Abstract

NUTRITIONAL PROFILE AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF MICRONUTRIENT RICH TRADITIONAL FOOD PRODUCTS PREPARED WITH PUMPKIN SEED, WATERMELON SEED AND BOTTLE GOURD SEEDS

Sharma Megha*, Prasad Ranu and Gupta Alka

ABSTRACT

Various parts of pumpkin, watermelon and bottle gourd have been traditionally used as ethno medicine for a number of disorders, including different diseases. They come under the classification of highly perishable food. Trace elements such as Zinc, Vitamins, carotenoids, tocopherol and other substances like proteins, phytosterols, Polly-unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants are naturally present in seeds that can be important to human health The seed is an excellent source of protein and also has pharmacological activities such as anti-diabetic, antifungal, antibacterial, anti-inflammation activities and antioxidant effects. Besides, it is economical and a nutrient dense source, seed flour fortified complementary food mix is economical, with highly acceptable sensory qualities and a rich nutritive value. The present study was carried out “Nutritional profile and antioxidant activity of micronutrient rich traditional food products prepared with pumpkin seed, watermelon seed and bottle gourd seeds” with the objectives to assess the nutritional composition and antioxidant composition of composite flour and the incorporation of these composite flour products at different levels and to assess the Organoleptic evaluation of paratha and mathri. Nutritional composition of prepared products were analyzed. Cucurbit seeds have high nutritional quality mainly in terms of its protein and oil content and hence creating considerable interest for its study.

Keywords: Composite Flour, Nutritional Composition, Sensory Evaluation.