar (C.G.) and other faculties of KDCHRS, Jagdalpur, Bastar (C.G.) during the research work.

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