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Fruit rich in carbohydrates, proteins, potassium, calcium
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Thursday, 16 August, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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R Jagan Mohan and G Mohan Naik
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Introduction The jackfruit, also commonly named jak or jack, is also known as jacque or jacquier in French and jaca in Spanish. It was regarded as a heavenly fruit in the ancient periods. In India, it is widely cultivated in Assam, Tripura, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, the foothills of the Himalayas and the South Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Jackfruit is widely grown as an important tree in Kerala’s homesteads and also as a shade crop in coffee plantations. It is popularly known as poor man’s fruit in the eastern and southern parts of India.
The tender fruits of the tree are used as vegetables and the ripe ones as table fruits. In India, the major area under jackfruit cultivation is in Kerala. It is grown in an area of 97,536 hectare (ha) with annual production of 348 million fruits and productivity of 3,568 fruits per ha.
Nutritional benefits Jackfruit is a nutritious fruit rich in carbohydrates, proteins, potassium, calcium, iron and Vitamins A, B, and C.
Due to the high levels of carbohydrates, jackfruit supplements other staple foods in times of scarcity in some regions.
The flesh of the jackfruit is starchy and fibrous, and is a source of dietary fibre. The presence of iso-flavones, antioxidants and phytonutrients in the fruit indicate that it has cancer-fighting properties. It is also known to help cure ulcers and indigestion.
Value addition The jackfruit is a multi-purpose species providing food, timber, fuel, fodder and medicinal and industrial products. The primary economic product of jackfruit is the fruit, which is used both when mature and immature.
When unripe (green), it is remarkably similar in texture to chicken, making jackfruit an excellent vegetarian substitute for meat. In fact, canned jackfruit (in brine) is sometimes referred to as vegetable meat.
Jackfruit seeds (nuts) can be roasted like chestnuts, or boiled. The fruit pulp is sweet and tasty and used as dessert or preserved in syrup. The fruits and seeds are also processed in a variety of ways for food and other products.
Value-added jackfruit products include chips, papads, pickles, icecream, jam, jelly, sweets, beverages like squash, nectar, wine, preserved flakes, etc.
Additionally, jackfruit leaves, bark, inflorescence, seeds and latex are used in traditional medicines. The wood of the tree is also used for various purposes.
The availability of processed products in the local market is low due to the lack of interest shown by the producers.
However, primary processing at the household level using traditional methods is reported only for local consumption, but these traditional products are still scarce in the market.
Extraction of beneficial compounds from jackfruit processing waste Conversion of waste in to value added ingredient is plays an integral part in handling of bulk solid processing waste.
About 65-70 per cent of jackfruit waste is dumped as solid waste from the processing and farming sectors.
Nowadays, apart from jackfruit bulb, the utilisation of byproducts has gained significant importance in many ways, as extraction of pectin from outer rind, starch from seed and other bioactive compounds, which will provide potential health benefits.
Till date, jackfruit bulb, peel and seeds are utilizing for extraction of valuable compounds, research is needed to make use of the strand and core.
The utilisation of jackfruit waste not only reduces the environmental pollution, but also provides additional income to farmers and processors through minimising waste and proper utilisation.
Pectins Jackfruit rinds are normally disposed as solid wastes by food processing industries and vendors. The disposal of jackfruit prickly rinds may burden environment protection. However, the proper utilisation of the fruit’s rinds can increase their economic value and reduce the cost of waste disposal. In order to reduce the wastage and negative effect to the environment, beneficial compound such as pectin can be extracted. Pectins are commercially extracted from citrus peels and apple pomace with yields of about 25 per cent and 15-18 per cent, respectively. Other sources of pectin include sunflower head residues and sugar beet (Miyamoto and Chang), cocoa husk, soy hull, mango and amberalla peels. Pectin percentage in jackfruit peel ranges between six and 38 per cent. It varies with the method of extraction. Pectin extracted from jackfruit peel falls in the category of high methoxy pectin where, the degree of esterification value is higher than 50 per cent. It can be used as an alternative gelling agent and emulsifier.
Research revealed that jackfruit peel was a new source of natural antioxidants and hypoglycemic agents. Peel extracts exhibit the highest total phenolic and total flavonoid content, and the phenolics (4.65, 4.12 and 4.95 times higher) than that of pulp, flake and seed extract. The strongest DPPH• and ABTS+ . Scavenging ability, a-glucosidase inhibition were also found in peel extract, and the a-glucosidase inhibition is about 11.8 times that of acarbose. Prenylflavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids and glycosides are the predominant bioactive compounds present in jackfruit peel
Starch and other bioactive compounds Seeds of jackfruit are abundant and contain high amounts of starch. They are discarded during the fruit processing or consumption and can be an alternative source of starch. Jackfruit may contain between 100 and 500 seeds which represents 18–25 per cent (db) of the fruit weight while the pulp represents 30 per cent of the fruit weight. Jackfruit seed flour has high levels of minerals like potassium (786.6ppm, db) followed by calcium (29.5ppm, db), and sodium (28.4ppm, db). The phenolic compounds are estimated at 2770µg/100g and carotenoid content at 1910µg/100g. The dietary fiber content in jackfruit seeds is around 28 per cent (db) with around two per cent soluble dietary fibre and 26 per cent insoluble dietary fibre. This good amount of dietary fibre will have positive physiological effects. Seeds are eaten after boiling, steaming, and roasting. Boiled seeds are also canned in brine and in tomato sauce. The seeds have considerable amounts of starch and protein which can be industrially exploited. Though jackfruit seed is not used by the industry much, recent studies, which are few in number, have highlighted the properties of starch and its utilisation
Conclusion In India, the quantity of jackfruit being wasted is not exactly known, but the wastage is estimated around 75 per cent. Kerala wastes about Rs 35 crore worth of jackfruit annually. India is losing Rs 214.4 crore worth of food every year.
Generally, jackfruit bulb and seeds are consumed in some parts of India. The processing waste like rind, strand and core dumping as solid waste or animal feed. These processing waste rich sources of functional ingredients like pectin, starch and fibre.
Appropriate indigenous processing and handling methodology is need to develop to utilise them. It reduces environmental pollution, and the farmer can earn the additional income through processing and value addition of jackfruit.
Reference Ahmmed R, Inam A K M S, Alim M A, Sobhan M M and Haque M A, Extraction, characterisation and utilisation of pectin from jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus L) waste, Bangladesh J Environ. Sci, 2017, 32, 57-66 Jin C, Yi L, Xiaoxi L, Ling C and Fengwei X, Supramolecular structure of jackfruit seed starch and its relationship with digestibility and physicochemical properties, Carbohydr Polym, 2016, 150, 269-281 Kittipongpatana O S, Kittipongpatana N, Preparation and physicochemical properties of modified jackfruit starches, LWT Food Sci Technol, 2011, 44, 1766–1773 Mohan N G, Jagan M R and Ashish R, Radio frequency assisted extraction of pectin from jackfruit peel, Proceedings of the International Conference on Food Processing and Agribusiness-Emerging Trends, January 18 and 19, Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bengaluru, India, 2018, 115 Mohan N G, Jagan M R and Ashish R, Production technology of Jackfruit flours as a functional ingredient, Proceedings of the National Seminar on Trends and innovation in Food Processing Technology- Prospects and Challenges, February 9 and 10, Tezpur University, Tezpur, India, 2017, 32 Subburamu K, Singaravelu M, Nazar A and Irulappan I, A study on the utilisation of jackfruit waste, Bioresour Technol, 1992, 1, 85-86 Sundarraj A A, Ranganathan T V and Gobikrishnan S, optimised extraction and characterisation of pectin from jackfruit (Artocarpus integer) wastes using response surface methodology, Int J Biol Macromol, 2017, 106, 698-703 Ying S X, Peng L J, Huang X, Ping D L, Lin S F, Dong R, Ting H X, Zheng K, Liu Y, and Leong C K, Ultrasonic-microwave assisted extraction, characterisation and biological activity of pectin from jackfruit peel, LWT Food Sci Technol, 90, 577-582 Zhang L, Tu Z-c, Xie X, Wang H, Wang, H, Wang Z-x, Sha X-m and Lu Y, Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) peel: A better source of antioxidants and a-glucosidase inhibitors than pulp, flake and seed, and phytochemical profile by HPLC-QTOF-MS/MS, Food Chem, 2017, 17, 1-38.
(Jagan is head and professor and Naik is research scholar, department of food product development, Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology, Tamil Nadu. They can be contacted at jagan@iicpt.edu.in)
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