MSc

The study entitled “Evaluation of cycas seed flour for product development” was undertaken to evaluate the chemical constituents and shelf life of processed cycas seed flour. The study also envisaged to develop cycas seed flour supplemented products and to evaluate the nutritional and organoleptic qualities of the developed products. Cycas seeds and other ingredients required for the study were procured from the market. Cycas seeds were processed by soaking in cold water for six hours and draining the soaked water, repeatedly for seven times prior to the preparation of the flour. The cycas flour thus prepared was dried in a cabinet drier at 60 ± 5°C to a moisture content of 10-12 per cent and stored in glass bottles for a period of three months under ambient conditions.
The constituents like moisture, protein, starch, total carbohydrates, crude fibre, fat, calcium, phosphorous, sodium, potassium and iron were estimated initially and after three months of storage. The antinutritional/ toxic factors in the flour such as crude alkaloids, cycasin and hydrocyanic acid were also analysed. Shelf life of cycas seed flour was also evaluated during storage.
The processed cycas seed flour was found to be rich in carbohydrate and macro and micro minerals with ideal sodium - potassium ratio. The alkaloid content in processed cycas flour was found to be low. A significant decrease in the constituents like starch, total carbohydrate, crude fibre, fat and crude alkaloids was noticed during storage. A gradual increase in the microbial count was observed during storage. Insect infestation was not
detected in cycas seed flour through out the period under study.
Five products namely puttu, ada, pathiri, biscuit and chapathi were prepared by incorporating cycas seed flour in different proportions along with the main ingredient for respective products. The products were evaluated organoleptically for different quality attributes like appearance, colour, texture, flavour, taste and overall acceptability using score card. Rice was used as the main ingredient for the preparation of puttu, ada and pathiri. For chapathi and biscuit, wheat flour and maida were used respectively as the main ingredients. The product prepared with 100 per cent main ingredient was taken as the control. All products were prepared exclusively with cycas seed flour. The cycas flour was also incorporated into the basic ingredient at 30 to 70 per cent for the preparation of the products. Among the different products prepared by supplementing cycas seed flour, except chapathi, all products were found to be acceptable to the judges.
The nutritive value of the products prepared by supplementing cycas flour was computed per serving. In puttu, ada and pathiri, the nutrients like protein, crude fibre, fat and calcium content increased with increase in the quantity of cycas seed flour. In the case of biscuit and chapathi, increased supplementation of cycas seed flour improved the crude fibre and fat content. Incorporation of cycas flour at the rate of 30 to 50 per cent with rice flour and maida was found to be ideal for the preparation of acceptable products.