Development of food products made from chayamansa leaves (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius)

Chayamansa (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) is a plant that is vastly underutilized. It can tolerate a variety of weather conditions. If Chaya leaf is appropriately promoted, it will undoubtedly become a popular leafy vegetable for treating a variety of health conditions such as anemia, diabetes, kidney stones, and many more. Consumer acceptable traditional and convenience food products were standardized and subjected to shelf life studies. The processed leaf powder and RTC products were discreetly packed in laminated zip lock pouches, ensuring optimal preservation under ambient conditions. The microbial profiles of the stored leaf powder samples were carefully monitored at three-month intervals. A diverse range of traditional foods and RTE products, including ‘Idli’, ‘steamed kozhukatta’, ‘garlic chutney’, ‘Soup mix’,‘ragi weaning mix’, and ‘dry coconut chutney’, were standardized by varying the amounts and proportion of ingredients across four distinct treatments. A panel of 30 sensory evaluators assessed the various formulations, focusing on five key parameters: appearance, colour, flavour, taste, and overall acceptability. The evaluation was conducted using a nine-point hedonic scale, thus ensuring a thorough and nuanced appraisal of each sample’s sensory appeal. From the sensory evaluation the outstanding treatments were selected. In traditional foods, Idli CI1 with the least quantity of leaves was the best treatment and for Steamed kozhukkatta SK2 with 10 gm of chaya leaves outperformed other formulations, in garlic chutney GC1 and GC3 were on par with 5gm and 15 gm of chaya leaves respectively. The ready to cook products namely weaning mix, soup mix and chutney mix revealed better acceptance with 10 gm of chayamansa leaves. In the RTC products remarkably, no pathogens were detected throughout the entire three-month observation period, of the soup mix and chutney mix, highlighting the exceptional quality and safety of the products.