TAMARIND SEED PROCESSING AND BY-PRODUCTS

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is found in many countries of Asia, Africa and South America. Tamarind can tolerate 5-6 months of drought conditions; hence tamarind crop can grow in any type of climate. Tamarind pod contains 30% pulp, 40% seed and 30% shell by weight. Conventionally tamarind pulp being used for preparing different food products and medicated products. Tamarind seed and shell occupies 70% of the pod weight. Tamarind pod shell can be used as fuel, absorbent for the removal of methylene blue and amaranth dyes from aqueous solutions. Tamarind seed can be used after processing i.e after removing outer layer of the seed in food industries, textile industries, craft industries, furniture industries. Some of the uses of tamarind by-products are discussed in this paper

Solid state fermentation: An effective fermentation strategy for the production of L-asparaginase by Fusarium culmorum (ASP-87)

Production of L-asparaginase by Fusarium culmorum (ASP-87) isolated from tropical soil was investigated under solid state fermentation on a laboratory scale using sixty five (65) agro based materials. Among the different agro based materials evaluated, soybean meal supported maximum L-asparaginase production (7.21 U/gds). Various optimization strategies for the production of L-asparaginase were also carried out with soybean meal and it was observed that inoculum size of 1 � 108 spores/mL, day 6 of incubation period, 3 mm of particle size of the substrate, moisture content of 70, initial pH of 7.0 and temperature at 30 °C were found to be optimal for L-asparaginase production. Supplementation of glucose (0.1) and ammonium chloride (0.1) enhanced L-asparaginase production to 1.7 fold. Mixed substrate fermentation using soybean meal and wheat bran in the ratio (1:1 w/w) further enhanced production of L-asparaginase to 0.5 fold with a final yield of 18.91 U/gds. © 2017 Elsevier Lt

Valorization of Bambara groundnut shell via intermediate pyrolysis: Products distribution and characterization

This study provides first report on thermochemical conversion of residue from one of the underutilized crops, Bambara groundnut. Shells from two Bambara groundnut landraces KARO and EX-SOKOTO were used. Pyrolysis was conducted in a vertical fixed bed reactor at 500, 550, 600 and 650 o�C; 50 o�C/min heating rate and 5 L/min nitrogen flow rate. The report gives experimental results on characteristic of the feedstock, impact of temperature on the pyrolysis product distribution (bio-oil, bio-char and noncondensable gas). It evaluates the chemical and physicochemical properties of bio-oil, characteristics of bio-char and composition of the non-condensable gas using standard analytical techniques. KARO shell produced more bio-oil and was maximum at 600 o�C (37.21 wt%) compared to EX-SOKOTO with the highest bio-oil yield of 32.79 wt% under the same condition. Two-phase bio-oil (organic and aqueous) was collected and analyzed. The organic phase from both feedstocks was made up of benzene derivatives which can be used as a precursor for quality biofuel production while the aqueous from KARO consisted sugars and other valuable chemicals compared to the aqueous phase from EX-SOKOTO which comprised of acids, ketones, aldehydes and phenols. Characteristics of bio-char and composition of the noncondensable were also determined. The results show that bio-char is rich in carbon and some minerals which can be utilized either as a solid fuel or source of bio-fertilizer. The non-condensable gas was made up of methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, which can be recycled to the reactor as a carrier gas. This study demonstrated recovery of high quality fuel precursor and other valuable materials from Bambara groundnut shell

Genetic variability, correlation and path analysis in tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.)

The present study was conducted at the Horticultural College and Research Institute, Periyakulam with the objective to estimate the extent of genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation, correlation and path analysis among tamarind genotypes. A remarkable variability was observed among the tamarind collections for all the characters. In all the cases, phenotypic variance was higher than the genotypic variance. Also, phenotypic coefficient of variation was found higher than genotypic coefficient of variation for all the traits. The high heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent over mean was observed in the traits such as pod yield plant-1 (98.07%; 76.103%), fruit weight (89.11%; 63.668%), fibre weight (89.95%; 91.967%), shell weight (86.19%; 58.534%) and pulp weight (74.13%; 51.533%) whereas the lowest values were recorded for pod length (34.91%; 13.945%) and tree circumference (20.34%; 8.198%). Thus, it indicated better scope for improvement of these traits through selection programme. Pod yield tree-1 was significantly and positively correlated with pod width, tree circumference and pulp weight. Path coefficient analysis showed that pod yield tree-1 contributed the maximum positive direct effect

Characterization and evaluation of morphological and yield traits of tamarind genotypes

The evaluation of morphological and yield traits of tamarind genotypes was carried out during 2017-18 at Forest Research Station, Govinkovi, Honnali taluk, Davangere district. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with 16 genotypes and three replications. Trees were 14-years-old and of grafted origin. All the morphological and yield traits showed significant difference among the selected genotypes indicating the presence of adequate variations. The genotypes recorded morphological variation in terms of tree shape (semi-circle to irregular shape), foliage arrangement (dense to sparse), flowering time (early, mid and late), stem colour (dark brown, brown and light brown), bud colour (greenish white, pink, dark pink), petal colour (yellow and pale yellow), pod colour (greyish brown, brown, light brown and dark brown), pulp colour (light brown, brown and reddish brown), pod shape (straight, slightly curved, curved and deeply curved) and pod size (very big, big, medium and small). The analysis of variance revealed significant difference with respect to tree height, stem girth, pod traits, pod yield per tree (K-9 : 12.80 kg), number of pods per tree (NTI-52 : 989.07) and pulp per cent (K-9 : 48.87). Among the 16 genotypes, the genotype K-9 was found superior with respect to pod size, pod weight, pulp weight and pod yield per tree. Genotype K-9 was found promising and due to perennial in nature further evaluation is required for stability

The history of introduction of the African baobab (Adansonia digitata, Malvaceae: Bombacoideae) in the Indian subcontinent

To investigate the pathways of introduction of the African baobab, Adansonia digitata, to the Indian subcontinent, we examined 10 microsatellite loci in individuals from Africa, India, the Mascarenes and Malaysia, and matched this with historical evidence of human interactions between source and destination regions. Genetic analysis showed broad congruence of African clusters with biogeographic regions except along the Zambezi (Mozambique) and Kilwa (Tanzania), where populations included a mixture of individuals assigned to at least two different clusters. Individuals from West Africa, the Mascarenes, southeast India and Malaysia shared a cluster. Baobabs from western and central India clustered separately from Africa. Genetic diversity was lower in populations from the Indian subcontinent than in African populations, but the former contained private alleles. Phylogenetic analysis showed Indian populations were closest to those from the Mombasa-Dar es Salaam coast. The genetic results provide evidence of multiple introductions of African baobabs to the Indian subcontinent over a longer time period than previously assumed. Individuals belonging to different genetic clusters in Zambezi and Kilwa may reflect the history of trafficking captives from inland areas to supply the slave trade between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Baobabs in the Mascarenes, southeast India and Malaysia indicate introduction from West Africa through eighteenth and nineteenth century European colonial networks

Bioactive phenolic compounds : production and extraction by solid-state fermentation. A review

Interest in the development of bioprocesses for the production or extraction of bioactive compounds from natural sources has increased in recent years due to the potential applications of these compounds in food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. In this context, solid-state fermentation (SSF) has received great attention because this bioprocess has potential to successfully convert inexpensive agro-industrial residues, as well as plants, in a great variety of valuable compounds, including bioactive phenolic compounds. The aim of this review, after presenting general aspects about bioactive compounds and SSF systems, is to focus on the production and extraction of bioactive phenolic compounds from natural sources by SSF. The characteristics of SSF systems and variables that affect the product formation by this process, as well as the variety of substrates and microorganisms that can be used in SSF for the production of bioactive phenolic compounds are reviewed and discussed.We acknowledge the financial support of Science and Technology Foundation of Portugal through grants SFRH/BD/40439/2007 and SFRH/BPD/38212/2007, and Mexican Council of Science and Technology through program SEP-CONACYT-24348/2007-2010

Antioxidant Potentials and Environmental Application of Tamarindus Indica Plant: A Brief Narrative Review

Different potentials has been devoted to most of the abundant and under-utilized plants found in Africa. This characteristic properties can be harness and channel to aid environmental, economic and social development. Tamarindus indica is one of the most commonly under-utilized plant materials with a number of reported biological and environmental relevance. In this mini review, we reported on antioxidant potentials and environmental role associated with tamarindus indica which might be due to its vast phytochemical profile. The aim of the work was to unravel the applicability of antioxidant possession of Tamarindus indica in the field of environmental health and remediation. About sixty one (61) publications out of two hundreds (200) sourced from various databases were consulted. The articles were screened based on their bearing to the areas concerned this report. Numerous researchers revealed antioxidant capacity, phenolics and ascorbic acid content of different parts of tamarind to be significantly appreciative. This property shows a strong association with the vast amount of phytochemical confined in this plant. Antioxidant property in Tamarindus indica might serve a driving force in many of its displayed biologicals potentials. Thus, tamarindus indica could also serve a reasonably in the field of environmental health and safety due to their abundance and less utilization. Keywords: Tamarind; antioxidants; phytochemicals; environment; remediation DOI: 10.7176/JEES/13-1-02 Publication date: January 31st 202