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Co-crystallization of sucrose with Azadirachta indica extract and zinc sulfate: a simultaneous approach towards debittering and food fortification

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Abstract

Neem (Azadiracta indica) is a well-known medicinal plant having therapeutic applications in malaria and dengue. However, its use is restricted by extreme bitterness. This work presents an approach to reduce the bitterness of neem juice (NJ) by adding it (3% to 10% w/v) at 20% v/w in pharmaceutical grade sugar to which zinc sulfate (5% to 15% w/v of NJ) was added to prepare co-crystallized sugar cubes (each of 5 ± 0.5 g) using D-optimal design. The sugar cubes were evaluated for overall acceptability, bitterness, and astringency using Temporal Dominance of Sensation (TDS). The optimized sugar cubes had zinc (13 mg/cube) with good encapsulation efficiency (77%) that met 73% of its RDA. Entrapment of zinc reduced the bitterness, while that of NJ stabilized its antioxidant properties. The polyphenol content of the sugar cubes, evaluated during 75-day storage decreased with an increase in temperature (5/25/35 °C) and relative humidity (33/63/93%).

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India [Sanction number- DST/INSPIRE/Fellowship/2018/IF180205 dated 8th February 2019] for their financial assistance in carrying out this study.

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  1. Food Engineering and Technology Department, Institute of Chemical Technology, N.P. Marg, Matunga, Mumbai, 400019, India

    Shilpa B. Jana & Rekha S. Singhal

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  1. Shilpa B. Jana
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SBJ: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Analysis, Investigation, writing original draft, Visualization, Software RSS: Conceptualization, Supervision, Project administration, Resources, Writing—Reviewing and Editing.

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Correspondence to Rekha S. Singhal.

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Jana, S.B., Singhal, R.S. Co-crystallization of sucrose with Azadirachta indica extract and zinc sulfate: a simultaneous approach towards debittering and food fortification. Food Measure 18, 1433–1451 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11694-023-02211-0

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