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Bael (Aegle marmelos Correa), an important fruit of Indian subtropics, traditionally utilized in the preparation of preserve, candy, squash, RTS, etc. has immense therapeutic potential. An attempt was made to develop a bael based low alcoholic sweet fermented beverage ( may be called as bael cider), anti-oxidant fortified with 0.25 per cent bael leaf or 10 per cent Indian goose berry (Emblica officinalis Gaertn.) juice in separate batches. Unfortified bael pulp based drink was kept as control. The ameliorated pulp was fermented at 30 ± 2ºC using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The gooseberry blended bael fermented beverage had higher anti-oxidant content in the form of phenolics (323 mg/100 ml) than leaf extract added fermented beverage (265 mg/100 ml) and control (266 mg/100 ml). Sensory evaluation of product revealed that gooseberry blended fermented beverage scored higher (8.2/10) than bael leaf blended fermented beverage (7.9/10) and control (7.0/10). Twelve months maturation study of beverage revealed increase in reducing sugars and decrease in phenolic content in all the treatments. Bael fermented beverage with gooseberry blend retained highest phenolic content (257 mg/100 ml) and sensory score 7.8/10. The study inferred that an acceptable quality fermented drink could be prepared from bael-gooseberry blend, which could be stored for one year with higher antioxidant value and minimum deterioration in the quality.

Fruit and vegetable wastes create unhygienic conditions and pose a environmental pollution. The utilization of such wastes as carbon sources for production of enzyme with microbial intervention could be an ecofriendly and profitable approach, apart from diminishing the waste load. The present investigation focused on the feasibility of using mosambi (Citrus limetta) peel as substrate for multienzyme production (pectinase, cellulase and amylase) through microbial intervention. Fifteen fungi were isolated from organic waste and screened in vitro their potential of biodegradation of mosambi peel through enzymes production. The best performing isolate was selected and identified as Trichoderma asperellum NG-125 (accession number-MW287256). Conditions viz. temperature, pH, incubation time and nutrient addition were optimized for efficient enzymes production. The maximum enzyme activity (U ml

ICAR-CISH has developed four mobile apps on mango products, two on guava products and two on aonla products to disseminate value addition protocols of respective fruits. In this work, mobile apps have been developed to provide advisory on preparing quality processed products of main fruits of Subtropical region. For developing apps, cloud- based tool viz. ‘’MIT app Inventor2.0’’ was used. This tool can be used for app development using visual, event-based block programming method in browser itself. The apps were developed to provide advisories on preparation of quality processed fruit products such as different types of pickles, squash, murabba, candy, RTS drinks, etc. Apps provide audio facility as well as calculation of ingredients amount on a mouse click. These apps are very interactive and helpful to the farmers in preparing quality processed products of fruits even at cottage scale. These apps are available on ‘Google Play’ for free download. The information provided by app will be helpful in reducing post harvest losses of fruits, generation of employment opportunities and improve the livelihood status of the farmers.

Imidacloprid, used against mango hopper, is a persistent insecticide in soil. Microbes have the ability to remove toxic pesticides from soil surface. Metagenomic is an approach for understanding the diversity and related metabolic activities in any environmental sample without culturing the microbes. Metagenomic analysis of mango orchard soil was carried out using 16S rRNA gene sequencing to understand the impact of imidacloprid on soil microbial population. In control and imidacloprid applied soil samples, representative sequences clustered were 0.142930 and 0.082320 million, respectively. At the kingdom level, 85 and 88 percent represented to bacteria, 2 and 1 percent to archaea, and 13 and 11 percent to unassigned for control and treated metagenomes, respectively. At phylum level, 16 and 17 percent of OTUs (operational taxonomic units) were assigned with Proteobacteria, while 13 and 11 percent of OTUs were unassigned in control and imidacloprid-treated samples, respectively. The other abundant phyla in both the samples were Planctomycetes, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria. At class level, 9 and 11 percent of OTUs were assigned with Planctomycetia in control as well as imidacloprid-treated samples, respectively. A number of OTUs present in control and imidacloprid applied samples are 31,173 and 21,909, respectively, with 18,018 number of OTUs shared between the two samples. The genus Gemmata totally disappeared in imidacloprid applied soil, while those belonging to class Phycisphaerae, genus Prevotella and species copri were identified in imidacloprid treatment. Bacterial community transformation was evident from this study indicating possible microbial bioremediation of imidacloprid in mango orchard soil.

Sugarcane bagasse was exposed to gamma radiation at different doses i.e. 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 kGy at a dose rate of 2.5 kGy/h and characterized for physical, chemical, morphological and structural properties. Results showed that on exposure of sugarcane bagasse, hemicellulose content reduced from 31% to 12.4% at 2000 kGy dose. The cellulose content of bagasse did not get affected much upto 1000 kGy exposure; however at 2000 kGy dose it decreased considerably. XRD study shows an initial increase in crystallinity index of bagasse at a dose level of 100 kGy while on further increase in radiation dose from 100 kGy to 2000 kGy the crystallinity index of bagasse decreases. Pores in the SEM photograph were observed on the surface of irradiated bagasse. UV–Vis spectra of bagasse showed a red shift indicating internal changes caused by radiation exposure. Study shows that the irradiation of bagasse results in disrupton of the lignocellulosic structure of Bagasse which opens up for easy accessibility of acids and hydrolytic enzymes for cellulosic hydrolysis resulting into fermentable sugars.

Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis Gaertn.) is a medicinal plant with high nutraceutical value. During November and December 2003, soft rot was noticed on harvested and stored (20 ± 5°C and 65 ± 5% relative humidity) fruits at the experimental farm in Rehmanhera, Lucknow, India (26°50′N, 80°54′E). These fruits had numerous, minute brown necrotic lesions showing white mycelial growth. A pronounced halo of water-soaked, faded tissue surrounded the lesion between the fringe of mycelium and healthy tissues. The rotted surface was covered with a black, powdery layer of spores. On Czapek yeast extract agar, fungal colonies were blackish grey, moderately dense, and covered the entire petri dish. The fungus produced aseptate mycelium. The sporangial heads were 30 to 50 μm in diameter with sporangiospores found linearly within cylindrical sacs (merosporangia) borne on spicules around the columella. Sporangiospores, spherical to cylindrical in shape and borne in chains, measured 3.0 to 5.0 μm long. The fungus was morphologically and physiologically identified as Syncephalastrum racemosum Schr. (2). For pathogenicity tests, healthy fruits (10 replicates) were surface sterilized and punctured inoculated aseptically with 1.0 × 106 conidia and incubated at 20 ± 5°C Typical symptoms of the disease appeared after 4 days. The fungus exhibited a strong level of cellulolytic activity as indicated by prolific growth on Indian gooseberry fiber waste under solid-state fermentation conditions. The level of cellulase activity (1) was 21 filter paper activity unit per ml at 72 hr in culture supernatant of basal medium having carboxymethyl cellulose as the carbon source. The fungus showed resistance to tannins (as much as 2%), since it could grow well in liquid growth medium (Czapek Dox broth) with 2% tannins and aonla juice with 1.8% tannins. Since Indian gooseberry is rich in fiber (2.5 to 3.4%) and tannins (1.5 to 2.0%), this may be an important pathogen. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the occurrence of Syncephalastrum racemosum on Indian gooseberry fruits. References: (1) T. K. Ghose. Pure Appl. Chem. 59(2):257, 1987. (2) J. I. Pitt and A. D. Hocking. Fungi and Food Spoilage. Academic Press. North Ryde, Australia, 1985.

Background and objectives: Haemoglobin content is the well accepted indicator for anaemia assessment. The high prevalence of anaemia, maternal health care issues and adverse delivery outcome in Jharkhand, we investigated whether delivering women with anaemia would present a modifiable risk of preterm (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW). Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study involving pregnant women, with screening for pregnancy endpoints and haemoglobin assay, were conducted. Anaemia was classified according to World Health Organization's definition of anaemia in pregnancy. Confounding variables were adjusted in a logistic model. The adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used for analyzing the association among maternal anaemia, PTB and LBW. Results: We observed a high prevalence of anaemia (78.45%) in delivering women, whereas high prevalence of preterm birth (34.75%) and LBW (32.81%) in delivering women overall. In the adjusted analysis, overall anaemia in pregnancy was strongly associated with preterm birth (OR, 3.42; 95% CI, 1.98–5.88; P ≤ .0001) as compared to LBW (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.65–1.61; P = .0003). The risk of PTB and LBW were dependent on the stratification of the anaemia group, as the strongest association was observed in severe (OR, 4.86) followed by mild (OR, 3.66) and moderate (OR, 3.18) anaemia in PTB; whereas risk of LBW was found in severe (OR, 2.5) followed by moderate (OR, 1.11) and mild (OR, 0.57) anaemia. The risk of PTB and LBW across six pregnancy haemoglobin groups were compared, haemoglobin of 10–10.9 g/dl (OR, 1.25) and ≤ 8 g/dl (OR, 1.03) have shown association with PTB and LBW, respectively. However, high haemoglobin concentration was not associated with either PTB or LBW. Conclusions: Anaemia in delivering women was associated with an elevated risk of PTB and LBW and the risk increased with the severity of anaemia in pregnant women. Keywords: Maternal anaemia, Preterm birth, Low birth weight, Pregnancy, Jharkhand

Kernels from the stone of mango (Mangifera indica L.) were separated from outer leather by decortications and dried to evaluate the oil content. Conditions were optimized for oil extraction from mango seed kernel. The influence of various parameters such as temperature, time, volume of n-hexane (solvent) and particle size on oil yield was investigated. The results revealed that oil yield increased with increase in temperature, time and volume of solvent but decreased with the increase in the particle size. Maximum oil yield of 15.20% was obtained at 1 mm size grinded kernel particles with an extraction time of 90 minutes using 25g of mango kernel seed and 250 mL of n-hexane. The proximate composition and characteristics including the un-saponification matter and fatty acid contents of kernel oil were determined. The major fatty acids present in mango kernel were stearic (58.08%), palmitic acid (1.33%) and oleic (17.99%) and linoleic (2.86%). Mango seed kernel oil contained high un-saponifiable matter which could have good potential to be used in cosmetics.

Biofuels are the renewable fuels of biological origin and a good substitute to petroleum fuels for the transport sector. Among biofuels, bioethanol has been gaining worldwide acceptance as an alternative source to gasoline. The major raw material for production of ethanol has been the sugarcane molasses. Since molasses alone cannot meet the total requirement, production of ethanol from cellulosic and lignocellulosic biomass is being explored as a possible alternate source. Lignocellulosic material in the form of agricultural residue holds enormous potential as a source of ethanol because it is the most abundant renewable biomass available on the earth. This article provides a broad overview on lignocellulosic biomass availability and technologies available for its conversion into bioethanol. This would serve as the reference paper for the researchers, policy makers and industries involved in making bioethanol from renewable biomass a reality.

Fresh-cut mango cubes of cultivar “Mallika” coated with acidified chitosan solutions at three concentrations (1, 2 and 3%) along with untreated cubes as control were placed into plastic trays, over-wrapped with cling film (10 μ thickness) were stored in refrigerator at 8±2°C for 8 days and analyzed for quality parameters after 2, 4, 6 and 8 days. Chitosan coatings, especially 2 and 3%, were effective in inhibiting weight loss, total carotenoids and total phenols contents. Chitosan 3% coating was highly effective in inhibiting the growth of bacteria and yeast/mould on cubes. At the end of storage period, the minimum weight loss (2.46%) was observed in 3% chitosan-treated cubes and maximum (4.51%) in control. High total phenol content (41.79 mg TAE 100 g was observed in 2% chitosan-treated samples. Maximum total-1) carotenoids content (5.35 mg 100 g−1) was observed in 3% chitosan treatment. Higher total soluble solid (25.6 ° Brix) was found in control. Minimum bacterial load (2.04 log cfu g−1) and yeast/mould load (1.78 log cfu g−1) was observed in 3% chitosan-treatment while bacterial load (log CFU g−1) and yeast/mould count was high in (3.02 and 3.92 log CFU g−1, respectively, was in control. The results suggest that 3% chitosan coating on mango cubes effectively minimized weight loss, biochemical changes and microbial growth.

Polygalacturonase (PG) degrades pectin into D-galacturonic acid monomers and is used widely in food industry especially for juice clarification. In the present study,. fermentation conditions for polygalacturonase production by Asgergillus niger NAIMCCF-02958, using mango peel as substrate, were optimized using the 2(3) factorial design with central composite rotatable experimental design (CCRD) of response surface methodology (RSM). The maximum PG activity 723.66 U g(-1) was achieved under pH 4.0, temperature 30 degrees C and 2% inoculum by response surface curve. The experimental value of PG activity wkas higher 607.65 U g(-1) than the predicted value 511.75 U g(-1). Under the proposed optimized conditions, the determination coefficient (R2) was equal to 0.66 indicating that the model could explain 66% of the total variation as well as establish the relationship between the variables and the responses. ANOVA analysis and the three dimensional plots also confirmed interactions among the parameters.

Poor germination of mango seed due to fungal decay is a common problem in mango nurseries. The main causal fungus behind this problem is a black spore producing fungus, Syncephalastrum racemosum. This fungus exhibited high amylolytic activity and hence utilised the starch present in mango kernel for its own growth, thereby resulting in the death of emerging radical and plumule, which ultimately causes the death of emerging seedlings. A simple biocontrol device has been worked out by modifying the storage conditions of the mango seeds from aerobic to facultative. This change resulted in yeast growth on the pulp sticking to the mango seed, which in turn produced alcohol and prevented the growth of this fungus. The germination of such seeds has been found to be about 85–90%.

Mulberry (Morus spp.) is a fruit known for its nutritional qualities and flavor. Traditionally, it is used as a natural medicine due to high content of active therapeutic compounds. Its fruits are rich in sugar and therefore, are potential substrate for wine production. Mulberry accessions viz., MI-118, MI-497 and MI-362 were screened for wine preparation. The sensory evaluation revealed that the wine prepared from variety MI-497 was the best due to an attractive deep red colour, 7.60B TSS; 0.34 per cent acidity; 0.16% tannins; 0.23% reducing sugar; 0.41% total sugar; 2.89 mM/ml antioxidants; 10.17 mg/100ml anthocyanin and 13.2% (v/v) alcohol. The wine from mulberry accessions MI-362 was comparatively sweeter with higher TSS and acidity but low in anthocyanins content (2.46 mg/100 ml). HPLC analysis detected gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, catechins, kaempferol and epi-catechin as major phenolic compounds present in the wines. The data obtained revealed that the mulberry accessions MI-497 and MI-362 are suitable for wine production. Wine prepared from Indian mulberry accession MI-497 had the high antioxidant (2.89 mM/ml) and anthocyanins (10.17 mg/100 ml) content and thus, could have good market potential.

A process for preparation of ketchups from ripe mango and guava fruits was developed, comprised extraction of pulp by conventional methods, homogenization and addition of sugar, salt, spices, acetic acid etc. The contents were heated to reduce the volume to one third, added with class II preservatives and bottled. Changes in TSS, acidity, non enzymatic browning, ascorbic acid, antioxidants along with microbial and sensory qualities were recorded at one month interval for a period of nine months under ambient storage conditions. The ascorbic acid content decreased from 98.3 to 81.8 and 60.0 to 49.9 mg/100 g in guava and mango ketchups, respectively, while the NEB increased from 0.089 to 0.174 and 0.373 to 0.577 after nine month storage. Slight increase in TSS and acidity were observed. The anti-oxidant value decreased from 32.8 to 18.8 mM/ml in guava ketchup and 26.9 to 16.2 mM/ml in mango ketchup after 9 month storage. No microbial population could be detected during the period of study. The overall acceptability score ranged from 7.0 to 7.8 and 7.2 to 8.5 in guava and mango, respectively.

Microbial production of enzymes using low valued agro industrial wastes is gaining importance globally. Mango is one of the major fruit processed into a variety of products. During processing 40-50% of solid waste is generated in form of peel and stones. After decortications of mango stone, kernel is obtained which is a rich source of starch (upto 60%). It was utilized as a substrate for alpha-amylase production using Fusarium soloni. Maximum alpha-amylase production (0.889 U g(-1)) was recorded using a substrate concentration of 5% (w/v), pH-4 and temperature 30 degrees C on 9th day of incubation. Supplementation of production medium with micronutrients viz., Ca2+, Fe2+ or Mg2+ improved the enzyme production while, Zn2+, B3+ or Mn2+ ions exhibited inhibitory effect. The extracellular protein was precipitated by ammonium sulphate up to 70% saturation, dialyzed and purified (27.84 fold) by gel-exclusion (Sephadex G-75) chromatography. Protein profiling on 12% SDS-PAGE revealed three bands corresponding to 26, 27 and 30 kDa molecular sizes. The optimum amylase activity was achieved at pH 5.0 at 40 degrees C. The Michaelis constant (KM), Vmax and activation energy (-Ea) were found to be 3.7 mg ml(-1), 0.24 U mg(-1) and 42.39 kJ mole(-1), respectively.

Extracellular alpha-amylase mass produced by Fusarium solani using mango kernel as substrate was immobilized in calcium alginate beads through entrapment technique. Maximum enzyme immobilization efficiency was achieved in 2 mm size beads formed by 6.5% (w/v) of sodium alginate in 2% (w/v) calcium chloride. The catalytic properties of the immobilized alpha-amylase were compared with that of free enzyme (soluble). The activity yield of the immobilized enzyme was 81% of the free enzyme. The immobilized enzyme showed optimum activityat pH 4.5-6.0 and temperature 40 degrees C, in contrast to the free enzyme at 5.5 and 30 degrees C, respectively. Thermal stability of the immobilized enzyme was found to be more than the free enzyme over a longer time interval. The immobilized enzyme retained activity upto 20% of optimum even after 180 min. While the free enzyme lost its 80% activity after 60 min and lost total activity down to zero by 120 min. The kinetic constants, viz., K(M) (Michaelis constant), V(max) and activation energy were affected by immobilization. However, the immobilized alpha-amylase in calcium alginate beads supports its long-term storage which has immense industrial applications.

Though improvements in processing and technology are important, the fluctuating price of inputs such as molasses, corn, sugar beet, sugarcane, sweet sorghum, starch, etc. and their seasonal availability play an important role in ethanol industry. As a matter of fact, the ethanol industry based on conventional resources has reached its saturation point. Technologies for ethanol production from lignocellulosics are being developed by scientists world over with the objective of exploiting the potential of a resource, which is otherwise considered a waste, to generate energy. The focus has been to produce ethanol in a cost-effective manner, besides aiming to find use of its by-products as food supplements for cattles, etc. Recent developments like adoption of technologies such as dry grind fractionation, which is now commercially viable, would reduce the cost of milling; wet milling being cost-intensive and dry milling requiring smaller plants.

Ethanol produced from renewable resources is being considered globally as the most prominent and possible substitute for fossil fuel. It is being produced by fermentation of raw materials obtained from various renewable resources like Sugarcane, Corn and Sweet Sorghum all over the world. Ethanol is mainly blended with gasoline in different ratios and commonly known as ‘Gasohol’. This special use has escalated the global production of ethanol by 85% in 2006 from 2002. Oil embargo of 1973 forced Brazil to initiate and implement the Bio-ethanol for mandatory use in automotive fuel upto the extent of 100%. For this to happen, the flexi-fuel vehicles were also introduced that can run both on petrol and E100 (Bio-ethanol). Other countries like US, Europe and India followed this successful model to achieve the objectives of self reliance in fuel. At present in India ethanol is blended @ 5% in petrol. Ethanol in fuel increases its oxygen content and has replaced the use of MTBE and ETBE. Various studies conducted all over the world have revealed that ethanol blending in petrol at different ratios has remarkably reduced the emission of GHG from vehicles. Ethanol has also been used along with diesel, but comparatively ethanol blended petrol is more acceptable than with diesel because later requires the admixture of surfactants to keep the blend stable, which increases the cost of the fuel. Even, having so much benefits of ethanol blending, its use is limited by various technical factors like, degradation of non-metallic components of engine, decrease in fuel lubricity, viscosity and calorific value of the fuel, etc. The other Non-technical factors also plays major role, which are elaborately discussed in this paper. Government of India in the year 2002 issued the first national Biofuel policy, in order to use bio-ethanol and bio-diesel as a fuel for transport. However, certain factors hindered the successful execution of ethanol use as a transport fuel. This paper present the studies conducted to find out the reasons for limited success of especially ethanol blended fuel in India. The outcome of this study would serve as the base reference for the policy makers to devise strategies to achieve the indicative target of recent Biofuel Policy released on September 11, 2008 mandating 20 % blending of biofuels by 2017.