Sensory Evaluation and Nutritional Composition of Developed Papaya-Gooseberry Jam

Jams are delicious and nutritious spreads typically made from fruit, sugar and pectin that ensure availability of fruits in off-season. The study aimed to develop papaya-gooseberry jam and to evaluate sensory and nutritional parameters. Six variations of papaya: gooseberry jam was prepared besides the control T0 (100% papaya). The successive variations were T1 (95:5), T2 (90:10), T3 (85:15), T4 (80:20), T5 (75:25) and T6 (70:30). T-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were applied to find the significant difference in sensory and nutritional parameters in different variations. Among different variations, the treatment (T4) was found to be the best on the basis of sensory evaluation with incorporation levels of 80 percent papaya and 20 percent gooseberry. The identified treatment (T4) was analyzed for nutritional composition in comparison to control (T0). Nutritional analysis showed that treatment (T0) contained maximum energy (353 Kcal/100g), protein (0.50 g/100g), carbohydrate (87.14 g/100g), fat (0.19 g/100g) and beta-carotene (195.0 g/100g) whereas the treatment (T4) was found to be high in nutrients such as fiber (1.32 g/100g), calcium (92.0 mg/100g), phosphorus (14.13 mg/100g), vitamin C (19.16 mg/100g) and antioxidant activity (98.0%). Thus, results signified that treatment (T4) was considered best in sensory and nutritional qualities and gooseberry could be successfully incorporated in fruit jams to enhance the nutritional properties of the food products.

Red onion extract(Allium cepa L.)supplementation improves redox balance in oxidatively stressed rats

Onions,consumed worldwide,are a good source of dietary phytochemicals with proven antioxidant properties.Catechin and quercetin are the most common and widely consumed flavonoids.The present study aimed to investigate the possible protective effect of onion extract as well as flavonoids(catechin and quercetin)on rats subjected to oxidative stress by mercuric chloride(HgCl2)treatment.Experiments were conducted on rat erythrocytes,which are a good model system to study oxidative stress.Results show that the oxidative stress induced by HgCl2 in Wistar rats resulted in substantially increased erythrocyte lipid peroxidation and higher activity of red cell plasma membrane redox system(PMRS)along with corresponding decrease in the intracellular reduced glutathione and antioxidant activity.Onion extract supplementation significantly(P<0.05)attenuated these adverse effects of HgCl2.Flavonoid supplementation resulted in a slightly higher antioxidant response compared to onion extract.We conclude that supplementation of these flavonoids results in normalization of erythrocyte PMRS activity which provides onion(rich in quercetin),a novel mechanism to exert its antioxidant effect against HgCl2-induced oxidative stress in rat erythrocytes in vivo.©2013 Beijing Academy of Food Sciences.Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.All rights reserved.