Title of Invention

Osmotic dehydration process for the preparation of prebiotic enriched fruits and vegetables using fructooligosaccharide syrup

Abstract

The invention relates to the development of Pre-biotic enriched fruits and vegetables. The prebiotic syrup used is Fructooligosaccharide syrup obtained by the action of Fructosyl- Transferase enzyme on sucrose. The process involves the osmotic dehydration / impregnation of fruits and vegetable chunks with prebiotic syrup for a defined period followed by surface drying and further drying by suitable methods to a final moisture level of 5-8%.The final product obtained is enriched with prebiotics. The final product contains about 12-14g of FOS/ 100g product. It can be used as topping for ice-cream, biscuits, chocolates, breads, sweetened puffs and buns. It can also be used in Indian traditional sweet dishes such as payasam in addition to raisins and nuts. The final product exhibits functional properties like non-cariogenicity, low calorific value and prebiotic property.

Full Text

The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of prebiotic enriched fruits and vegetables by osmotic dehydration using fructooligosaccharide syrup. The process in particular uses the fructooligosaccharide syrup produced by the action of Fructosyl Transferase (FTase) enzyme on table sugar solution. The fruits and vegetables are enriched with FOS and in turn FOS is enriched with leached out nutrients from the fruits and vegetables. The FTase for the production of FOS obtained from Aspergillus oryzae MTCC 5154 grown by submerged fermentation. The interest in developing functional food is rising, driven largely by the market potential for foods and beverages that can improve the health and well being of consumers. Reference may be made to L.Berner and J.O'Donnell international Dairy Journal, 8, 355-362, 1998, wherein functional food or nutraceuticals were defined as food containing health promoting components that extend beyond traditional nutrients. References may be made to B.H.Lee, Fundamentals of Food Biotechnology, VCH, Publishers Inc, New York, 1996, wherein a vast and rapidly growing body of scientific data shows that diet plays an important part in disease management. Diet is thought to contribute to 6 of the 10 leading causes of death. Upto 70% of certain cancers may be attributed to diet. There is an increasing demand by consumers for quality of life, which is fueling the nutraceutical revolution. The use of nutraceuticals in daily diet is one of the means to reduce escalating health care costs, that will contribute not only to a longer lifespan, but also more importantly, to a longer health span. Development of foods that promote health and well being is one of the key research priorities of food industry. This trend has increased the consumption of foods enriched with physiologically active components (PAC) such as pre-biotics, pro-biotics, vitamins and minerals, dietary fiber, fish oils and plant sterols. The traditional ingredients like vitamins and minerals used to fortify functional foods are widely recognized and accepted by consumers as being healthy. However, novel functional ingredients like pre-biotics and pro-biotics are less familiar to consumers. References may be made to R. Fuller, Journal of Applied Bacteriology, 66. 65-72,1989, wherein pro-biotics were defined as "friendly" microorganisms that contribute to health and to the balance of the intestinal tract. References may be made to K. Kailasapathy and J. Chin, Immunology and Cell Biology, 78, 80-88, 2000, wherein it is reported that the probiotic organisms have been shown to exert numerous health benefits when ingested on a regular basis. References may be made to T. Matilla-Sandholm et . al, Trends in Food Science and Technology, 10, 393-399,1999, wherein it is documented that probiotics can improve overall health, increase immune system function and assist in the absorption of vitamins and minerals. In comparison to probiotics, the prebiotics are non-viable food components that are necessary for an immune system. References may be made to C.J, Ziemer &G.R. Gibson, International Dairy Journal, 8,473-479,1998, wherein the prebiotics were reported to selectively nourish the beneficial intestinal flora, stimulate their development, and reinforce their action. The development and consumption of functional foods, or foods that promote health beyond providing basic nutrition, are on the rise. Vacuum Impregnation, Atmospheric Impregnation and/or Osmotic Dehydration seem to be feasible technologies for exploitation of fruit and vegetable tissues as new matrices into which functional ingredients can be successfully incorporated, providing novel functional product categories and new commercial opportunities. The impregnation behaviour of vegetable and fruit matrices is highly produce-specific and processing and storage of these functional foods may have profound effect on health benefits. Fruit and vegetable matrices will certainly be an important research and development area for future functional food markets. Knowledge to assess the effects of these matrices in the body is also a highly desirable goal. Even with the development of newer drying techniques, most fruits and vegetables are still air- dried because this method of dehydration is still the simplest and most economical. Major problems associated with air dehydration are the considerable shrinkage caused by the cell collapse following the loss of water, the poor rehydration characteristic of the dried product, and the unfavorable changes in colour, texture, flavour and nutritive value caused by drying. Water removal from piece - form foods is primarily done to lower water activity, so that microbial growth is inhibited. One of the more energy efficient means of removing moisture from a food piece is by osmotic dehydration, since water does not have to go through a phase change. The technique of using the difference in osmotic potential between a product and the medium surrounding it has been used on various food items. Osmotic treatments are based on placing foods in a hypertonic sugar/salt solution in order to obtain some effects on concentration, dehydration and impregnation -formulation of food itself by exchange of solutes with the solution. It is possible to a certain extent, to change the food system formulation, making it more suitable to further processing by: • Adjusting the physico-chemical composition of food by reducing water content, or adding water activity lowering agents • Incorporating ingredients or additives with anti-oxidant, or other preservative properties into the food • Adding solutes of nutritional or sensory interest • Providing a larger range of food consistency. Many authors have studied the different aspect of osmotic dehydration such as the solutes to be employed, the influence of process behaviour on drying behaviour, the opportunity to combine osmosis to other stabilizing techniques, and the quality of final products etc. Some of the stated advantages of direct osmosis in comparison with other drying processes include minimized heat damage to colour and flavor and less discolourization of fruit by enzymatic oxidative browning. References may be made to Rodriguez, 1998 Rodriguez, M. I. (1998). Estudio de la penetration de microorganismos enfrutas mediante el modelo Hidrodinzmico (HDM). Thesis. Institute de Ciencia y Tecnologia de Alimentos, Universidad Central de Venezuela, wherein conducted basic impregnation studies with different microorganisms (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Phoma glomeratd) to evaluate their penetration by Vacuum Impregnation into a porous fruit tissue. Apple was selected as a model of porous fruit, cut into cylinders and impregnated with sucrose isotonic solution containing the microorganisms. The draw back of the product is the high content of sucrose, which restricts its use due to high calorie and no prebiotic effect. References may be made to J.E.Contreras and T.C.Smyrl, Can.Inst.Food Science and Technology, 14,310,1981, wherein the use of corn syrup solids (dextrose equivalent 28) as the osmotic solute to concentrate apple rings was reported. It was observed that the weight of apple rings could be reduced by 70% during the osmotic concentration process. The excessive intake of the sugar with more calorific value is a major problem of this process. References may be made to J.H.Moy, N.B.H.Lau, and A.M.Dollar, Journal of Food Processing, 2:131, 1978, wherein; intermediate moisture foods were produced by immersing the fruit into a 70 Brix sucrose solution to reduce their weight by 50 %. But the product showed stickiness due to the excess amount of sucrose. References may be made to J.C.Curry, E.E.Burns and N.D.HeidelbaughJournal of Food Science, 41,176,1976 and H.J. Neumann, Journal of Food Science , 37, 437, 1972, wherein the treatment of sliced vegetables with sodium chloride, sugars and glycol prior to dehydration improved rehydration, colour, texture and flavour of the finished product. Here the mixed taste of salt and sugar reduces the consumer demand of the product. The product also lacks functional properties. References may be made to J. Hawkes and J.M.Flink, Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 2: 265, 1978, wherein the taste scores were reported which verify the organoleptic acceptability of apple slices concentrated by sucrose osmotic solutions. It has been stated that fruit dried using sugar are in fact candy, due to high percentage of sugar added to the fruit. The effectiveness of mixed carbohydrate systems for osmotic concentration of apple slices was also reported. Since the calorific value of sucrose is very high, health conscious consumer may not accept this product. No reports are available on the development of prebiotic enriched fruit and vegetables. FOS are functional food ingredients and have become of major interest because of their prebiotic characteristics. The specific physiological effects on humans, for example growth stimulation of beneficial Bifidobacteria in the digestive tract, decrease of total cholesterol and lipid in serum, relief of constipation and general improvement of human health are other important characteristics. These short chain Fructans are only about one-third as sweet as sucrose and have low calorific value. The main object of the present invention is to provide a Pre-biotic enriched fruits and vegetables by osmotic dehydration using Fructooligosaccharide syrup. Accordingly, the present invention provides a process for the production of Pre-biotic enriched fruits and vegetables by osmotic dehydration using Fructooligosaccharide syrup comprising of (a) Preparing a 60°Brix table sugar solution by dissolving table sugar solution in water and separating the impurities by filtering. (b) Adding a known amount of Fructosyl Tranferase (FTase) enzyme (enzyme-substrate ratio is 1:9 to 1:3 (v/v)) prepared as described in the earlier patents (411/DEL/2001, 439/DEL/2001, 66/DEL/2002, 163/DEL/2002, 521/DEL/03) to the60° Brix sugar solution. (c) Incubating the culture fluid with the 60° Brix sugar solution for 18 hours at 55° C, pH 5- 5.5 (d) Concentrating the mixture to increase the °Brix from 50-80. (e) Placing carrot and semi ripened papaya cubes in the Fructooligosaccharide syrup at a ratio of 2:3 (w/v) for 18 hours at 55° C under continuous shaking. (f) Separating the products after the Osmotic dehydration and allowing them for surface drying by keeping open, in the air for a few minutes. (g) The products were further dried, using vacuum or hot air dehydration to about 5 % moisture, (h) Analyzing the products for rehydration efficiency, texture, colour, moisture, nutrients and FOS The process for the production of pre-biotic enriched fruits and vegetables is illustrated in the following flow chart 70° brix) Carrot and semi ripened papaya cubes and FOS syrup (52° brix, 60° brix or At a ratio of 2:3(w/v) Incubation at 55 C for 18 hours Draining the product and surface drying Drying in hot air oven at 60° C to a final moisture level of 5 % Product Analysis Novelty: The novelty of the process is that it uses fructooligosaccharides syrup for the enrichment of fruit and vegetables. The final product contains about 12-14g of FOS /lOOg product. It can be used as topping for ice-cream, biscuits, chocolates, breads, sweetened puffs and buns. It can also be used in Indian traditional sweets dishes such as payasam in addition to raisins and nuts. The final product exhibits functional properties like non-cariogenicity, low calorific value and prebiotic property. The product improves mineral absorption, reduces the total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the body. Another novelty of the process is the value addition to fruits and vegetables. Also, use of FOS syrup improves the texture, colour, taste and shelf life of the product. Presence of FOS also reduces the chance of microbial contamination to the product to a considerable level. The FOS syrup is also enriched by the leached out nutrients. The following examples are given by a way of illustration of the present invention and therefore should not be constructed to limit the scope of the present invention. The microorganism used for production of Fructosyl transferase (FTase) enzyme is deposited in MTCC vide accession No. MTCC 5154 at IMTECH, Chandigarh, India EXAMPLE : 1 Cleaned carrots with an initial moisture content of 90+0.5 were cut into 1 cm3 cubes and incubated with 52° brix Fructooligosaccharide syrup in a carrot - osmotic solution ratio of 2:3 (w/v) for 18 hours at 55° C with shaking. After incubation, osmotically dehydrated products were drained and allowed for surface drying by keeping open in the air for a few minutes. The osmotically dried product had a final moisture content of 63 + 0.5%. The product was then dried to a final moisture level of 5 % by keeping in a hot air oven at 60 C. A known amount of the final product were collected randomly and macerated with a minimum known quantity of water by using a mortar and pestle. The paste formed was filtered with a muslin cloth. The filtrate was appropriately diluted with distilled water and analysed by HPLC using a Refractive Index Detector for Detecting the FOS content. The final product showed a maximum FOS content of about 7.69 g per 100 g of osmotically dried carrots. The amount of p-Carotene pigment leached out into the FOS syrup was determined by taking the difference between the p-Carotene content of the fresh carrots before dehydration and the P-Carotene content of the carrots after osmotic dehydration. (Ranganna, 1997, Plant pigments. In: Manual of analysis of fruit and vegetable products; pp 73-77). The percentage loss of P-Carotene from carrots was found to be 24.03% and the amount of P-Carotene gained by 100 ml of FOS during osmotic dehydration was found to be 1198 ug. The texture of the product was measured at 25 % Compression (Load Cell: 1000N and Cross-head speed 50 mm/ minute) and was expressed as N. The texture was 43+1 N as against 104 + 1 N for the fresh product. The colour of the product was measured using a Hunterlab Colour measuring system. The L, a and b values for the final products were found to be 34.41, 14.68 and 17.17 respectively as against 51.67, 27.45 and 26.94 respectively for the fresh carrots. The rehydration ratio of the end product (after drying to a final moisture level of 8%) cooked at different durations of 3, 6 and 9 minutes were found to be 1.46, 1.56 and 1.76 respectively. EXAMPLE :2 Cleaned carrots with an initial moisture content of 91+0.5 were cut into cubes of 1 cm3 and incubated with 60° brix Fructooligosaccharide syrup in a carrot - osmotic solution ratio of 2:3 (w/v) for 18 hours at 55° C with shaking. After incubation, osmotically dehydrated products were drained and allowed for surface drying by keeping open in the air for a few minutes. The osmotically dried product showed moisture content of 56 + 0.5%. The products were then dried to a final moisture level of 5 % by keeping in a hot air oven at 60°C . A known amount of the final product were collected randomly and macerated with a minimum known quantity of water by using a mortar and pestle. The paste formed was filtered with a muslin cloth. The filtrate was appropriately diluted with distilled water and analysed by HPLC using a Refractive Index Detector for Detecting the FOS content. The final product showed a maximum FOS content of about 11.19 g per 100 g of osmotically dried carrots The amount of p-Carotene pigment leached out into the FOS syrup was determined by taking the difference between the P-Carotene content of the fresh carrots before dehydration and the P-Carotene content of the carrots after osmotic dehydration. (Ranganna, 1997, Plant pigments: In: Manual of analysis of fruit and vegetable products; pp 73-77). The percentage loss of P-Carotene from carrots was found to be 23.79% and the amount of P-Carotene gained by 100 ml of FOS during osmotic dehydration was found to be 1104 ug. The texture of the product was measured at 25 % Compression (Load Cell: 1000N and Cross-head speed 50 mm/ minute) and was expressed as N. The texture was found to be 8+1 N as against 104 + 1 N for the fresh carrots. The colour of the product was measured in a Hunterlab Colour measuring system. The L, a and b values for the final products were found to be 37.25, 24.82 and 19.23 respectively as against 51.67, 27.45 and 26.95 respectively for the fresh carrots. The rehydration ratio of the end product (after drying to a final moisture level of 8%) cooked at different durations of 3, 6 and 9 minutes were found to be 1.2, 1.23 and 1.33 respectively. EXAMPLE ;3 Cleaned carrots with an initial moisture content of 90+0.5 were cut into cubes of 1 cm3 and incubated with 70 brix Fructooligosaccharide syrup in a carrot - osmotic solution ratio of 2:3 (w/v) for 18 hours at 55 C with shaking. After incubation, osmotically dehydrated products were drained and allowed for surface drying by keeping open in the air for a few minutes. The osmotically dried product showed moisture content of 50 + 0.5%. The products were then dried to a final moisture level of 5% by keeping in a hot air oven at 60°C . A known amount of the final product were collected randomly and macerated with a minimum known quantity of water by using a mortar and pestle. The paste formed was filtered with a muslin cloth. The filtrate was appropriately diluted with distilled water and analysed by HPLC using a Refractive Index Detector for Detecting the FOS content. The final product showed a maximum FOS content of about 14.23 g per 100 g of osmotically dried carrots The amount of p-Carotene pigment leached out into the FOS syrup was determined by taking the difference between the P-Carotene content of the fresh carrots before dehydration and the p-Carotene content of the carrots after osmotic dehydration. (Ranganna, 1997, Plant pigments: In: Manual of analysis of fruit and vegetable products; pp 73-77). The percentage loss of P-Carotene from carrots during osmotic dehydration was found to be 17.4% and the amount of p-Carotene gained by 100 ml of FOS during osmotic dehydration was found to be 866 jag. The texture of the product was measured at 25 % Compression (Load Cell: 1000N and Cross-head speed 50 mm/ minute) and was expressed as N. The texture was found to be 3+1 N as against!04+ 1 N for fresh carrots. The colour of the product was measured in a Hunterlab Colour measuring system. The L, a and b values for the final products were found to be 38.67, 20.70 and 19.88 respectively as against 51.67, 27.45 and 26.95 respectively for fresh carrots. The rehydration ratio of the end product ( after drying to a final moisture level of 8%) cooked at different durations of 3, 6 and 9 minutes were found to be 1.26, 1.40 and 1.43 respectively. EXAMPLES Cleaned carrots with an initial moisture content of 90+0.5 were cut into cubes of 1 cm and incubated with 60° brix Table sugar solution in a carrot - osmotic solution ratio of 2:3 (w/v) for 18 hours at 55 C with shaking. After incubation, osmotically dehydrated products were drained and allowed for surface drying by keeping open in the air for a few minutes. The osmotically dried product showed a moisture content of 51+ 0.5%. The product were then dried to a final moisture level of 5% by keeping in a hot air oven at 60°C . A known amount of the final product were collected randomly and macerated with a minimum known quantity of water by using a mortar and pestle. The paste formed was filtered with a muslin cloth. The filtrate was appropriately diluted with distilled water and analysed by HPLC using a Refractive Index Detector for detecting any FOS content. The final product showed the absence of FOS. The amount of P-Carotene pigment leached out into the FOS syrup was determined by taking the difference between the p-Carotene content of the fresh carrots before dehydration and the P-Carotene content of the carrots after osmotic dehydration. (Ranganna, 1997, Plant pigments. In: Manual of analysis of fruit and vegetable products; pp 73-77). The percentage loss of P-Carotene from carrots during osmotic dehydration was found to be 24.37% and the amount of P-Carotene gained by 100 ml of osmotic sugar solution during osmotic dehydration was found to be 1278ug. The texture of the product was measured at 25 % Compression (Load Cell: 1000N and Cross-head speed 50 mm/ minute) and was expressed as N. The texture was found to be 13+1 N as against 104+ 1 N for fresh carrots. The colour of the product was measured in a Hunterlab Colour measuring system. The L, a and b values for the final products were found to be 36.57, 19.12 and 18.76 respectively as against 51.67, 27.45 and 26.95 respectively for fresh carrots The rehydration ratio of the end product (after drying to a final moisture level of 8%) cooked at different durations of 3, 6 and 9 minutes were found to bel.43, 1.63 and 1.76 respectively. EXAMPLE : 5 Cleaned and peeled semi ripened papaya fruits with an initial moisture content of 91+0.5 were cut into 1 cm3 cubes and incubated with 52 brix Fructooligosaccharide syrup in a papaya- osmotic solution ratio of 2:3 (w/v) for 18 hours at 55° C with shaking. After incubation, osmotically dehydrated products were drained and allowed for surface drying by keeping open in the air for a few minutes. The osmotically dried product had a final moisture content of 66+0.5%. The product were then dried to a final moisture level of 5 % by keeping in a hot air oven at 60 C . A known amount of the final product were collected randomly and macerated with a minimum known quantity of water by using a mortar and pestle. The paste formed was filtered with a muslin cloth. The filtrate was appropriately diluted with distilled water and analysed by HPLC using a Refractive Index Detector for Detecting the FOS content. The final product showed a maximum FOS content of about 7.78 g per 100 g of osmotically dried papaya. The amount of p-Carotene pigment leached out into the FOS syrup was determined by taking the difference between the P-Carotene content of the fresh papaya before dehydration and the P-Carotene content of the papaya after osmotic dehydration. (Ranganna,, 1997, Plant pigments. In: Manual of analysis of fruit and vegetable products; pp 73-77). The percentage loss of P-Carotene from papaya was found to be 43% and the amount of P-Carotene gained by 100 ml of FOS during osmotic dehydration was found to be 827 ^g. The texture of the product was measured at 25 % Compression (Load Cell: 1000N and Cross head speed 50 mm/ minute) and was expressed as N. The texture was found to be 16+1 N as against 20+ 1 N for fresh papaya. The colour of the product was measured in a Hunterlab Colour measuring system. The L, a and b values for the final products were found to be 43.55, -0.97 and 19.26 respectively as against 50.90, 1.18 and 21.38 respectively for fresh papaya. The rehydration ratio of the end product (after drying to a final moisture level of 8%) cooked at different durations of 3, 6 and 9 minutes were found to bel.53, 1.56 and 1.66 respectively. EXAMPLE: 6 Cleaned and peeled semi ripened papaya with an initial moisture content of 91+0.5 were cut into cubes of 1 cm3 and incubated with 60° brix Fructooligosaccharide syrup in a papaya- osmotic solution ratio of 2:3 (w/v) for 18 hours at 55° C with shaking. After incubation, osmotically dehydrated products were drained and allowed for surface drying by keeping open in the air for a few minutes. The osmotically dried product showed moisture content of 62 + 0.5%. The products were then dried to a final moisture level of 5 % by keeping in a hot air oven at 60°C . A known amount of the final product were collected randomly and macerated with a minimum known quantity of water by using a mortar and pestle. The paste formed was filtered with a muslin cloth. The filtrate was appropriately diluted with distilled water and analysed by HPLC using a Refractive Index Detector for Detecting the FOS content. The final product showed a maximum FOS content of about 8.72 g per 100 g of osmotically dried papaya. The amount of P-Carotene pigment leached out into the FOS syrup was determined by taking the difference between the P-Carotene content of the fresh papaya before dehydration and the P-Carotene content of the papaya after osmotic dehydration. (Ranganna,, 1997, Plant pigments: In: Manual of analysis of fruit and vegetable products; pp 73-77). The percentage loss of P-Carotene from papaya was found to be 31% and the amount of P-Carotene gained by 100 ml of FOS during osmotic dehydration was found to be 507 f.tg. The texture of the product was measured at 25 % Compression (Load Cell: 1000N and Cross-head speed 50 mm/ minute). The texture was found to be 13+1 N as against 20+ 1 N for fresh papaya. The colour of the product was measured in a Hunterlab Colour measuring system. The L, a and b values for the final product were found to be 41.54, 0.56 and 20.10 respectively as against 50.90, 1.18 and 21.38 respectively for fresh papaya. The rehydration ratio of the end product ( after drying to a final moisture level of 8%) cooked at different durations of 3, 6 and 9 minutes were found to be 1.40. 1.46 and 1.53 respectively. EXAMPLE: 7 Cleaned and peeled semi ripened papaya with an initial moisture content of 91+0.5 were cut into cubes of 1 cm and incubated with 70° brix Fructooligosaccharide syrup in a papaya - osmotic solution ratio of 2:3 (w/v) for 18 hours at 55 C with shaking. After incubation, osmotically dehydrated products were drained and allowed for surface drying by keeping open in the air for a few minutes. The osmotically dried product showed moisture content of 54 + 0.5%. The products were then dried to a final moisture level of 5% by keeping in a hot air oven at 60 C . A known amount of the final product were collected randomly and macerated with a minimum known quantity of water by using a mortar and pestle. The paste formed was filtered with a muslin cloth. The filtrate was appropriately diluted with distilled water and analysed by HPLC using a Refractive Index Detector for Detecting the FOS content. The final product showed a maximum FOS content of about 12.01g per 100 g of osmotically dried papaya. The amount of P-Carotene pigment leached out into the FOS syrup was determined by taking the difference between the P-Carotene content of the fresh carrots before dehydration and the P-Carotene content of the carrots after osmotic dehydration. (Ranganna, 1997, Plant pigments: In: Manual of analysis of fruit and vegetable products; pp 73-77). ). The percentage loss of P-Carotene from papaya was found to be 16% and the amount of P-Carotene gained by 100 ml of FOS during osmotic dehydration was found to be 261 fag. The texture of the product was measured at 25 % Compression (Load Cell: 1000N and Cross-head speed 50 mm/ minute) and was expressed as N. The texture was found to be 3+1 N as against 20+ 1 N for fresh papaya. The colour of the product was measured in a Hunterlab Colour measuring system. The L, a and b values for the final products were found to be 44.14, 2.69 and 21.91 respectively as against 50.90. 1.18 and 21.38 for fresh papaya respectively. The rehydration ratio of the end product ( after drying to a final moisture level of 8%) cooked at different durations of 3, 6 and 9 minutes were found to be 1.46, 1.50 and 1.53 respectively. EXAMPLE: 8 Cleaned and peeled semi ripened papaya with an initial moisture content of 91+0.5 were cut into cubes of 1 cm3 and incubated with 60° brix Table sugar solution in a papaya -osmotic solution ratio of 2:3 (w/v) for 18 hours at 55 C with shaking. After incubation, osmotically dehydrated products were drained and allowed for surface drying by keeping open in the air for a few minutes. The osmotically dried product showed a moisture content of 56+_0.5%.The product were then dried to a final moisture level of 5% by keeping in a hot air oven at 60°C . A known amount of the final product were collected randomly and macerated with a minimum known quantity of water by using a mortar and pestle. The paste formed was filtered with a muslin cloth. The filtrate was appropriately diluted with distilled water and analysed by HPLC using a Refractive Index Detector for detecting any FOS content. The final product showed the absence of FOS. The amount of P-Carotene pigment leached out into the FOS syrup was determined by taking the difference between the p-Carotene content of the fresh carrots before dehydration and the P-Carotene content of the carrots after osmotic dehydration. (Ranganna, 1997, Plant pigments. In: Manual of analysis of fruit and vegetable products; pp 73-77). The percentage loss of P-Carotene from papaya was found to be 43% and the amount of P-Carotene gained by 100 ml of osmotic sugar solution during osmotic dehydration was found to be 706 ug. The texture of the product was measured at 25 % Compression (Load Cell: 1000N and Cross-head speed 50 mm/ minute) and was expressed as N. The texture was found to be 8+1 N as against 20+ 1 N for fresh papaya. The colour of the product was measured in a Hunterlab Colour measuring system. The L, a and b values for the final products were found to be 39.49, -0.28 and 19.93 respectively as against 50.90, 1.18 and 21.38 respectively for fresh papaya. The rehydration ratio of the end product ( after drying to a final moisture level of 8%) cooked at different durations of 3, 6 and 9 minutes were found to be 1.40, 1.76 and 1.83 respectively. The summary of the results of the examples are indicated in the following tables (Table Removed) the product carrots and papaya measured at 25% Compression level Table: 8 Colour of the product carrots and papaya measured in Hunterlab Colour measuring system: Table:9 Rehydration ratio of osmotically dehydrated Carrots oven dried to a moisture level of 8% Table: 10 Rehydration ratio of osmotically dehydrated Papaya oven dried to a moisture level of 8% (Table Removed)ADVANTAGES: The novelty of the process is that it uses fructooligosaccharides syrup for the enrichment of fruit and vegetables. 1) The final product contains about 12-14g of FOS /lOOg product. It can be used as topping for ice-cream, biscuits, chocolates, breads, sweetened puffs and buns. 2) It can also be used in Indian traditional sweets dishes such as payasam in addition to raisins and nuts. 3) The final product exhibits functional properties like non-cariogenicity, low calorific value and prebiotic property. 4) The product improves mineral absorption, reduces the total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the body. 5) Also, use of FOS syrup improves the texture, colour, taste and shelf life of the product. Presence of FOS also reduces the chance of microbial contamination to the product to a considerable level. 6) The FOS syrup is also enriched by the leached out nutrients. We claim: 1. A process for the preparation of prebiotic enriched fruits and vegetables by osmotic dehydration using fructooligosaccharide syrup which comprises the steps of: a) preparing by conventional process, a sugar solution having Brix index values in the range of 55 -65 deg Brix; adding Fructosyl transferase enzyme to the above said sugar solution at the ratio in the range of 1:9 to 1:3 (v/v); incubating the resulting culture fluid for a period of 15-20 hours at pH in the range of 5-5.5;concentrating the enzyme digested mixture to obtain the Brix values in the range of 75-85 deg Brix; b) cutting, into small pieces of 1 cubic centimeter size, the fruits and vegetables represented by papaya and carrot respectively; c) contacting the above said pieces of fruits and vegetables obtained in step (b) with fructooligosaccharide syrup solution obtained in step (a) at the ratio of 2:3 w/v under continuous shaking at a temperature in the range of 50-60 deg C for a period of 18 hours in order to osmotically dehydrate the prebiotic enriched food product; and d) removing the said dehydrated prebiotic enriched food product from the osmotic solution, air drying for 5 minutes followed by vacuum or hot air dehydration by a known method at a temperature in the range of 55-65 deg C in order to obtain final prebiotic enriched food product having moisture content in the range of 4.5-5.5 percent. 2) A process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the product obtained has the characteristic features of final moisture content in the range of 50-54% w/w, FOS content in the range of 7-14 % by w/w, p- carotene content in the range of 52- 84 percent (w/w) initial (3- carotene content, rehydration ratio in the range of 1.33- 1.83, redness index in the range of 14-20 (for carrots) and a yellowness index of 19-22 ( for papaya) and a texture of 3-16 N at 25% compression. 3) A process as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein the said prebiotic enriched food Product is used for topping confectionary products. 4) A process as claimed in claims 1 and 3, wherein the said prebiotic enriched food product is used for topping ice creams, biscuits, chocolates and the like. 5) A process as claimed in claims 1 and 4, wherein the said prebiotic enriched food product is used for topping bakery products. 6) A process as claimed in claims 1 and 5, wherein the said prebiotic enriched food product is used for topping bread, sweetened puffs, buns and the like. 7) A process as claimed in claims 1 and 6, wherein the said prebiotic enriched food product is used in the preparation of traditional sweet dishes selected from payasam, raisins, nuts and the like.

Documents:

703-DEL-2006-Abstract-(02-03-2012).pdf

703-del-2006-Abstract-(07-11-2013).pdf

703-del-2006-abstract.pdf

703-DEL-2006-Claims-(02-03-2012).pdf

703-del-2006-Claims-(07-11-2013).pdf

703-del-2006-claims.pdf

703-DEL-2006-Correspondence Others-(02-03-2012).pdf

703-del-2006-correspondence-others 1.pdf

703-del-2006-Correspondence-Others-(07-11-2013).pdf

703-del-2006-correspondence-others.pdf

703-DEL-2006-Description (Complete)-(02-03-2012).pdf

703-del-2006-Description (Complete)-(07-11-2013).pdf

703-del-2006-description (complete).pdf

703-del-2006-form-1.pdf

703-del-2006-form-18.pdf

703-DEL-2006-Form-2-(02-03-2012).pdf

703-del-2006-Form-2-(07-11-2013).pdf

703-del-2006-form-2.pdf

703-DEL-2006-Form-3-(02-03-2012).pdf

703-del-2006-form-3.pdf

703-del-2006-form-5.pdf