The present investigation, entitled “Process standardization and storage evaluation of developed
whole unripe pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) powder in mechanical cabinet air dryer” was
conducted in the Department of Food Technology, Parul University. The goal of this study was to
develop pumpkin powder from whole unripe pumpkin. The developed product was examined for
various physico-chemical attributes, including storage stability and the FT-IR procedure for
identification of functional groups. Pumpkins are rich in beta-carotene, carbohydrates, thiamine,
riboflavin, and minerals like potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and selenium increases its
use in production of juice, pomade, pickles, and dried products. The standardized blanching time
was 2 min at 80ºC temperature. The nutritional analysis of pumpkin powder revealed that protein,
fiber, fat, calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc contents of the freshly developed pumpkin powder
were 10.54 per cent, 7.63 per cent, 1.80 per cent, 10.54 mg/100g, 294.21 mg/100g, 6.96 mg/100g
and 7.02 mg/100g respectively. The results of the FT-IR analysis confirmed the presence of lipids
at 1021.05 cm-1, OH from lipids or other compounds such as carboxylic acid and ketone at 3267.27cm-1 and 338.56 cm-1 and CH absorption at 2926 cm-1 in the developed powder. The developed
pumpkin powder was packed in polyethylene and stored for 3 months under refrigeration condition
(4oC) and ambient condition (18-38oC). The moisture content was increased while ash, protein and
fat content were decreased at both ambient and refregiration temperature.Thus refrigeration
temperature could be regarded as better storage temperature as it could retain maximum amount
of nutrients.
Keywords: Unripe pumpkin, Mechanical cabinet air dryer, FT-IR, Antioxidant
Publication date: 01/05/2024
https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2024/May/MS_IJBPAS_2024_8023.pdf
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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2024/13.5.8023
