Abstract:
Banana pseudostem, often discarded after the harvest of bunch is very good for health. Its disposal in the field lead to unhygienic surroundings and environmental pollution. Juice from banana stem is a well-known remedy for urinary disorders. But the major problem associated with the pseudostem juice is
its perishability and immediate browning reactions which lead to reduction of its
acceptability by consumers. Considering these facts, a study was undertaken to
obtain powdered products from pseudostem juice. The intention of the study was
to develop a process protocol for microencapsulated banana pseudostem juice
powder, standardisation of the spray drying parameters, and quality analysis of developed product. Three powder based products were developed from banana pseudostem juice by spray drying technology. Product-I comprised of pseudostem
juice-sugar combination with ginger as flavourant. Product-II consists of a blend
of banana pseudostem and horse gram with ginger extract. However, the third product from banana pseudostem juice was fortified with milk, horse gram extract and cardamom flavour. The process parameters were optimised as inlet
temperature of 180ºC and outlet temperature of 65-68ºC for product-I & II,
whereas inlet air temperature of 185°C and outlet temperature of 74-92°C were
chosen for Product-III. The feed pump rpm of 15 and main blower rpm of 1800
were kept constant for developing all three products. The physicochemical
characteristics, reconstitution and flow properties were determined. Standardised
products were stored in aluminium pouches and quality parameters of product-I
and II were analysed up to six months at an interval of two months and Product-
III was stored up to three months for verifying its stability during storage. Based
on quality analysis and sensory evaluation, best samples were selected from
product-I, II and III i.e., T6-180°C (15% sugar + 25% maltodextrin + 56%
pseudostem juice), T6-180°C (25% maltodextrin + 30% horse gram extract + 43%
pseudostem juice), and T12-185°C (50% milk + 30% horse gram extract + 20%
pseudostem juice), respectively. Cost analysis of the products was done and cost
of production of one kilo gram was estimated as Rs.195/-, Rs.208/- and Rs.243/-
for product I, II and III, respectively.
