Revisiting the nutraceutical profile, chemical composition, and health benefits of jaggery: Updates from recent decade

Abstract

Foods as medicine have been utilized from ancient civilizations and shared from generation to generation as dietary health practices. It provides therapeutic assistance along with nutrition and health benefits. Presently, food products, diet, and individual health are receiving a lot of attention and are in high demand. In this context, jaggery is an important part of food and diet in the rural areas of many regions/countries. It is made up of sugarcane juice and is recognized as a natural source of nutraceuticals due to the presence of different types of essential amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidant potential along with other biological applications. In this updated review article, we discussed the newest research and information on traditional uses, nutraceutical profiling, chemical composition, and biological applications of jaggery. The published data were collected from different scientific search engines including PubMed, Springer Link, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Wiley online library. Given these findings, we can conclude that jaggery is a strong source of nutraceuticals and its nutraceutical potential can be enhanced with value addition and other scientific interventions. Detailed investigations on preclinical (in silico, in vitro, and in vivo) studies along with its actual mechanism of action in depth are required. Additionally, clinical trials also should be conducted to validate the preclinical studies.

Assessment of Microbial, Physicochemical and Shelf-life of Sugarcane Jaggery Stored in Various Types of Packaging Materials

“…As a result, food technologists are assessing several less expensive ways for farmers to store Jaggery for an extended period of time.The right packing material should be chosen to protect Jaggery from contamination and moisture gain during storage and transportation in order to prolong the product's shelf life. Due to its low processing, Jaggery has a short shelf life and requires certain storage conditions [10]. The shelf life study of Jaggery packaged under specified packaging is important because it identifies the type of packaging that effectively extends the product's shelf life without loss of its quality.…”

"Evaluation of Edible Coatings Containing Black Pepper (Piper Nigrum) and Turmeric (Curcuma Longa L) for Enhancement of Shelf Life of Jaggery"

“…Jaggery is regarded as a therapeutic sugar in Indian Ayurvedic medicine, used to heal lung and throat infections. In vivo studies reported that a dietary supplement of Jaggery was found to exhibit health benefits [1] Jaggery being a least processed sugar retains phenolics and other phytochemicals with potent biological activities like antioxidant, cytoprotective and anthelmintic activity [2]. The physical and chemical composition of Jaggery as well as its storage environment play a significant role in determining the quality of product.…”