Preparation and evaluation of fresh pineapple, passion fruit and ginger blended ready-to-serve drink

Preliminary work was executed at the processing laboratory of ICAR (Research complex) for NEH Region, Arunachal Pradesh Centre, Basar, to prepare and assess the physico-chemical properties of fresh juice blends. The experiment comprised of nine treatments consisting of fresh pineapple, passion fruit and ginger juice blends in different ratios following CRD with three replications. It was found that the treatment (T5) passion fruit-ginger juice at the ratio of 90:10 blended RTS beverage exhibited the highest pH (4.33), ascorbic acid (18.73 mg per 100 ml) and beta carotene (245.33 µg per 100 ml). The TSS and acidity percent were non-significant as all the sample treatments were maintained almost uniform at 15 ºBrix and 0.30 percent. Further, it also revealed that both the sugar i.e. reducing and total sugar of the fresh mixed RTS drink was recorded maximum in (T2) pineapple-passion fruit juice ratio of 70:30. Organoleptic traits of freshly mixed ready to serve drinks after evaluated by a member of juries based on 9 Points Hedonic Scale vividly indicated that treatment (T1) pineapple-passion fruit RTS at 50:50 ratio recorded the most favoured taste, colour, flavour ultimately attributing to the highest overall acceptability

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Not AvailableTraditional uses, phytochemistry and biological activities of Parkia timoriana (DC.) Merr., an underutilized multipurpose tree bean: a reviewNot Availabl

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Not AvailableTree bean, Parkia timoriana (DC.) Merr. (Fabaceae) is an underutilized nutritious leguminous tree found in North-eastern states of India and other Southeast Asian countries. Ethnobotanically, tree bean has much importance among the ethnic groups in various states of Northeast India. Decoctions of bark, fruit and leaf parts are used to treat various diseases. Right from flowers and tender pods to mature seeds of this plant are edible, provide a good source of nutrients and fetch high market price during particular seasons. Cultivation of this tree will not compete with other legumes in an existing field and it could be a supplementary source of vegetable proteins if properly exploited. Anti-nutritional factors, total free phenols, tannins and lectins can be eliminated if the seeds are properly processed by heating or cooking since these factors are heat-labile. Only a few researchers worked on phyto-constituents of the plant with lacuna in nutritional studies and pharmacological activities. The plant has been reported to possess antioxidant, α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory properties, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antiproliferative and insecticidal activities. Though it has much importance in commercial purposes, research and knowledge on this wonder plant is meagre and its utilization for human consumption has not yet been fully exploited. The present review is aimed to provide a botanical description and highlights ethnobotanical uses, nutritional value and biological activities along with its toxicity and future prospects.Not Availabl

Dynamics of soil organic carbon of jhum agriculture land-use system in the heterogeneous hill of Arunachal Pradesh, India

Abstract Land-use conversion affects soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. Therefore, an in-depth study of change in SOC, SOC pool, fractions of SOC and enzymatic activities of soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) and dehydrogenase (DHA) with the conversion of forest land to jhum, fallow jhum and settle cultivation use has been undertaken on the hills of Arunachal Pradesh of India. Geo-referenced soil samples from eight different locations, each from different land uses were collected at three depth. One part of the soil sample had been used for the analysis of SOC and its carbon fraction. The second portion was kept in a deep freezer for determining SMBC and DHA. The third part was used for the analysis of bulk density. The result revealed that the highest loss of SOC pool was recorded in jhum land (41.8 to 13.4%), and the labile carbon was also found to decrease in jhum land. The highest SMBC was observed on the surface soil of the natural forest; the highest DHA was found in the natural forest; and the lowest DHA was recorded in jhum land. This study found that the converting natural forest to jhum reduces SOC storage, enzymatic activities and C fractions significantly whereas fallow jhum shows sign of recovery because all of these parameters improved when compared to the jhum land-use system. This study also confirms that the fallow period helps restore the initial situation