Browsing by Author "Jacob John, P"

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Dehydration and storage studies in fig (Ficus carica L.)
(Department of Processing Technology, College, of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2005) Habeeba, P S; Jacob John, P
An experiment was conduced in the Department of processing technology, College of horticulture, Vellanikkara during 2004-05 to develop a suitable drying technique to dehydrate local fig seen in Kerala and to compare it with commercial type and to find out the best suited packaging technique. Osmotic dehydration was found to be the best method of drying for both local and commercial types. Treating with 50 per cent sugar solution prior to drying enhanced the acceptability of local fig and rated as the best pretreatment. Where as in commercial type no pretreatment was needed. Between the packaging materials tried aluminium foil laminated pouches was better than polyethylene and among the packaging methods, vacuum-packed samples in aluminium foil laminated pouches retained the maximum quality through out the storage period. Thus the technique so developed could be effectively used for dehydrating the locally available fig to that of commercial ones, thus adding value to otherwise wasted local figs.
Development of juice- based beverage and ripe- fruit powder from banana(musa SPP.)
(Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2005) Evelin Mary, A; Jacob John, P
The study on "Development of juice-based beverage and ripe-fruit powder from banana (Musa spp.)" was carried with the objective of developing a drying and packaging regime for ripe banana powder and to develop a beverage based on clarified banana juice. Technology for spray and drum dried banana powder was standardized through drying and packaging experiments. Good quality spray dried banana powder could be obtained with an inlet air temperature of 150°C, keeping the outlet temperature at 100°C with two per cent maltodextrin and three per cent soluble starch on wet basis as additive. Successful drum drying could be achieved with drum temperature of 152°C with drum speed of three rpm and soluble starch 2.5 per cent on wet basis as additive. Drum drying was found better in terms of higher recovery, lesser additive, better quality and lesser cost of production. Moisture sorption studies revealed that banana powder was highly hygroscopic requiring special packaging, techniques. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry analysis revealed that the caramelized fruity fig like aroma of banana powder was due to Furaneol and Ethyl einnamate. Banana powder could be stored for one year under ambient conditions without deterioration when packed in aluminium foil laminated pouches with nitrogen. Banana powder can be used as an ingredient in baby food, health food, instant beverage mix, breakfast cereals, flavourings, bakery and dairy products. The cost of production of 100 grams of spray and drum dried banana powder worked out to be Rs.26.61 and Rs.18.66 respectively. The technology for banana juice based beverage was also standardized. Clear banana juice could be extracted using commercial pectinase enzyme @ 5 mll kg pulp and incubating for four hours at room temperature. Robusta juice was superior in terms of colour, flavour and overall acceptability compared to Poovan, karpooravalli and Palyankodan juices. Blended banana-mango RTS beverage in the ratio of 50:50 was preferred by the taste panel over other fruit blends. The disadvantages in banana juice viz., lack of colour, consistency and acidic taste could be overcome by mixing equal amounts of mango juice. Blending banana juice with mango pulp helped in incorporating the excellent flavour of banana and reduced the cost of production of mango R TS beverage. The cost of production of banana-mango RTS beverage when worked out came to be Rs.3.84 per 200 ml bottle while that of pure mango RTS beverage was RsA.23. The blended RTS beverage could be stored for six months under ambient condition without deterioration. With liberalization in industrial policy and globalization, more opportunities are created for export of value added and nutritious products from banana. India being the largest producer of banana in the world can tap this potential by exporting products' like ripe banana powder and juice based beverages.
Drying and storage studies in kizharnelli (Phyllanthus amarus Schum.& Thonn.)
(Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2012) Manjusha, A; Jacob John, P
In recent years, an increasing interest in medicinal herbs, as natural regrowing raw material could be observed worldwide. After a period of exploding the synthetic chemicals and its ill effects too, the present situation demands a ‘green wave’ to use nature and natural products. Phyllanthus amarus Schum.&Thonn., known in Malayalam as ‘Kizharnelli’ is one of the most important herbs in Indian medicine. Owing to its phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin content, it is widely used as hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, chemoprotective, antioxidant etc. The plant has been traditionally used to promote liver functions and used as a remedy for jaundice. The plants are available mostly during the months of July to September and are short living. Therefore an attempt has been made to extend the post harvest storage life of P. amarus with minimum quality deterioration. Two experiments were conducted during the course of study; with the first experiment to evolve a suitable drying and packaging technique for the plant as such and the second to evolve an extraction technique and the storage studies of the extractives. Shade drying of whole plant followed with packaging in aluminium laminated pouches was found to be the best drying and storage technique in terms of colour, phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin content for the storage up to 4 months. Hypophyllanthin content was found to be degrading in a faster rate and very less amount was noticed after 4 months of storage. Comparing the drying of whole plant and chopped materials, no advantage was noticed in terms of drying rate. Therefore this additional step of chopping can be avoided. Sun drying, though a common practice of drying; degradation of alkaloids and colour was observed in drying and storage of Phyllanthus amarus. Studies on extraction techniques revealed that the extraction using ethanol was found to be better and regarding to the storage of extractives, dried ethanolic extracts stored in aluminium laminated pouches retained maximum phyllanthin content after six months of storage. However hypophyllanthin content dropped drastically after 4 months of storage. The techniques thus developed will help to store ‘Kizharnelli’ for an extended period of 3 to 4 months than its normal available period as stored material.
Drying and storage studies in nutmeg (Myristica ragans Houtt)
(Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2013) Naveen Kumar, S; Jacob John, P
Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) known in Malayalam as ‘Jathikka’ is one of the most important spices grown in Kerala. Although nutmeg is available for harvest throughout the year, its peak harvest season lies in the months of June to August during which the soil microorganisms are also active and as a result, nutmeg collected in that season will be with high initial microbial load. Therefore an attempt has been made to reduce the initial microbial load and also to develop a suitable drying and storage technique for nutmeg. In both harvested and fallen nutmeg, washing with 1000 ppm luke warm alum water was found effective in reducing high initial microbial load to a low level. Mechanical drying of nutmeg in a cabinet drier was found to be the best method of drying as it was quick and yielded the product with minimum loss of colour, oil and oleoresin. Total sensory score was also highest in cabinet dried samples. Among the packaging materials tried aluminium foil laminated pouches were better than other packaging materials as the products stored in aluminium laminated pouches showed highest oil and oleoresin contents and at the same time least microbial population even after six months of storage. Highest total sensory score was also recorded in the mace samples stored in aluminium laminated pouches. The techniques thus developed could be effectively used in reducing the high initial microbial load and also to store the materials for a longer period of time without much spoilage and quality deterioration.
Evaluation of sapota (Manilkara achrar (Mill) Forberg) for postharvest qualities
(Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture,Vellanikkara, 1999) Maya, T; Jacob John, P
A study on the screening of post-harvest qualities of five varieties of sapota grown In the college orchard was conducted at the Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 1998-99. On screening varieties like 'Cricket Ball', 'Co-I', 'Co-2', 'PKM l' and 'Oval' for physical, chemical and sensory parameters, 'Co-2', 'PKM l ' and 'Oval' were rated best for table purpose, while 'Co-2' for distant marketing and 'Co-I' for processing qualities. Individually wrapping the fruits with cling film, or packaging fruits with 30 per cent moistened saw dust was evolved as the best storage technique to extend the shelf-life of sapota at ambient temperature. Saw dust being cheap, and less labour intensive can be suggested as an appropriate storage technique at field level without the involvement of any chemical, electricity or civil structure, while cling wrap can be aimed for retail marketing. Osmotic dehydration of sapota slices of thickness 0.5 to 1 cm using dry sugar containing 1500 ppm S02 and 0.3 per cent citric acid in a ratio of 1: 1 for eight hours followed by oven drying took only 16 hours to accomplish the drying unlike the reported 33 hours of osmo-air drying. Thus the technique developed can improve the quality of the product many fold and can reduce the energy consumption considerably.
Extraction, preservation and utilization of natural colour from marigold(Tagetus erecta L.)
(Department of Processing Technology,College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2010) Sreevidhya, M K; Jacob John, P
A study on extraction, preservation, and utilization of natural colour from marigold (Tagetus erecta L.) was conducted at the Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 2007-2009. Method for extraction of natural colour from marigold was developed. Solvent extraction of cured marigold flower flour using acetone: hexane in the ratio 3:7 was found to be the best method. The extracted oleoresin was purified by saponifying with KOH and further ethanol wash to obtain pure crystalline lutein powder. The extracted colour was preserved as 1:2 lutein: soyabean oil solution packed in glass bottles and stored at room temperature. Lutein solution was found suitable for the application in the products like ice cream, yoghurt, oil etc. as these products contained high amount of fat where as found not suitable for aqueous products as this pigment is not water soluble. A concentration of 0.1 g gave the best colour in ice cream and yoghurt while 0.15g for oil. Natural coloured products were stable only for a short period compared to synthetic colour during storage also it degrade faster on exposure to light, heat compared to synthetic colours. The changes in natural colour was not due to the changes in pH of product but due to the external agents like light and heat. Sensory analysis of natural coloured as well as synthetic coloured ice cream and yoghurt revealed the superiority of natural colour in all the characters like colour, flavour, taste and consistency. During storage natural colour degraded faster than synthetic coloured products. Thus an enhanced stability of the colour with respect to light , heat etc. are to be developed to use these natural colour as a substitute for the synthetic colours.
Post harvest studies in adhatoda. (A.Zeylanica (Medic) & A.beddomei (Clarke))
(Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2002) Sujatha, M P; Jacob John, P
An experiment was conducted in the Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 2001-2002 to evolve a suitable drying regime for adhatoda and to find out the suitable packaging materials ideal to store the dried samples and hot water extracts with minimum quality deterioration. Sun drying of the whole plant chopped into pieces was evolved as the best drying technique with respect to the quality attributes like vasicine content and alcohol as well as water soluble extracts for A. zeylanica and A. beddomei. Chopping of the whole plant helped in achieving faster drying. Roots of adhatoda also have sufficient quantity of medicinally active constituent vasicine. So uprooting the whole plant would be better than taking aerial cuttings alone. Sundried chopped pieces stored in 250 gauge polyethylene bags and powdered samples in steel containers had maximum retention of principal alkaloid vasicine after storage in room temperature for 5 months for both the species and the same samples also recorded the lowest microbial content whereas for hot water extract, glass bottles were more ideal than plastic bottles as it gave better shelf life, higher retention ofvasicine and lower microbial count. The technique thus developed can help to store the materials in a limited space for longer time without much spoilage or quality deterioration besides three times the quantity of dried whole plant could be accommodated when it is powdered and stored in rigid containers, additionally it adds convenience for the usage.
Shelf life of breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis (park) Fosberg)
(Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2001) Chitra K Pillai; Jacob John, P
An experiment was conducted in the Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara during 2000-01 to evolve a simple and cheap technique for storage of fresh breadfruit under ambient and refrigerated conditions and to store it in minimally processed and dehydrated forms for making it available during the off season. Packaging fresh fruits in unventilated PE pouches as well as wrapping of individual fruits with cling film proved to be beneficial in extending the life up to five days at ambient and for nine days at refrigerated conditions with least deteriorative changes. Modified atmosphere packaging proved to be beneficial in extending the life of minimally processed breadfruit slices, when coupled with low temperature ( storage it was even more successful in extending he life as well as quality of the product. The breadfruit 'pieces dehydrated after pre-treating with citric acid + KMS showed better oolour, lesser shrinkage and higher reconstitution and could be stored for four months without any spoilage, when packed in PP or PE bags after subjecting it to microwave oven drying.
Shelf-Life of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus florida Eger and Pleurotus sajor-caju (Fr.) Slinger)
(Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1998) Rama, V; Jacob John, P
An experiment was conducted at the Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, during 1997-98 to evolve a simple and cheap storage technique for mushroom both der ambient and refrigerated conditions and to improve the quality of dehydration and storage for better colour retention, lesser shrinkage and faster reconstitution. Packaging of mushrooms in PP without ventilation and PP with air blown in was evolved as a simple and cheap technique to extend the shelf-life of fresh mushroom species Pleurotus florida and Pleurotus sajor-caju for 36 hours under ambient conditions and 10 days under refrigerated conditions with least deteriorative changes, the former having the same sensory attributes as that of fresh mushroom. Fresh mushroom will perish within a few hours of harvest under ambient conditions. ' The mushroom samples of Pleurotus florida and Pleurotus sajor-caju dehydrated after pro-treating with citric acid + salt solution + KMS showed better colour, lesser shrinkage and higher reconstitution and could be stored for six months without any deterioration, when packaged in polypropylene or poly ethylene bags.
Shelf-life of tomato(Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)
(Department of Processing Technology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1997) Binu John Sam; Jacob John, P
Some successful crosses in pineapple
(Kerala Agricultural University, 1994) Radha, T; Pushkaran, K; Jacob John, P
Value addition in sapota(manilkara achras(mill.) fosberg
(Department of Processing Technology,College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2004) Maya, T; Jacob John, P