Standardization of Pretreatment for the Development of the Edible Flour from the Indian Horse Chestnut (Aesculus indica Colebra.)

Author: Jyoti Rani, N.S. Thakur, Abhimanyu Thakur and Pavneet Kaur

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Abstract

Aesculus indica Colebr. which is popularly known as Indian horse chestnut. It is a good source of starch but contains toxic compounds such as saponins which make it a bitter and unsuitable for consumption. To utilize the starch source for edible purposes, saponins were first reduced to an acceptable level by pretreating the crushed mass of Indian horse chestnut. Studies were undertaken to remove the saponins content from the horse chestnut mass by pre-treatments. Prescribed methods were used to evaluate the results at Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh. Various physcio-chemical characteristics of nut and flour were determined like moisture, crude protein, fiber, fat, total carbohydrate, ash content, saponins, reducing sugars and total sugars. Nuts after dehulling were crushed/grated into a mass which was treated with various treatments. Pre-treatments were used to remove the saponin content of the horse chestnut mass. After dehulling, the nuts were grated into a mass and then treated with various treatments. The grated mass can be blanched for 4 min for followed by soaking in water for 6 hours at 60oC while replacing the water in three cycles of every 2 hours. Same pretreated mass was further soaked in ethanol: water solvent (30:70) for 6 h at 60oC while replacing the water in three cycles of every 2 hours. Then, further ultrasound assisted extraction was done with 30 per cent ethanol in water for 15 minutes at 50 ± 1°C and further soaking can be performed at 60oC while replacing the solvent mixture in three cycles of 2 h. After all the previous sequential treatments, the mass was dried in mechanical cabinet drier at 60 ± 2°C. In the end of all pretreatments the formation of froth was negligible and saponins content could be reduced 6.50 ± 0.04 to 0.88 g/100g in the treated mass.

Keywords

Anti- nutrition, blanching, Indian horse chestnut, pre-treatment, saponins

Conclusion

To remove saponins content from horse chestnut mass (grated materials), various pre-treatments like blanching, cooking, ethanol soaking and ultrasound assisted extraction were followed and best treatments were selected on the basis of froth formation and amount of saponins. Pretreatments such as blanching, soaking and ultrasound and microwave extraction techniques were standardized. The best selected treatments were then evaluated further based on maximum saponins removal and minimum froth percentage. In the end, a treatment with low saponin content and unstable froth was used to make the flour.

References

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How to cite this article

Jyoti Rani, N.S. Thakur, Abhimanyu Thakur and Pavneet Kaur (2023). Standardization of Pretreatment for the Development of the Edible Flour from the Indian Horse Chestnut (Aesculus indica Colebra.). Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(2): 541-548.