eChapters

Canning is a process of sealing food stuffs hermatically in containers and sterilizing them by heat for long storage is known as canning.

Principle of Canning

Destruction of spoilage organism within the sealed container by means of heat.

Selection of Fruit and Vegetable

For canning fruit should be ripe but firm and uniformity mature and vegetables except tomato should be tender.

Grading

Selected fruit and vegetable are graded according to size and colour to obtain uniform quality. This is done by hand or machines such as screw grader and roller grader.

Food additive is any chemical substance that is added to food during preparation or storage. A food additive either becomes a part of the food or affects its characteristics for achieving a particular effect. For instance, substances that are used to enhance the appearance, texture, or to keep qualities of a food are considered food additives.

Preservation means just protect the foods against the spoilage, but scientifically it may be defined as a science which deals with the process for prevention of decay or spoilage of the food is called preservation.

In other words, just controlling the physical, chemical or microbial changes in the foods is called preservation.

Physical Changes: Colour, flavour, texture and taste etc.

Chemical Changes: Carbohydrate, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

Microbial Changes: Mould, yeasts and bacteria

Physiological disorders refer to non-parasitic or inanimate disease of fruit crops, or it is the breakdown of tissue that is not caused by either invasion by pathogens or by mechanical damage. They may develop in response to an adverse environment, especially temperature or to a nutritional deficiency during growth and development. Physiological disorder is broadly classified into two broad categories. They are:

Packaging is an important consideration in vegetable and fruit market. The use of properly designed containers for transporting and marketing of vegetables is significantly reduce losses and maintain their freshness succulence and quality for longer period. Packaging also provides protection from mechanical damage and undesirable physiological changes and pathological deterioration during storage, transportation and marketing.

Many vegetables are transported in gunny bags and bamboo baskets. Packaging material such as polythene films, paper boars, and boxes lived with polythene and other materials can effectively prolong the shelf life of vegetables. By using plastic films vegetables can be protected from dry air. Polythene packaging provides modified atmosphere and consequently reduces decay, softening, and loss of solids. The thickness and permeability to CO₂, O₂ and water vapour of films needs to be standardized for each vegetable.

Proper marketing of perishable commodities such as fruit and vegetables often requires some storage to balance day-to-day fluctuation between harvest and sale or for long term storage. Storage of horticulture produce is attempeted with a view to extend period of availability. Storage controls shelf life of produce by controlling rate of respiration, transpiration, ripening and biochemical changes all of which are responsible for shelf decomposition/deterioration of produce. Further, different types of storage have different attributes in minimizing microbial infection and thus add to better storability of produce.

It is a most deteriorating biological process of the harvested fruits and vegetables that leads to the oxidative breakdown of the complex material (carbohydrates or acids) of cell into simpler molecules (CO₂ & water) with production of energy. Respiration includes glycolysis metabolism, aerobic metabolism, anaerobic metabolism, trycarboxilic acid cycle and electron transport metabolism processes.

Ethylene (C₂H₄ also known as ethene) is a gaseous organic compound that is the simplest of the alkenes chemical structures (alkenes contain a carbon-carbon double bond). The hormone effects of ethylene on general plant growth were first noted in 1864 when leakage from gas street lighting systems caused stunting and deformation of nearby plants. In 1901 Neljubow identified the active component of the gas to be ethylene but it was not until 1934 that Gane identified that plants could synthesize ethylene and in 1935 Crocker proposed ethylene to be the hormone responsible for fruit ripening and senescence of vegetative tissues.

Ethylene play important role in many plant during development processes, including seed germination, vegetative growth, leaf abscission, flowering, senescence and fruit ripening. Ethylene also plays a role in response to water stress, chilling and mechanical injury.

Ripe

This word is derived from Saxon word ‘Ripi’, which means gather or reap. This is the condition of maximum edible quality attained by the fruit following harvest. Only fruit which becomes mature before harvest can become ripe.

Ripening

Ripening involves a series of changes occurring during early stages of senescence of fruits in which structure and composition of unripe fruit is so altered that it becomes acceptable to eat. Ripening is a complex physiological process resulting in softening, colouring, sweetening and increases in aroma compounds so that ripening fruits are ready to eat or process. The associated physiological or biochemical changes are increased rate of respiration and ethylene production, loss of chlorophyll and continued expansion of cells and conversion of complex metabolities into simple molecules.

Since time immemorial, spices have played a vital role in world food trade, due to their varied properties and applications. We primarily depend on spices for flavour and fragrance as well as colour, preservative, inherent therapeutic, medicinal and appetizing properties. The spices that India can offer in abundant quantities are pepper, ginger, turmeric, chili, cardamom, celery, fenugreek, fennel, cumin, dill, coriander, cinnamon, ajowan, cloves, nutmeg, mace etc.

Flowers are highly perishable unlike other horticultural or agricultural crops. Owing to poor keeping quality the post harvest losses in floriculture are significantly higher than any other sector. Although there has been significant increase in the area, production and productivity of flower crops in the last two decades, there is an urgent need to minimize the huge post harvest losses in terms of the value of the produce which are estimated to be 30-40 per cent of farm value. The post harvest behavior of flowers is an outcome of the physiological processes, occurring in leave, stem, flower bud, leafless peduncle or scape connecting bud to the stem. Some of these processes may act independently to affect the senescence and vase life of cut flowers but most of them are inter-related. The nature and extent of post harvest damage is typical for each crop or cultivar. The post harvest losses become important especially when dealing with the export of fresh flowers to distant and foreign market. Therefore, patient, soft and expert handling of flowers is of utmost importance after harvest.

Fruits and vegetables are living tissues subject to continuous change after harvest. Some changes are desirable from consumer point of view but most are not. Post-harvest changes in fresh fruit cannot be stopped, but these can be slowed down within certain limits to enhance the shelf life of fruits. The post-harvest handling plays an important role in extending the storage and marketable life of horticultural perishables.

Post Harvest Treat ment of Fruits and Vegetables Washing

It is useful in removing surface adhering material water. Mechanically, it is also accomplished by passing the fruits/vegetables through machine arranged with water tank equipped with rotating brush. In some produce washing improves appeal by facilitating removal of sap as case in mango, papaya, jackfruit, kronda, dirt in case of carrot, reddish, turnip, sugar beet, sweet potato, etc. and for removal of debris in case of banana. The water use for the purpose should be cleaned otherwise fungal and bacterial levels may build up. Disinfected treatment using ultraviolet light, ozone, chlorine (100 ppm), calcium hydroxide, etc. help to clean water for washing purpose.

Maturity

It is derived from Latin word ‘Maturus’ which means ripen. It is that stage of fruit development, which ensures attainment of maximum edible quality at the completion of ripening process.

Maturation

It is the developmental process by which the fruit attains maturity. It is the transient phase of development from near completion of physical growth to attainment of physiological maturity. There are different stages of maturation e.g. immature, mature, optimally mature, over mature.

Maturity Indices

The factors for determining the harvesting of horticulture commodities according to consumer purpose and type of commodity.

Maturity Indices is two type

Fruits and vegetables are important part of our dietary, which are rich source of nutrient (carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber). Carbohydrates, protein and fat are macronutrients, considered as energy sources. Vitamins and minerals are micro nutrient, play important role in body building. Fibers have several direct and indirect advantages. ICMR, New Delhi recommends 125g of leafy vegetables, 100g of root and tuber vegetables and 75g of other vegetables (total 300g/day) and 85g of fruits per capita every day for balance diet.

India is a second largest producer of fruits and vegetables after China. These share are 10% and 16% respectively in total world production. Horticulture crops occupy 23.548 million ha and production is estimated around 260.063 million tones. Total area of fruits, vegetable, plantation crops, spices, loose flower and aromatic plant are 7012, 9083, 3606, 3092, 218 and 537 thousand ha, respectively and production are 79400, 156445, 16388, 5786, 1421 and 622 thousand tones, respectively with productivity are11.32, 17.22, 4.54, 1.87, 6.59, 1.19 thousand tones per ha, respectively (2012-2013). The total productions of cut flowers are 74305 Lakh stem (2012-2013). The annual horticulture export volume is 2733145 metric tonnes (2010-2011) with total exported value of Rs 696461 lakh. In terms of volume, fresh fruits & vegetables comprised about 76 % of exported horticulture produce followed by processed fruits & vegetables (23 %) and floriculture & seeds (1%). After that losses found 20-30 % in fruit and 30-40 % in vegetable while harvesting to consumption in India. It’s due to the perishable nature of horticulture commodity, non availability of appropriate post harvest infrastructure transportation, inadequacy of the market or lack of processing.

India is a major horticulture producer, even though processing is less than 2 %. This is very low as compare to 80 % of Malaysia, 78 % of Philippine, 70 % of Brazil and 30 % of Thailand. The most of developed country 40-60 % fruits and vegetables utilize in processing.

Proper handling, packaging, transportation and storage reduce the post harvest losses of fruits and vegetables. For every one percent reduction in loss will save 5 million tons of fruit and vegetable per year. Processing and preservation technology helps to save excess fruit and vegetable during the glut season. The technology has become a necessity to improve the food safety and strengthen nations food security. The technology helps to boost export of agricultural commodities in the form of preserved and value added products.

Introduction

“The World Packaging Organisation’s (WPO) slogan, “Better Quality of Life Through Better Packaging”, sumps up the important place that packaging occupies in a modern economy.

As the economics of many countries are increasing, the consumers have started using more processed food. As a matter of fact global food processing and packaging business has reached to multi trillion dollars. In today’s world of global markets and stiff competition in every product along with increasing consumer demand, it becomes imperative for companies to explore ways to improve their productivity in terms of maintaining safety, using sustainable packaging materials, implementing flexible and standardized technology, and adopting proven management. Towards this end, companies have been striving to improve the efficiencies of their operations through improvements in the processes. Reducing wastes and shortening lead times becomes all the more imperative in the food industry due to the perishable nature of the product. Moreover, recent advances in technology such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and nano-materials afford companies greater opportunities to streamline the processing, packaging, and manufacturing schemes.

Introduction

Microencapsulation is a process of entrapping solid particles, liquid droplets or gases in thin polymeric coatings. The outer film (wall) protects the encapsulated material (core) and allows for its controlled release. Application of this technique is wide spread in several industrial fields, including the manufacture of foods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and pesticides. Common food ingredients subjected to microencapsulation include probiotic bacteria, acidulates, flavours, colours, sweeteners, minerals and vitamins. A number of coating materials are employed in production of microcapsules, such as gums, starch, and starch derivatives, cellulosic materials, lipids, proteins and inorganic materials.

Actually the development of the formation of micro-encapsulates was partially inspired by the nature. Eggs, seeds, grains, nuts, fruits etc. are typical examples of the food encapsulation and natures own way of conserving and protecting natural products against its own deteriorating elements. Taking clue from this, man adopted this technology of protection of some of the foodstuffs as sauces, puddings etc. Microencapsulation can improve the convenience of food. The shell provides a barrier between reactive components (for instance, delaying the release of leavening agents for fluffier bread products or protecting oxygen-sensitive materials during processing and storage). Microcapsules can help fragile and sensitive materials survive processing and packaging conditions and stabilize the shelf-life of the active ingredient.Karel (1994) described various methods of encapsulation of food ingredients.Inaddition, microencapsulation can simplify the food manufacturing process by converting liquids to solid powder, decreasing production costs by allowing batch processing using low-cost, powder-handling equipment. To improve food safety, the technology can be used to indicate product tampering, thermal spoilage, and freeze-thaw cycles.

Preservation methods are generally believed to be responsible for a depletion of naturally occurring antioxidants in food. Processed fruit and vegetables are expected to have a lower health protecting capacity than fresh ones. This is because, up to now, only selected and barely stable antioxidants of nutritional interest (e.g. ascorbic acid) have been commonly assessed as indicators of processing damage. On the basis of these supposed negative effects, in the past few years, the main tool for minimizing eventual processing damage was the strategy of ‘reconstitution’, achieved by the addition or the enrichment of the product with natural antioxidants.

It is well known that food processing can have many effects not all of which result in a loss of quality and health properties. Blanching also represents a useful tool in preventing enzymatic oxidations, which are the main cause of loss in naturally occurring antioxidants in raw material of plant origin. In fact, fruit and vegetables subjected to blanching retain most of their original antioxidant properties.

Lycopene appears to be a relatively stable compound during food processing but it has been reported that heating tomato pulp to produce paste, ketchup, juice and other products, can cause degradation of lycopene and other carotenoids. Other antioxidants naturally present in tomato, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, polyphenolic flavonoids and non-lycopene carotenoids, may play a role in preventing the degradation of lycopene. Thermal processes might break down cell walls and weaken the bonding forces between lycopene and the tissue matrix. Such disruptions in the cell wall fraction may enhance the release of phytochemicals from the matrix. This may make lycopene more accessible or more stable and thus increase the nutritional quality and antioxidant activity of product. An increase in carotenoids by thermal processing has also been attributed to enzymatic degradation which causes weakening in protein-carotenoid aggregates. Destruction of vitamin C is destroyed mainly due to oxidation reactions and the heat applied in the presence of air. The degree of loss of ascorbic acid is closely correlated to the drying temperature used for the production of the end product. The increase in the amounts of some phenolic substances having antioxidant activity was associated with two concomitant events: firstly, the thermally induced extraction of antioxidant molecules previously complexed or polymerized and secondly, the retention of active compounds caused by the inactivation of the enzymes involved in their catabolism.

Introduction

Fruits, vegetables and some non food crops are rich source of natural antioxidants, food colorants and other bioactive natural products. Nutraceuticals and natural food colorants exhibit anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-proliferative properties. They tend to enhance ability of the body to fight, cure and prevent diseases. Natural anti-oxidants are particularly important because they scavenge harmful superoxide, hydroxy, and/or peroxide free radicals, and protect the body against a variety of cancers, heart and other life style related diseases. Vegetable like orange carrot, red carrot, black carrot, beet root, tomato, chilli, and fruits like pomegranate, cherries, berries, watermelon and jamun are rich source of natural antioxidants and food colorants. While tomato and red carrot are rich in lycopenes, and carotenes; black carrot is a major source of stable acylated anthocyanins. The dark red colour of beet root is associated with anthocyanin, betacyanin and betaxanthins. Similarly, the red colour of chilli is attributed to the carotenoid pigment capsanthin. Capsaicinoids in chilli are responsible for the hot flavour and anti-inflammatory properties. Antioxidant and other beneficial health effects of pomegranate, cherries, berries, etc. have been attributed to anthocyanins and related polyphenols. Jamun, an under-utilized tropical fruits is rich in anthocyanins and flavonoides. Like anthocyanins, flavonoides and carotenes, lycopene helps to prevent various types of cancer particularly the prostate cancer.

Microalgae represent a promising alternative to renewable source of feedstock for natural food colorants and nutraceuticals and functional food production. With over 40,000 identified species, microalgae are one of the most diverse groups of organisms on earth. They naturally produce large quantities of many biomaterials. Out of the diverse compounds produced by microalgae, the algal pigments such as phycobillins, carotenoids and xanthophylls have gained commercial importance owing to their unique and multiple applications as food and cosmetic colourants, antioxidants and several beneficial effects of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical value. Microalgal research over the years has geared up significantly from outdoor mass culture in algal ponds, refinement of the cultivation process and life cycle assessment, downstream processing of biomass (i.e., harvesting, dewatering, and drying), to extraction, to systems/process scale-up analysis and development of an economic feasibility model for commercialization of algal biomaterials with nutraceutical properties. Among the various microalgae, Spirulina and Haematococcus are the major source of naturally occurring biopigments which are gaining importance as natural pigments in food, drug and cosmetic industries as an alternative to currently used synthetic colour. Improvement in the cultivation methodologies and use of closed photobioreactors of different configurations, fermentation reactors, open reactors and tubular reactors have opened up new vistas for the development of microalgal biotechnology and bioprospecting. The main constraints in non-exploitation for mass cultivation of microalgae are their slow growth rate, low biomass yield and inadequate culture methodologies and these issues remain to be addressed.

Introduction

Functional food or medicinal food is any healthy food claimed to have a health-promoting or disease-preventing property beyond the basic function of supplying nutrients. The general category of functional foods includes processed food or foods fortified with health-promoting additives, like “vitamin-enriched” products. Fermented foods with live cultures are considered as functional foods with probiotic benefits. Functional foods are an emerging field in food science due to their increasing popularity with health-conscious consumers. The term was first used in Japan in the 1980s where there is a government approval process for functional foods called Foods for Specified Health Use (FOSHU) (Benkouider, 2005).

Distinguishing functional foods from dietary supplements and natural or herbal medicine is especially difficult, and cultural perceptions on this vary. Further complications are the large number of terms often used interchangeably and in a confusing manner such as health foods, nutraceuticals, designer foods, pharmafoods, and so forth. Much of the basic fortification (such as iodization of table salt) is no longer considered “Functional food” but new specialized extracts and ingredients for functional food fortification have emerged, including dietary fibres, plant sterols and probiotics. There is growing research on the potential of biotechnology to develop functional foods for improved health effects of the staple foods in developing countries—for example, high-iron rice, high-vitamin A rice, improved oil content in oil crops, and improved protein.

Introduction

Plants contain a variety of substances of nutraceuticals importance which are useful medicines, food additives, cosmetics and health supplements etc. However, low availability under in vivo condition, decreased plant resources, increases in labour cost and other problems in obtaining these high-value added substances from natural plants have pointed toward the use of in vitro techniques for production of the products. Because in vitro cultures are not affected as the production affected under in vivo conditios.This has led scientists and biotechnologists to consider plant cell, tissue and organ cultures as an alternative way to produce the corresponding secondary metabolites.Therefore, studies on the production of useful metabolite by in vitro techniques have been carried out on an increasing scale since the end of the 1950’s. The large scale cultivation of tobacco and various vegetable cells was examined in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. At present, several firms are manufacturing a plant pigment, shikonin, and ginseng cell biomass on a commercial scale and several other products including anti-oxidant products.

Research efforts on in vitro derived extracts is well documented on each of these major product categories: flavors (onion and garlic, peppermint and spearmint, fruit flavors, chocolate aroma, seaweed flavors, vanilla, celery, coffee, spice, sweeteners, and so on); edible colors for foods and medicines (mainly betalains and anthocyanins): non-food pigments for cosmetics and textiles (shikonin, berberine, and various other products); several examples of fragrances and essential oils; and bioactive natural insecticides and phytoalexins useful in current integrated pest management programs. Of course, intensive activity has centered on production of natural drugs of chemoprotective compounds from plant cell culture. Some of the most prominent pharmaceutical products in this latter category include ajmalicine (a drug for circulatory problems) from Catharanthus roseus and taxol (a phytochemical effective in treatment of ovarian cancer) from Taxus species.

Introduction

From centuries, mankind is totally dependent on plants as a source of carbohydrates, proteins and fats for their food & shelter. In addition, plants are valuable source of a wide range of metabolites, which are used as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, flavors, fragrances, colors, biopesticides and food additives. In 1985, 3500 new chemical structures have been identified and 2600 derived from the higher plants. Worldwide, 121 clinically useful prescription drugs are derived from plants. Even today, 75% of the world’s population relies on plants for traditional medicine. In the US, where chemical synthesis dominates the pharmaceutical industry, 25% of the pharmaceuticals are based on plant-derived chemicals.

Biotechnology offers an opportunity to exploit the cell, tissue, organ or entire organism by growing them in-vitro and to genetically manipulate them to get desired compounds. Since the world population is increasing rapidly, there is extreme pressure on the available cultivable land to produce food and fulfill the needs. Therefore, for other uses such as production of pharmaceuticals and chemicals from plants, the available land should be used effectively. Chemical engineers are currently developing improved and appropriate bioreactors for the improvement of production systems by adopting techniques of growth and metabolite production coupled with downstream processing of the products. The improvements in molecular biological research have given a new dimension to in-vitro culture as well as for plant improvement, enhancing the yields of the product and resulting in multiple products or producing novel products from genetically engineered plants. Moreover, the need for safer drugs without side effects has led to the use of natural ingredients with proven safety. These factors have laid emphasis on the use of biotechnological methods to enhance the production of pharmaceuticals and food additives in quality and quantity.

Plant in vitro cultures are able to produce and accumulate many medicinally valuable secondary metabolites. Antioxidants are an important group of medicinal preventive compounds as well as being food additives inhibiting detrimental changes of easily oxidizable nutrients. Many different in vitro approaches have been used for increased biosynthesis and the accumulation of antioxidant compounds in plant cells. Antioxidants are capable of stabilizing, or deactivating, free radicals before they attack cells. Antioxidants are absolutely critical for maintaining optimal cellular and systemic health and well-being. Antioxidants are gaining a lot of importance as a panacea for a large number of life-style diseases like aging, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and other degenerative diseases etc. The present lecture summarizes the achievements of in vitro technology for the production of antioxidants compounds. The focus will be on the major chemical classes of antioxidants and on the approaches used to improve the in vitro methods for producing these compounds.

Introduction

The mankind in the past two centuries has witnessed several technology revolutions: industrial, agricultural, medical, info-tech, biotech etc. Nanotechnology is recent one in the series. Nanotechnology is the manipulation or self-assembly of individual atoms, molecules, or molecular clusters into structures to create materials and devices with new or vastly different properties. It uses techniques, processes and materials at the supramolecular level, approximately in a range between 1-100 nanometres (nm), in order to create new properties and to stimulate particular desired functionalities. For the food industry, nanotechnology applications include: release systems for pesticides or fertilizers in agriculture; antibacterial or easy-to-clean surfaces in food processing machines; food additives such as anti-caking in salt, powders and coffee creamers; anti-foaming agents for beer; natural colour additives for beverages; encapsulated nutraceuticals(antioxidants, vitamins) for dietary supplements; and, micelle systems for low-fat foods. It is predicted that in the foreseeable future nanotechnology will transform the entire food industry, changing the way food is produced, processed, packaged, transported, and consumed. The word “nano,” derived from the Greek “nano” signifying “dwarf,” is becoming increasingly too vast in terms of its huge potential in agriculture, health and the environment. In the agricultural sector, nanotech research and development is likely to facilitate next stage of development of genetically modified crops, farm and animal protection and production inputs, food processing, nutraceuticals etc. India is bestowed with a variety of crops, vegetables, fruits, flowers but food sector is handicapped due to inefficiencies in production, processing, storage and packaging. Most of the processing and packaging in industry and agriculture leaves behind a trail of environmental hazards, which if not tackled at this juncture, will add to long term ecological problems.

The importance of air in human life is well known as air is required for running different biological processes in human body. Unfortunately, the same life giving air or oxygen can cause harmful side effects like generation of oxidants or free radicals in our body. Reactive oxygen species, by product of respirative cycle of oxidative phosphorylation, are well known to interfere with cytoplasmic function and bio-molecules and for inflicting damages on cellular bio-molecules, which pre-disposes cells to several anomalies like mutagenic aberration, cell ageing, diseases, cancerous tumour growth and development of various lethal diseases such as cardio-vascular diseases, cancer, atherosclerosis etc. (Gorinstein and others 2001; Apak and others 2004). Free radicals disrupt the proper membrane function, denature proteins and inhibit enzyme function. Antioxidants, naturally present in food, play a vital role in trapping the radicals and; therefore, effective in reducing the risk of heart diseases, immune system decline, different inflammatory reactions etc. (Silici and others 2010).

Free radicals are unstable because they are missing an electron and they try to become stable by attaching to cell membranes in the body, snatching away electrons from them. This, in turn, sets free radicle molecules on an electron snatching spree and starts a chain reaction that ultimately leads to cell death. On the other hand, antioxidants (such as carotenoids, anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, flavonols, flavonoids, polyphenols etc.), present in our foods can prevent or slow down the oxidative damage by donating one of their own electrons, ending the electron-stealing reaction. Epidemiological evidences suggests that intake of antioxidants helps in scavenging free radicals, cause of a broad spectrum damages to biological system (Vertuani and others 2002). This has led consumers to look for a diet, derived from natural sources as well as rich in antioxidants as an strategy to counteract the cellular damages wreak by oxidative stress.

Introduction

Modern life style has taken the fitness out of the men. In ancient times, our life was labour oriented, whereas now we have lots of gadgetry to support our day to day living, thus making our life least labour oriented and we are now more susceptible to diseases diabetes, blood pressure and asthma were, until recently, associated with rich people only, however, these have now become common in urban and even rural areas irrespective of social status and age. The minimum physical exercise, coupled with carbohydrate and fat rich and fiber free diet and lots of tension in day to day life has given way to these diseases.

Since ages, plants have been mainstay medicinal support either in the form of herbal therapy (Like Ayurveda, Unani) or in the form of isolated active substances as being used in allopathic system of medicine. As per a WHO calculation, at least 80% population, in developing world, is dependent on direct use of medicinal plants.

Many of herbal therapies are very simple to use. It is therefore worthwhile to know about some of medicinal plants available commonly around us. The herbal preparations from these plants may not be dramatically effective to palliate disease, as allopathic medicines do, however, with judicious and regular use, we can avoid conversion of some of simple diseases into a major treatment problem.

It is fortunate that side effects of allopathic medicines have compelled us to reconsider the use of herbal remedies and physical exercise in the form of ‘Yoga’, aerobics or whatever you call it. The arid region of Northwest Rajasthan, although vegetated sparsely, is rich in medicinal plants. Some of the species, which are abound in the extreme arid ecosystem, have unique curative and therapeutic properties and some of them are getting a lot of mileage as nutraceuticals as well.

Introduction

Functional food is a natural or processed food that contains biologically active compounds like nutraceauticals and phytochemicals which have health benefit and thus, an important source in the prevention, management and treatment of chronic diseases. For centuries consumption of fruits and vegetables has been attributed to beneficial health effects. Research studies stated that approximately one-third of cancer risk in humans could be attributed to diet. Free radical formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent oxidative stress have been correlated to many human disorders including those of the kidney, eye, lung, liver, nervous system, heart and cardiovascular system. Therefore, foods in our diet that can aid in prevention of these diseases are of major interest to both the scientific community and the general public. Biologically active plant chemicals including traditional nutrients have a beneficial effect on human health. Onion and garlic have received considerable attention for their healthful, functional benefits.

Onion and garlic are the most important vegetable crops grown and consumed almost all over the country. Both the crops belong to the family Alliaceae and have gained the importance of a cash crop in recent years. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are the major onion growing states whereas Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha are the major garlic growing states. India is a leading producer of onion supporting 20.2% of the world production. Onion is grown in kharif, late kharif and rabi seasons whereas, garlic is grown in rabi season only except in Nilgiri Hills where summer crop is also taken. Onion is normally produced from seeds except multiplier onions where production is taken up vegetatively from bulblets. Garlic is produced vegetatively by planting cloves. Both the crops are rich source of bioactive compounds and have outstanding nutritive value. The nutritive value (per 100g edible portion) of onion and garlic are as follows.

Introduction

The primary role of the diet is to provide enough nutrients to meet metabolic requirements while giving the consumer a feeling of satisfaction and well being. Beyond meeting nutrient needs, diet may modulate various functions in the body and may play detrimental or beneficial roles in some diseases. Now a days concept in nutrition is expanding from the past emphasis on survival, hunger satisfaction and preventing adverse effects to an emphasis on the use of foods to promote a state of well being and better health and to help reduce risk of diseases.

In recent years, the words like functional foods, nutraceuticals, phytochemicals are frequently used/found in media. It is important to understand these words and understand their functions in health care.

Introduction

Cactus pear belongs to Cactaceae family, is widely grown in Mexico and distributed in arid and semi arid tracts of several other parts of the world, such as Australia, Africa, USA and the Mediterranean basin and South East Asia. The future of arid and semi-arid areas of the World largely depends on the development of sustainable agricultural systems based on the use of appropriate crops. Suitable crops are those that successfully cope with water shortage, high temperature, variabilities, poor soils, and easy management to provide food and forage to poor farmers and herders. Opuntias fit most of the above described requirements. In addition, Opuntias play an important ecological role in combating desertification as well as producing fruits and vegetables for human consumption, forage or fodder for livestock, biomass for energy purposes, cochineal for carmine production, and numerous by-products (beverages, vegetarian cheese, drugs and cosmetics). They also provide shelter and food for various wildlife species in arid environments. The fruit known as tuna is a fleshy berry, varying in shape, size, and colour and has a consistent number of hard seeds. The fairly high sugar content and low acidity of the fruit makes it palatable and delicious. Cactus pear was largely treated as underutilized crop by the scientific world until the beginning of 1980, when there was a multiplication of research and symposia, resulting in a large number of publications, including books and book chapters. Recent research finding has, in fact, revealed the high content of some chemical constituents, which can give added value to this crop on a nutritional and bioactive profile. High levels of betalains, taurine, calcium, magnesium, and antioxidants are nutraceutically important. Moreover, some of the constituents show promising in terms of health beneficial quality. Cactus pear products could supplement to nutritional security and human health. The diverse genotypes of Cactus pear have different coloured fruit that show the presence of different antioxidants profiles.

Introduction

Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) grows in dry and arid regions of Arabia and in regions of India mainly Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Western Uttar Pradesh and drier parts of Deccan. The tree is locally known as Jandi or Khejri (India), Jand (Pakistan) and Ghaf (Arabic). It is the State tree of Rajasthan, India. Prosopis cineraria are small to medium size evergreen thorny tree. It is also known as “wonder tree” and “king of desert” as all the parts of tree are useful. The importance of the medicinal value of this tree has been highlighted in our ancient literature. The bark of the tree has abortifacient and laxative properties and is also used as a remedy for rheumatism in the central provinces. The leaves are of high nutritive value and locally called ‘’Loong’’. Leaf paste of P. cineraria is applied on boils and blisters, including mouth ulcers in livestock. The smoke of the leaves is considered good for eye troubles. Leaf extracts of P. cineraria have been reported to show antibacterial, antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic and antioxidative activities . Pods are brown to chocolate in colour on ripening, each containing several seeds embedded in sweet dry yellow pulp. P. cineraria pods are locally called ‘’sangar’’ or ‘’sangri’’. The pod is considered astringent in Punjab. Sangri pods are known to prevent protein and mineral deficiency. Cooked pods of Khejri are used as a functional food in Rajasthan, for the amelioration of numerous illnesses. Pods of khejri have been studied for various phytochemicals like alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavanoids, flavanols and total phenolics. As this plant is found in water stress (or deficient area) so antioxidant potential of pods has also been investigated. Acetone and methanol extracts of Sangri pods are the most potent bioactive extracts. Nutritional analysis shows it as a good source of proteins and minerals like calcium, sodium and potassium. This study demonstrates that P. cineraria pods may be employed as nutraceutical food with rich nutrition, disease prevention and health promoting effects.

Introduction

Foods and nutrients play a vital role in normal functioning of the body. They are helpful in maintaining the health of the individual and in reducing the risk of various diseases. Nutraceuticals and functional foods are broad terms describing “a food (or part of a food) that provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and/or treatment of a disease”. Nutraceuticals hold promise in clinical therapy as they have the potential to significantly reduce the risk of side effects associated with chemotherapy along with reducing the global health care cost. Food provides not only essential nutrients needed for life but also other bioactive compounds for health promotion and disease prevention. Consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as grains, has been strongly associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer disease, cataracts, and age-related functional decline. A change in dietary behavior such as increasing consumption of fruit, vegetables, and grains is a practical strategy for significantly reducing the incidence of chronic diseases.

Functional foods that contain significant amounts of bioactive components may provide desirable health benefits beyond basic nutrition and play important roles in the prevention of chronic diseases. The key question is whether a purified phytochemical has the same health benefit as does the whole food or mixture of foods in which the phytochemical is present. Technological progress in manipulating plant metabolism and metabolites, combined with the explosive growth of the “functional food” industry has led to many attempts to enhance the concentration of these health-promoting compounds in specific plant-based foods . “Functional foods” are foods that, by virtue of physiologically active components, provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition”. Functional/medicinal food is a category of botanical therapeutic available at the grocery store, which can be decrypted as “food engineered or supplemented to provide health benefits”. Thus, the future of plant-based functional foods seems bright and, as a result, grocery and drug stores might eventually look very similar. Optimization of composition of fruits and vegetables would be a very cost-effective method of disease prevention, since diet-induced health improvements would not carry any added costs for the health sector.

Introduction

Phytosterols, phytostanols and their esters are a group of steroid alcohols and esters that occur naturally in plants as nonsaponifiable fraction of plant oils. Phytosterols (including plant sterols and stanols) cannot be synthesized by humans, and all plant sterols and stanols in the human body therefore originate from the diet. They are known to have several bioactive qualities with possible implications for human health. Their properties for reducing blood cholesterol levels, as well as their other beneficial health effects, have been known for many years. It was recognized in the 1950s that plant sterols lower serum concentrations of cholesterol. Plant sterols might also protect against certain types of cancer such as colon, breast and prostate. Scholarly reviews have all confirmed the health benefits and safety of phytosterols.

People with high blood cholesterol levels are typically advised by health professionals to exercise and consume a diet high in fiber and low in saturated fats and cholesterol. Although these measures can reduce blood cholesterol, sometimes they don’t go far enough. Other cholesterol-lowering interventions may be needed, including cholesterol-lowering medicines or adding phytosterol esters to the diet. The primary phytosterols in the diet are sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol and typical consumption of plant sterols is approximately 160 – 400 mg/day. The enrichment of foods with phytosterols is one of the recent developments in functional foods to enhance the cholesterol-lowering ability of traditional food products.

Introduction

Fiber is that part of plant food which is not digested when eaten. Since it is not absorbed into the body, dietary fiber is not a nutrient. Nevertheless, fiber is a very important component of a healthy diet. Fiber, also called “roughage” helps prevent constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticular disease. Some types of fiber have a cholesterol-lowering effect, which could lead to reduced risk of heart disease.

Dietary fiber has been defined as plant cell wall material resistant to the intestinal secretions of the host. This definition gives the appearance of precision and allows gravimetric and chemical measurements. However, a proportion of other non-fibre dietary constituents (e.g, retrograded starch, protein, and fat) pass along the gut, without absorption or metabolism, to the caecum. Chemical analysis or quantitative measurements of the fibre content of specific diets do not allow prediction of their biological action. The physiological effects of dietary fibre depend predominantly on physical properties unrelated in any simple or direct way to chemical composition. Quantitative measurement of dietary fibre does not allow for diverse effects on nutrient absorption, sterol metabolism, fermentation in the colon, and stool weight. We still do not know whether to restrict the definition of “dietary fibre” to non-starch polysaccharides or to include related materials such as resistant starch, lignin, and the complex assemblies typical of plant tissues, where polysaccharides occur in close association with other molecules. An alternative to defining fibre in terms of chemical composition would be to develop measurements of physical properties relevant to physiological action in the intestine. This approach could be extended to other polymeric constituents, in particular proteins (ingested and secreted) and mucous glycoproteins.

Polysaccharides are the main constituents of dietary fibre and show a wide spectrum of physical, properties that reflect the nature and extent of intermolecular association. Dietary fibre can be likened to a water-laden hydrated mass passing along the gut. Physical properties that influence function are a combination of the rheological and colligative properties of the water-soluble fibre components, the surface characteristics of the water-insoluble components, and the network properties of the swollen hydrated components. Such features include viscosity, water holding, cation exchange, organic acid adsorption, gel filtration, and particle size distribution.

Introduction

The incidence of diabetes mellitus is increasing all over the world and is becoming a problem of significant importance. Diabetes mellitus is a disease of CHO metabolism and WHO has declared India as the diabetic capital of the world. Globally diabetes affects 246 million people, which is about 6% of the total adult population. It is the fourth leading cause of death by disease and every 10 seconds, a person dies from diabetes related causes in the world.

The growing number of diabetic patients and the current and probable future need for health care constraints will mean that high quality diabetic care will become increasingly difficult to be delivered in the future. This requires identification & implementation of cost effective treatment measures that will improve diabetes care in the long term, decrease the associated morbidity and reduce the high direct and indirect costs of its management. This can be possible by incorporation of cost effective and efficient medicinal plants in the management of diabetes. Toxicity and side effects of modern system of medicine have highlighted the importance and relevance of traditional medicinal plants. India has about 45,000 plant species and several thousands have been claimed to possess medicinal properties. Among Indian traditional medicinal plants several potential anti-diabetic plants and herbs are being used as part of our diet since prehistoric time.

In India, medicinal plants have been used as natural medicine since the days of Vedic glory. Historically, in ‘Atharva-Veda’ (about 200 B.C.) description of medicinal plants was made under a separate chapter ‘Ayurveda’. The medicinal values of plants have been tested by trial and error method for a long time by different workers and opened great opportunities for scientific investigations of herbal medicines for cure of diabetes and its complications.

Medicinal plants used to treat hyperglycemic conditions are of considerable interest for ethno-botanical community as they are recognized to contain valuable medicinal properties in different parts of the plant and a number of plants have shown varying degree of hypoglycemic and anti-hyperglycemic activity. The active principles of many plant species are isolated for direct use as drugs, lead compounds or pharmacological agents. Traditional plant medicines or herbal formulations might offer a natural key to unlock diabetic complications if utilized with care.

Introduction

The present trend in the search for new drugs is to look at natural sources, which are safer for humans and ecofriendly. Of late there has been increased awareness about the detrimental effects of synthetic food supplements, food additives and drugs, and the search for natural alternatives in plants has intensified. In this regard, horticultural crops are particularly appealing since they are not only edible, but also have diverse nutraceutical effects. Nutraceuticals (often referred to as phytochemicals or functional foods) are natural, bioactive chemical compounds that have health promoting, disease preventing or medicinal properties (http://foodsci.rutgers.edu),such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, antimicrobial effects, to name just a few. Most of these properties are attributed to the secondary metabolites present in plants, various phytochemicals including flavonoids, terpenoid, lignans, sulfides, polyphenolics, carotenoids, coumarins, saponins, plant sterols, curcumins, phthalides etc. The medicinal value of our horticultural crops is not a new knowledge, it has been exploited by the traditional systems of medicines like Ayurveda, folklore medicines and ‘kitchen remedies’ since time immemorial.

A functional food is similar in appearance to, or may be, a conventional food that is consumed as part of a usual diet, and is demonstrated to have physiological benefits and/or reduce the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions, i.e. they contain bioactive compound.

A nutraceutical is a product isolated or purified from foods that is generally sold in medicinal forms not usually associated with foods. A nutraceutical is demonstrated to have a physiological benefit or provide protection against chronic disease.

Introduction

Antioxidants are substances, which retard or prevent deterioration, damage or destruction caused by oxidation. Fortunately, the body has an army of antioxidants for damage limitation. Antioxidant form an integral part of the nutraceutical market. During the last few years’ research has confirmed that many have the common disease and ailments of 21^st century (Coronary Vascular Disease, diabetes, cataracts, high blood pressure, infertilities, respiratory infection, and rheumatoid arthritis) are associated with tissue deficiency and/or low dietary levels of compounds called antioxidants. The oxygen is consumed in the body during metabolism by process called oxidation. During oxidation free radicals are generated. These free radicals at a molecular level burn everything they touch. Antioxidants are power full electron donors and react with free radicals which damage the biomolecules. The formed antioxidant radical is stable and non-reactive. Antioxidants are quite large in number and diverse in nature which oppose the process of oxidation largely by neutralizing free radicals at relatively small concentrations and also have the potential to inhibit the oxidant chain reactions.

Introduction

While Indian agriculture has evolved to provide food to our ever growing population, nutritional security had remained a distant dream. Vegetables, an important component of a healthy diet, are rich source of nutraceuticals such as flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamins, anthocyanins, polyphenolics etc. Such constituents provide health benefits of disease prevention through antioxidant activity and reduced disease risks. Since perishable food commodities and light sensitive nutraceuticals have a specific shelf life, these run the risk of getting spoilt beyond a specific time. Excessive quantities of these must therefore, be processed and converted into value added products with improved shelf life and nutrition value after fortification with nutraceuticals. Nutraceuticals are also referred to by different terminologies like functional foods, fusion foods, dietary supplements, designer foods etc. Nutraceutical products include food supplements, dietary supplements, value-added food products, processed food commodities as well as non-food supplements such as tablets, soft gels, capsules etc. A survey related to nutraceutical rich vegetables has revealed that farmers are growing only the conventional vegetables and there is little awareness about the use of nutraceutical rich vegetables.

Vegetables are rich sources of important phytochemicals, which provide essential nutrients and enhance the body’s ability to prevent and fight disease. There is a multitude of phytochemicals, in unique combinations, in different vegetables, and each functions differently in the body as anti-oxidant, as anti-allergenic, as anti-carcinogenic, as anti-inflammatory, as anti-viral, and/or anti-proliferative. Being of natural origin, some of the phytochemical pigments are increasingly sought after as food colorants. Some of the nutraceutical rich vegetable crops include red and black carrot, beet root, tomato, chilli, and broccoli.

Introduction

Several tropical indigenous fruits have still remained underexploited due to the lack of awareness of their potential, market demand and low and erratic bearing in many cases. Though wild and domesticated diversity is composed of nearly 3000 tropical fruit species, only a few are cultivated on large scale (Vietmeyer, 1990;Pareek et al., 1998). These species (approximately 600 tropical and subtropical) are better known in their areas of diversity and have not yet been utilized to their full potential inspite of their high economic value. There exists a very rich diversity of fruits across the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, with more than 500 species of fruits estimated to be found in Southeast Asia alone. The South and Southeast Asia represents above 300 species of native minor fruits (Arora, 1995). These species are being used by local people as minor fruits as well as for medicinal purposes as described in the Indian system of medicine. If properly harnessed, this diversity has great potential as a source of food besides meeting multipurpose needs of the local communities (Pareek et al., 1998).

Introduction

Humans are able to live and work in almost all the environmental extremes of the planet earth and also in space due to their remarkable physiological adaptability and/or by modification of environment itself. Adequate nutrition plays a key role in adaptation and accordingly nutritional needs vary to a great extent. Nutraceutical, a term combining the words “nutrition” and “pharmaceutical”, is a food or food product that provides health and medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. Such products may range from isolated nutrients, dietary supplements and specific diets to genetically engineered foods, herbal products, and processed foods such as cereals, soups, and beverages. Nutraceutical is a broad umbrella term used to describe any product derived from food sources that provides extra health benefits in addition to the basic nutritional value found in foods. Products typically claim to prevent chronic diseases, improve health, delay the aging process, and increase life expectancy. Phytochemical profile in important crops such as ber, aonla, pomegranate, date palm, karoda, bael, aloe vera, cactus pear of arid region have been indicated that there is wide variation among primary and secondary metabolites. Thus it has become imperative to look into markers linked to high contents of bioactive compounds rather than size and sweetness of the fruits during exploration and evaluation of the plant germplasm.

Introduction

The semiarid and arid ecosystem is not only neglected in India but also the whole world in respect of socio-economic and scientific development. Middlefon and Thomas, 1997) reported the arid and semi arid covers 47% of land surface of the plant and home town to 1/3 of human population. Conventional plant breeding so far only increased the yield of crops grown under arid tropics at about half the rate achieved for crops grown in temperate regions (Turner, 2004, b). The major crop of other ecosystem are considered as under exploited crop of arid ecosystem. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), is one such crop, which was domesticated in ancient Peru, has become the most popular and widely consumed vegetable in the world today, for its rich flavor and high nutritional value (Vitamins A and C)

Introduction

Vegetables are essentially important functional foods capable of providing additional physiological benefits such as delaying onset of chronic diseases apart from meeting basic nutritional requirements. Vegetables constitute a significant source of carotenoids, phenolics, vitamin C, flavonoids and glucosinolates which boost the immune mechanism and have medicinal properties. The antioxidants in tomato, onions, carrots, garlic, brussel sprouts, peppers and green leafy vegetables and their potential health benefits are critically discussed.

Oxidative damage to biological molecules like DNA, protein and lipids induced by free radicals is considered to be linked with many degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular, cancer, ocular and neurological such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Antioxidants from plant sources preserve an adequate function of immune cells against homeostatic disturbances and act as functional foods. Functional foods are foods which besides fulfilling the basic physiological function, have health promoting effect. There is a considerable epidemiological evidence indicating association between diets rich in vegetables and a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and certain forms of cancer. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables contain high amounts of antioxidant compounds like vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids, flavonoids, tannins and other phenolic constituents which boost the immune mechanism.

Introduction

During the last few decades, interest in Ethnobotany has evolved substantially world wide, particularly in India, Africa, Mexico, South America, and South-East Asia. Ethnobiological information on what and how local people make use of plants and animals have been traditionally gathered and passed on from generation to generation. India represents one of the greatest emporia of ethnobotanical wealth. Like other parts of India, in hot arid region also, rural and tribal communities have precious information about utilization of indigenous plants. Besides identification of plants as food, fodder, medicine etc., there also exists similar experience on life support species for exigencies like drought and famines, which is less utilized so far. Several researchers made contribution on etnobotanical aspects of Thar Desert. During 19^th century, King (1869 and 1870) listed wild plants used as food and vegetables during famine by people of Marwar region of Thar Desert. Afterwards, ethnobotanical aspects of edible plants of this region was attempted by several workers

India is emerging as a major stakeholder in the global horticulture scenario accounting for 10.00 % of the world production of fruits. This has been made possible due to concerted efforts of scientists and progressive farming community. In recent years, there is considerable awareness about the nutritional security and food safety. Underutilized fruit trees not only provide nutrition and income security to the people but can also ameliorate the harsh environment of the semi-arid and arid region. Jamun has been named as diabetes fighter for its hypoglycemic (lowering blood sugar) properties.The minor fruits like bael, karonda, khirni, mahua, tamarind, mulberry, pilu, chironji, phalsa and wood apple have tremendous scope for their proper utilization. These fruits are nutritionally rich in bioactive compounds and some of these are of great medicinal value, processing quality and other uses. They have a growing demand in local as well as export market and for processing besides diversification in agriculture in the wake of global changes in weather conditions.

Introduction

While Indian agriculture has evolved to provide food to our ever growing population, nutrition security still remains a distant dream. Fruits an important component of a healthy diet, are rich source of nutraceuticals. Such health components comprising of flavonoides, carotenoides, vitamins, anthocyanins and other polyphenolics provide health benefits of disease prevention through antioxidant activity and reduced disease risks. Of late there has been an explosion of consumer interest in the health enhancing role of physiologically-active specific food components commonly referred to as nutraceuticals and functional foods.

The term ‘nutraceutical’ was first coined by an American doctor Stephen DeFelice in the 1990s. Today, healthcare market is flooded with different new nutraceutical related terminologies like, cosmeceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, herbaceuticals, ayuraceuticals, dermaceuticals, nutri-cosmetics etc. A review of 200 epidemiological studies showed that cancer risk in people consuming diets high in fruits was only one-half that in those consuming few of these foods. Increased acceptance and use of nutraceuticals and functional foods in the western world has resulted in increased export of such commodities from these countries. World-wide market for nutraceuticals and medicinal plant products today has surpassed US $ 15 billion with the top markets being United States (US $ 3 billion), Europe (US$ 2.4 billion), Japan (US$ 2.7 billion) and Asia (US$ 2.7 billion). It is increasing at the rate of 10% per annum. USA holds a significant share (35%) in world nutraceutical market followed by Japan (25%). As per the US estimates, the market for natural food colorants is estimated at US $ 500 million out of which anthocyanin and lutein together account for US $ 200 millions. Other large, emerging international markets in south and southeast Asia and mid-east gulf countries include UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. At present nutraceuticals and food supplement based functional foods account for trade worth US$ 170 billions and India’s share in this market is less than one per cent.

Introduction

The hot arid regions are spread over about 31.7 million ha area mainly in the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, which inhabit on an average 61 persons per square km making up a population of nearly 20 million people. The Indian arid zone is characterized by high temperature and low and variable precipitation which limit the scope for high horticultural productivity. However, these conditions greatly favour development of high quality production in number of fruits such as date palm, ber, pomegranate, citrus, aonla, bael, grapes, guava and in vegetables such as cucurbitaceous crops, spices and some medicinal plants. The optimized technologies and inputs could increase the existing low productivity. It is now realized that there is a limited scope for quantum jump in fruit and vegetable production in the traditional production areas. The amelioration of the extreme conditions is also considered vital for life support to the inhabitants of this area. The recent awareness regarding the potential of these ecologically fragile lands for production of quality horticultural produce has not only opened up scope for providing economic sustenance for the people of this region, but also for bringing new areas to increase production through horticulture.

Introduction

Underutilized fruits provide nutrition and sustenance of life to the native communities and prevent widespread malnutrition, combat micronutrient deficiencies and other dietary deficiencies, as these are rich in vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates and fats. Vitamins like A, E and minerals like calcium, magnesium and iron are abundantly available in these fruits, which help in building resistance against diseases. Many underutilized fruits contain more vitamin C and pro-vitamin A than the widely available commercial species. Consumption of these fruits by the rural people directly from the trees further maximizes vitamin intake.

A healthy diet depends on a diversity of foods rich in vitamins and minerals. Whether wild, semi-domesticated or fully cultivated, the underutilized and neglected species are important for the well being of local communities. These fruit trees provide the essential supplements that ensure a balanced nutritious diet. Diet diversity is an extremely important element of nutritional well-being, in part because more essential nutrients are consumed and also because it improves the taste of staple foods thus encouraging greater consumption. One of the most common causes for dietary deficiencies appears to be the decreasing diversity of traditional diets. Underutilized fruits are common snack foods that provide vitamins, minerals, proteins, etc. and play important role in diets.

Sugars and sweetners: Sugars are present in all the actively metabolising plant cells in the form of glucose and sucrose. The under-exploited fruits that yield sugar are black maple, sugar maple, sugar palm, wild date palm, honey palm or coquito palm (Jubaea chilensis), talipot palm, nipa palm, toddy palm, palmyra palm (Table 1).

Abstract

Drying is a widely used method of food preservation. It leads to some structural changes in the dried material resulting in poor quality and rehydration. Freeze drying, though a costly process, reduces water activity without exposing the food material to high temperatures, eventually retains the original quality to a great deal. Moisture in the foods is frozen to ice which is sublimated under low pressure. Low pressure helps to vaporise the ice without transforming it to liquid, hence leaving the food structure porous in nature. The food is claimed to preserve the nutritional, sensory and re-constitutional qualities.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Most food materials are composed of a very high percentage of water, which can be as high as 95%, and this makes them susceptible to microbial activity. Microbial activity spoils the products, leaving them useless for human consumption. It not only changes their taste and color but it may also develop toxins, thus making them unsafe. There are various methods for preserving food but in order to make them shelf stable, removing water from foods helps keep them from spoiling for a longer period of time.

Abstract

Multiflash drying (MFD) process is based on the application of multiple cycles of heatingvacuum pulse to a solid food. Heat can be provided by convection (from hot air), conduction (by contact with a hot surface), microwaves, or by a combination of these methods. Due to the moderate temperatures applied to the drying food, and the sudden decompression step (vacuum pulse), MFD processes allow obtaining crispyanddried foods with very good nutritional and sensory properties. Vacuum pulses cause food texturization, which depends on the pressure drop rate during decompression. In fact, the dried products are similar to freezedried foods, but with more open structures, which result in higher crispness. The dehydration can be performed in relatively short processing times, when compared with traditional drying processes (e.g. solar drying, airdrying, vacuum drying and freezedrying). The short process time indicates clearly that this class of drying process presents a huge potential to the production of driedandcrisp foods at industrial scale.

Abstract

Drying is one of the most important industrial operations for preservation of food material. Due to the major limitations posed by convective drying methods, there is always a need for novel drying techniques which are technically, economically and environmentally sustainable. Based on the principle of moisture diffusion due to vapor pressure gradient, atmospheric freeze drying (AFD) offers a promising alternative to conventional drying systems. A cold gas with low water vapor pressure is used as drying medium to sublimate moisture directly from the frozen material at atmospheric pressure conditions. As a result the product gets dried at much lower temperature unlike convective drying. Thus, products dried with AFD retain better nutrition, texture and color and the process is also considerably cost effective. Major limitation of the AFD process is longer drying time, which can however be accelerated by using heat pump drying or new ultrasound technology. This chapter focuses on mechanism, benefits, limitations and comparative study of AFD with other drying methods such as hot air drying and vacuum freeze drying. It provides an insight regarding effect of AFD on properties of food material based on various studies reported in literature.

19.1 Introduction

Food safety is one of the important factor for food industry, regulatory agencies and consumers. Nowadays consumers are demanding food which is safe and of high quality in terms of nutrition due to a healthier life style. Food safety refers to all those hazards, that make food injurious to the health of the consumer and it is not negotiable. Food may be contaminated physically, chemically or microbiologically, mainly microbial contamination is of high concern in the food industries. Various pathogenic and spoilage causing microorganisms, viruses, insects can deteriorate the food products and cause food borne illnesses. Therefore, there is a need to eliminate these undesirable microorganisms from the food industries to ensure food safety to the consumer. Various methods are available to eliminate these undesirable microorganisms such as thermal technologies like pasteurization, dehydration, retort processing, freezing etc. and non thermal technologies like microwave heating, Pulsed Electric Field (PEF), High Pressure Processing (HPP), Pulsed Light Technology, Ohmic Heating, Ultra sonics, Pulsed X-Rays. But these technologies have certain disadvantages like thermal technologies lowers the nutritional value and leads to unwanted changes in the foods' sensory attributes of the food products whereas non thermal technologies retain better nutritional and sensory quality of food than thermal technologies but they are cost effective, required specialised equipments and trained personnel. Cold plasma technology (CPT) is a non-thermal green technology used now-a-days for variety of application in various industries especially in food industry. It is proposed to be an alternative method for eliminating microorganism from the fresh produce. This technology does not require extreme process conditions and can be used as a good alternative source for food preservation without affecting its nutritional and sensory attributes. Plasma is an ionized gas, consisting of active species like positively and negatively charged ions, electrons, free radicals, and gas atoms, metastable and quanta of electromagnetic radiation (photons). When the energy source is turned off, active species used to disappear immediately, therefore cold plasma technology is environmental friendly and fulfilling all ecological standards. Based on the properties of plasma, it can be applied in various fields like electronics, life sciences, textile, packaging and food industries. In food industries, it is showing promising application by retaining the nutritional, functional, and sensory characteristics thus ensuring the fresh appearance of the food product and satisfying the consumer need.

18.1 Introduction

The Packaging Institute International describes packaging as the enclosure of items, packages or products in a wrapped pouch, box, bag, cup, can, tray, tube, bottle or other container for protection, preservation, containment, communication, performance and utility. To an engineer or a scientist, it is technical matter as it is a system designed for efficient delivery of safe food products with high quality, via each and every stage of distribution chain, from production of raw material to food manufacture, packaging, retail, wholesale, consumer, disposal and finally recycling or of resource resurgence. The extent of food packaging is literally broad as it encompasses technological activities such as graphic and machinery design, package manufacture and development, shelf life testing, distribution and marketing. Food packaging science is a discipline which applies principles from four major areas of science (materials science, food science, information science and socioeconomics) to understand the properties of packaging materials, packaging requirements of foods and the packaging system. Both material science and food science have been two major contributors for food packaging development. Material science is important to understand the mechanical strength, barrier properties, appearance and physical and chemical properties of paper, glass, metal, polymer and composite. Food science is important to understand the deterioration kinetics of foods (such as microbial growth, lipid oxidation, moisture loss or gain) governs the food shelf life. Food packaging technology is a science based solutions to address specific food packaging needs; examples are tamper evident packaging, microwavable packaging, modified atmospheric packaging, and controlled atmospheric packaging which are aimed at enhancing safety, quality and convenience for the consumer.