No abstract

No abstract

Banana flower (BF) and pseudostem (PS) are byproducts of banana cultivation and are known to have health beneficial effects. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the dietary fiber composition and antioxidant effect of BF and PS. In the present study, BF and PS were found to be rich in dietary fiber (65.6 ± 1.32 and 28.8 ± 0.98%, respectively). Dietary fiber fractions were extracted and characterized in terms of sugar profile, and antioxidant activities were determined. BF and PS fractions were rich in sugars and showed wide diversity with respect to the nature of the sugars. Hemicellulose A fraction of BF showed high amounts of total polyphenols and total antioxidants, which were 121.8 ± 1.9 and 39.03 ± 0.118 μg/mg extract, respectively. HPLC analysis showed the presence of phenolic acids in hemicellulose A and B fractions of BF. These results indicate that BF and PS are rich sources of dietary fiber associated with polyphenols, which could promote health beneficial effects.

Resistant starch (RS) and dietary fiber contents of differently processedBengal gram (chickpea), black gram, green gram and red gram (pigeon pea) dhals were determined. In traditionally cooked dhals , RS increased 1.6 to 9 fold, whereas pressure cooked dhals showed a 2.1 to 8 fold increase over that of uncooked dhals . Deep fat frying of a black gram food product resulted in a 3 fold increase in RS. Germination of the whole legumes resulted in only a small increase in RS; but the content of insoluble dietary fiber was higher. Pressure-cooking of red gram dhal in the presence of additives showed considerable variation in the yield recovery of RS. Lactic acid and ascorbic acid, added after cooking, enhanced ( > 100%) RS; addition of hydrocolloids had only marginal effects; whereas addition of spice powder before cooking lowered RS, an effect similar to the one observed upon addition of oils/lipids.

No abstract