Title of Invention

A PROCESS FOR PREPARATION OF DIETARY FIBRE FROM GARDEN CRESS SEEDS (LEPIDIUM SATIVUM)

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process of preparation of dietary fibre from garden cress (Lepidium sativum) seeds, which comprises; cleaning the seeds from non- edible contaminants and foreign materials, and pretreating the seeds to loosen the fibre rich seed coat from the endosperm, Aactionation of the seeds to concentrate the fibre rich seed coat, by adapting suitable milky methodology, and Preparation of dietary fibe from the seed coat.

Full Text

This invention relates to process for preparation of dietary fibre from garden cress (Lepidium sativum) seeds. Dietary fibre is the remnants of the edible part of plants and analogous carbohydrates that are resistant to digestion and absorption in the human small intestine but undergo complete or partial fermentation in the large intestine. A wide range of edible plant constituents such as polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, lignin, pectin are classified under dietary fibre. Generally, the dietary fibre analogues include modified starches, modified celluloses, synthetic carbohydrate polymers, resistant starch, inulin, waxes, cutin, long chain hydroxy aliphatic fatty acids, polyfunctional phenolics, phytate, saponins and also indigestible proteins. Dietary fibre comprises water soluble and water insoluble components and provides beneficial physiological effects including laxation and or blood cholesterol attenuation and or blood glucose attenuation, regular bowel movement, absorption of toxicants, removal of cholesterol forming components from the gastrointestinal tract and also modulation of gastrointestinal microflora. Because of these health benefits, intake of appropriate quantity of dietary fibre either as dietary supplement or as part of regular diet has been advocated. Intake of adequate quantity of dietary fibre minimizes the risk of colon cancer, intestinal disorders, cardiovascular diseases, gall stones formation, diabetes and obesity (Brown L, Rosner B, Willett WW and Sacks FM. Cholesterol lowering effects of dietary fibre: a meta - analysis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 69: 30 - 42, 1999). The wholesome vegetarian foods based on cereals, legumes and leafy vegetables .contain a good quantity of dietary fibre and meet the suggested requirements, whereas, the population largely dependent on animal products, highly refined cereals and also those suffering! from some of the gastro-intestinal tract related physiological disorders, need supplementation of the dietary fibre to maintain normal health, for which reference may be made to Patole P, Agte W and Phadnis MC (Effect of mucilaginous seeds on in vitro rate of starch hydrolysis and blood glucose levels of NIDDM subjects: with special reference to garden cress seeds. Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Sciences, Volume 20: 1005 - 1008, 1998). Accordingly, a good number of dietary fibre products prepared from specialized vegetable sources have been formulated and marketed world over (AACC Report. Cereal Food World, Volume 46: 130 - 134, 2001; Bolley DS and McCormack H. Mucilaginous materials from flax seeds and a processes for preparation of dietary fibre from flax seeds and gum Arabic. US Patent No. 2593528,). Similarly, reference may also be made to Holgren L (Method for producing dietary fibre product from cereal grain husk. Swedish Patent No. 158721, 1987), Sonic Biochem Extractions Pvt. Ltds., (A process of developing dietary fibre from soy hull, 1998), Gopalan G (Dietary fibre containing products and process for producing the same. European Patent Application, No. EP0775451 A1, 1997), Burri J and Geux C (Psyllium husk product, European Patent Application, EP 1090558A1, 2001) wherein, a cooked and extruded intermediate products comprising psyllium husk, cereal bran, a vegetable binder and disodium phosphate serve as a source of fibre in dietary fibre formulations. Due to rapidly changing socio-economic situations and food habits, dietary fibre deficiency related disorders are also on rise in India and many other developing countries, and to provide relief from such disorders or at least to minimize their intensities a few ready-to-use fibre products are prepared and marked in the country also (Table 1). Talbe 1. Some particulars of a few dietary fibres marketed in India and abroad (Table Removed) However, the proprietary dietary fibre formulations are mostly based on isabgol (psyllium), and very little effort has been made to exploit the vast biodiversity of plant materials in the country which have promise as source material for dietary fibre supplements. Garden cress (Lepidium sativum, Bras L.) commonly known as Chandrasura, cultivated in India, North America and parts of Europe, belongs to the family of Brassicaceae (Cruciferae). While, it is used in the form of vegetable in Europe and America, the seeds are harvested for food purpose in several parts of India. The whole seeds are edible and are known for several health benefits such as appetizer, intestinal health promoter, galactogogue and anti-tumurogenic, hypoglycemic and hypo-cholosterolemic. The seeds resemble some of the oil seeds morphologically with the dicotyledonous endosperm accounting to 80 - 85 % of the seed matter, whereas, the seed coat and the embryo account for 12 - 17% and 2 - 3 % of the seeds. While, the seed coat is of brick red to cream coloured, the endosperm has light yellowish colour. The seeds contain about 47% carbohydrates, 24% protein, 25% fat and 4 % minerals. The non-starch polysaccharides such as pentosans, hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin, and the starch account for nearly 90 and 10% of the seed carbohydrates. The seeds are rich source of iron (11 mg%) and calcium (300 mg%) and are highly hydrophilic and exhibit about 19 times swelling power (Mathew S., Singhal RS and Kulkarni PR. Some physicochemical characteristics of Lepidium sativum seeds. Die Nahrung, Volume 37(1): 69 - 71, 1993). From these reports, it may be inferred that, the garden cress seeds, in toto or its botanical components have potential for use as a as source of dietary fibre. Although, garden cress seeds (GCS), have been used for edible purpose traditionally, there are no reports about any kinds of allergy or adversities on the health of the consumers, and some of its physicochemical characteristics such as high water holding capacity and high proportion of non-starch polysaccharide contents which are conducive for its utilization as dietary fibre are also known. Even then, there are no reports about utilization of seeds or its botanical component, singularly or in association with other vegetable or animal products, as dietary fibre. This is evident from the report of the American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC Report, Cereal Food World, Volume 46, 130 - 134, 2001), where in, a large number of cereals, grain legumes and oilseed are listed as sources of dietary fibre, but nothing is mention of about the GCS. Moreover, many of the dietary fibre sources popularly used abroad, such as oat bran and specially processed soy hulls are not readily available in India. Some of the dietary fibre formulations contain sucrose and glucose and limit their usage by the population suffering from diabetes, who need the extended allowances of dietary fibre, as it helps in regulating their blood glucose attenuation. Another drawback of the some of the known processes for preparation of dietary fibres are that, they are prepared from synthetic carbohydrate like polymers, such as hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, calcium polycarbophil, artificial colour and flavouring agents. These artificial components in long range may not only be carcinogenic but also lead to renal complications. Hence, exploiting garden cress seeds in dietary fibre formulations and also in high fibre foods, will not only benefit the needy but also augment the production of this underutilized but economically potential crop. Accordingly the present invention provides a process for preparation of dietary fibre from garden cress (Lepidium sativum) seeds, which comprises; a) Precleaning garden cress seeds from foreign matter, drying the cleaned seeds for 2 - 5 hrs at 40 - 70°C by known methods and cooling to ambient temperature. b) Grading the cooled seeds into large (> 1.05mm), medium (between 0.85 and 1.05mm) and small ( other known methods, c) Mixing the seeds with 3 - 10% additional water, resting for 5 - 15 min in closed container and milling in a emery coated abrasive plate or disc mill, set to 0.2 - 0.5 mm clearance between the plates, wherein one of the plates may be stationary and the other plates rotating at 7,000 - 10,000 rpm, or both the plates rotate but in different directions and at differential speeds exerting tangential abrasive action. d) Separation of the seed coat rich and the endosperm fractions from the meal by sifting or bolting through sieves of 300 - 600 micron openings, winnowing manually or mechanically, including gravity separator or such other known methods, e) Pulverizing the seed coat fraction in pin mill, hammer mill, comminuting mill, burr mill or such other pulverisers to prepare flour of less than 150 microns particle size, and f) Blending the seed coat meal with 5 - 15% carrot, 1 - 3% lime juice and 0.5 - 3% lecithin, mixing the blend with 40 - 60 fold potable water (w/v), heating to boiling, homogenizing the mass and drying in a spray dryer or roller dryer or such other machinery useful for concentrating or drying of liquid. In an embodiment of the present invention, the garden cress seeds freed from foreign matter and impurities are warmed at 40 - 70°C for 2 - 5 hr by known methods and cooled to ambient temperature. In another embodiment of the present invention, the warmed and cooled seeds are graded into large (> 1.05mm), medium (between 1.05 and 0.85mm) and small ( known methods. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the seeds of different grades are mixed uniformly with 3 - 10% additional water separately, rested for 5 - 15 min and milled separately in a power driven or manually operated, natural or synthetic emery coated twin or multiple plate or disc mills set to 0.2 •- 0.5 mm clearance between the discs rotating at 7,000 - 10,000 rpm, and fractionating the finely pulverized endosperm admixed with the embryo, and coarsely fragmented seed coat rich fractions by hand winnowing, gravity separator or sifting through sieves of 300 -600 micron openings or by aspiration or such other known means. In yet, yet another embodiment of present invention, the seed coat rich fraction is pulverized in pin mill, hammer mill, comminuting mill or burr mill or such other pulverisers to meal or flour of less than 150 micron size. In still mother embodiment of the present invention, the pulverized seed coat fraction in isolation or 75 - 85 % of the pulverized seed coat blended with 5-15% fresh carrot, 0,5 - 3% lecithin and 1 - 3% fresh lime extract, and blend is mixed with 40 -60 fold potable water and heated to boiling, homogenized and dried in a roller dryer, spray dryer or such other dryers used for concentrating or drying liquid foods. Although, the invention is described in detail with specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that, variations, which are functionally equivalent are within the scope of this invention. Indeed, various modifications of the invention, in addition to those shown and described therein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the pre-going description. Such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the invention and appended claims. The following examples are given by way of illustration and therefore should not be construed to limit the scope of the present invention. EXAMPLE -1 Five kg garden cress seeds cleaned to free from foreign matter, were milled in a horizontal plate mill (Milone, S. No. 95745, M/s Radhika Industries, Rajkot, India) consisting of two 22 grade emery coated plates, where in the upper plate of the mill was stationary and the lower plate rotating at 9600 rpm, set to 0.35 mm clearance between the plates. The milled material obtained in the form of meal was sifted through a sieve of 500 micron openings, and the overtails rich in the seed coat fraction and the throughs mainly consisting of endosperm admixed with embryo were separated. Both the fractions were equilibrated and analysed for yield, colour, protein, fat, ash and dietary fibre contents (Table 2). The analytical data, indicated that the endosperm fraction was admixed with the seed coat and seed coat was not fully free from the endosperm fraction. Table 2. Yield, colour, protein, fat, ash and dietary fibre contents of milling fractionsof garden cress seeds (Table Removed) EXAMPLE - 2 Five kg clean garden cress seeds were warmed for 2 hr in a air dryer maintained at 50°C, cooled to ambient temperature and were sprayed with 7% additional water, mixed well, rested for 15 min for equilibration and milled in a horizontal plate mill (Milone, S. No. 95745, M/s Radhika Industries, Rajkot, India, 5kg/h capacity) consisting of two 22 grade emery coated plates, where in the upper plate of the mill was stationary and the lower plate rotating at 9600 rpm, set to 0.35 mm clearance between the plates. The meal was sieved through a sieve of 500 micron openings and the over tails, mainly the seed coat rich fraction and the through mostly the endosperm admixed with embryo were separated. Both the fractions were equilibrated and analysed for yield, colour, protein, fat, ash and dietary fibre contents. The analytical data (Table 3), indicated that moist conditioning treatment improved the quality of the fractions by reducing the fragmentation of the seed coat and admixing the same with endosperm fraction. Table 3. Yield, colour, protein, fat, ash and dietary fibre contents of milling fractions of garden cress seeds (Table Removed) EXAMPLE - 3 Twenty kg clean garden cress seeds were warmed in a dryer maintained at 50°C for 3 hr, cooled to ambient temperature and graded in to large (>1.05mm), medium (between 0.85 and 1.05) and small ( Rajkot, India), consisting of two 22 grade emery coated plates, where in the upper plate of the mill was stationary and the bottom plate rotating at 9600 rpm, set at 0.35 mm clearance between the plates. The meal was sifted through 500 micron openings sieve to separate the seed coat rich fraction from the endosperm. Similarly, the medium and small size seeds also were separately moistened with 7% additional water and milled in the same mill set at 0.30 mm and 0.20 mm clearance between the plates, respectively. The endosperm fraction admixed with embryo and the seed coat rich fractions were separated by sifting through a sieve of 350 micron openings. The seed coat and the endosperm fractions prepared from each of the graded materials were pooled together. The seed coat fraction was pulverized in a comminuting mill fitted with 0.5mm opening screen and the seed coat meal of less than '-150' micron was prepared. The mill fractions were equilibrated and analysed for yield, colour, protein, fat, ash and dietary fibre contents (Table 4). Table 4. Yield, colour, protein, fat, ash and dietary fibre contents of milling fractions of garden cress seeds (Table Removed) EXAMPLE -4 Twenty kg clean garden cress seeds were warmed in a dryer maintained at 50°C for 2 hr, cooled to ambient temperature and graded in to large (>1.05mm), medium (between 0.85 and 1.05) and small ( and 90°C chamber temperature and the other half was dried over a twin roller dryer, maintained at 5 rpm and at 3 atom pressure by live steam to prepare dietary fibre formulations (Fig. 1). The spray drying as well as roller drying processes were hassle free. The physical features of the products such as hand feel, flow properties, colour, hydration power, dispersibility, gel stability, and the chemical composition such as protein, fat, soluble and insoluble dietary fibre and mineral contents were recorded. Some of the physicochemical characteristics of the formulation were compared with a popular proprietary dietary fibre marketed in the country (Table 5). GARDEN CRESS SEEDS PRECLEANING 1 WARMING (40 - 60°C, 2 - 5hr) GRADING(Table Removed) ROLLER DRY / SPRAY DRY DIETARY FIBRE Fig. 1. FLOW CHART FOR PREPARATION OF DIETARY FIBRE FROM GARDEN CRESS SEEDS Table 5. Physical features and nutrient composition of the spray dried and roller dried fibre formulation (Table Removed) Two gram flour was mixed with 100 ml distilled water, stirred well and allowed to stand for 1 hr and centrifuged at 10,000 rpm and the water holding capacity of the material was determined. The viscosity of the of the dietary fibre formulation at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5% (w/v) concentration was measured at ambient conditions in a Brookfield viscometer using appropriate spindles (Table 6). Table 6. Viscosity of dietary fibre formulation from garden cress seed coat as compared to isabgol based proprietary fibre, at different slurry concentrations (Table Removed)The viscosity of a 5% aqueous dispersion maintained at 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90°C was also measured (Table 7). Talbe 7. Viscosity (5% slurry concentration) of dietary fibre from garden cress seed coat and isabgol based proprietary fibre at different temperature (Table Removed) The pH of 5% aqueous slurry were adjusted to 4 - 9, with 1 unit interval by addition of HCI and NaOH solutions , and the viscosity at each pH condition was measured (Table 8). Table 8. Viscosity (5% slurry concentration) of dietary fibre from garden cress seed and isabgol based proprietary fibre at acidic, neutral and alkaline pH conditions(Table Removed) A 5% (w/v) aqueous dispersion of the material allowed stand up to 96 hr at ambient conditions and it was noted that, the slurry retrained its gel texture without any sedimentation. The formulation was also assayed for the trypsin inhibitory activity and found free from this anti-nutritional factor. The new principle involved in the process are; The garden cress seeds are dicotyledonous kernels and contain endosperm, and seed coat as major botanical components. These two vary distinctly in their physicochemical characteristics. The seed coat is of fibrous nature with smooth outer surface whereas the endosperm is of floury texture. While the seed coat happens to be rich in non-starch polysaccharides, the endosperm is rich in protein and oil contents. Hence, warming the seed at about 50°C for 2 - 3 hrs and cooling to room temperature reduces the intactness between the seed coat with the endosperm matter, because of differential expansion and contractions. This facilitates separation of the seed coat from the endosperm in fairly pure form. In addition to this, incipient moistening and short duration tempering, hydrates the seed coat and induces leathery texture and reduces shattering properties of the seed coat. Due to these textural changes, the pulverizability of the seed coat is lowered considerably without affecting the endosperm qualities. Grading the seeds to nearly uniform sizes, facilities size reduction of the endosperm by suitable application of frictional force from both the upper and lower plates, without allowing the small sized seeds to escape, and excessive crushing of bolder seeds. Hence, during milling, the endosperm pulverizes whereas the seed coat fragments to bigger pieces, enabling to separate the seed coat fraction as coarse material from the endosperm fraction through sieving or gravity separation. However, the germ or embryo also gets pulverizes and admixes with the endosperm. The main advantages of the process are; The process of fractionation of garden cress seeds in to seed coat and endosperm rich fraction is simple and could be practiced at household to industrial scale. The various unit operations such as pre-cleaning, drying, moistening, milling and sifting could be carried adapting the existing facilities at any of the cereal processing industry. The seed coat fraction could be used as such, as a source of dietary fibre, or could be further processed to prepare dietary fibre formulation to improve its qualities in terms of composition and consumption acceptance. The product prepared following this process is of bland taste, easily dispersible in cold or warm water and forms homogenous suspension that retains its consistency and texture for several days at ambient conditions. It is not only rich source of dietary fibre but also a good source of calcium, protein, potassium and phytochemicals with anti-oxidant qualities which are known to provide health benefits. It is thermo-stable and its consistency is not affected by variations in acidity or alkalinity of the aqueous suspension exhibiting buffering action, which will be beneficial in controlling acidity and similar complications of the digestive tract. The slurry exhibit antifungal activity and retains the taste and texture for several days at ambient conditions without any sign of putrefaction. The formulation can be mixed with other traditional foods such as chapathi or bread to enhance their dietary fibre content and may also help in improving their shelf life by retaining their moisture content and at also acting as anti-fungal agent. Traditionally, in India and many other countries, garden cress seeds are utilized for food and allied purposes, but nothing about its adversities such as toxicity or other health hazardous or anti-nutritional aspects have been reported. Hence, it may be inferred that, no health deterrent factors are present in its seed coat, or if present are destroyed or reduced to safer levels on heating the seed in water or any other potable liquids. Accordingly, the fibre formulation prepared from the garden cress seed coat matter following the present invention could find usage as sole source of dietary fibre or as dietary fibre supplement. The dietary fibre prepared out of he seed coat fraction may provide health benefits with regards to gastrointestinal health, diuretic, hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic, anti-carcinogenic, galactogauge and also anti-oxidative characteristics, minerals, such as potassium, iron, calcium, phosphorus and micronutrients, and may also serve as humectants. Since, the seed coat of is very rich source of potassium, especially, it may be advantageous for subjects suffering for hypertension and cardiovascular ailments. We claim; 1. A process for preparation of dietary fibre from garden cress (Lepidium sativum) seeds, which comprises; g) Precieaning garden cress seeds from foreign matter, drying the cleaned seeds for 2 - 5 hrs at 40 - 70°C by known methods and cooling to ambient temperature. h) Grading the cooled seeds into large (> 1.05mm), medium (between 0.85 and 1.05mm) and small ( other known methods, i) Mixing the seeds with 3 - 10% additional water, resting for 5 - 15 min in closed container and milling in a emery coated abrasive plate or disc mill, set to 0.2 - 0.5 mm clearance between the plates, wherein one of the plates may be stationary and the other plates rotating at 7,000 - 10,000 rpm, or both the plates rotate but in different directions and at differential speeds exerting tangential abrasive action. j) Separation of the seed coat rich and the endosperm fractions from the meal by sifting or bolting through sieves of 300 - 600 micron openings, winnowing manually or mechanically, including gravity separator or such other known methods, k) Pulverizing the seed coat fraction in pin mill, hammer mill, comminuting mill, burr mill or such other pulverisers to prepare flour of less than 150 microns particle size, and I) Blending the seed coat meal with 5 - 15% carrot, 1 - 3% lime juice and 0.5 - 3% lecithin, mixing the blend with 40 - 60 fold potable water (w/v), heating to boiling, homogenizing the mass and drying in a spray dryer or roller dryer or such other machinery useful for concentrating or drying of liquid. 2. A process as claimed in claim 1, where in, the garden cress seeds are diieci at 40 - 70°C, for 2 -5 hrs, and graded into bigger (>1.05mm), medium (between 0.85 and 1.05mm) and smaller ( 3. A process as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein, the seeds graded into different sizes are mixed well with 3 - 10% additional water, tempered 5-15 min and milled in abrasive cereal milling machinery wherein, both sides of the seeds come in contact with emery surface of the mill continuously and detach the endosperm with embryo from the seed coat matter. 4. A process as claimed in claims 1-3, wherein, the seed coat is separated from the endosperm admixed with embryo by sifting through sieves of 300 - 600 micron openings or by hand winnowing or aspiration, gravity or such other manual and mechanical devise. 5. A process as claimed in claims 1-4, wherein, the seed coat is pulverized in manually or mechanical by operated pulverisers or grinders to particle size. 6. A process as claimed in claims 1 - 5, wherein, the seed coat fraction contains 7 - 14% protein, 65 - 85% dietary fibre and exhibits 15-25 times water absorption capacity, 7-15 fold swelling power and forms a homogenous slurry or suspension of 5000 - 7500 cPs viscosity at 5% (w/v) solid contents. 7. A process as claimed in claims, 1-6, wherein, 75 - 90% pulverized seed coat matter, 5 - 15% carrot, 1 - 3% lime juice and 0.5 - 3% lecithin are blended and 2 - 6% aqueous (w/v) slurry of the blend is heated to boiling, homogenized in a colloidal mill or such other homogenizer and dried over single or twin roller dryer or spray dryer or such other known dryers used for drying of liquid foods. 8. A process as claimed in claims, 1 - 7, wherein, the dietary fibre formulation based on garden cress seed coat not only compares well with dietary fibres prepared from psyllium husk or such other sources, but also exhibits superior gelling characteristics forming a homogenous gel of 4000 - 6000 cPs viscosity at 5% solid contents, and retains the gel consistency at 30 - 90°C and 4 - 9 pH conditions. 9. A process as claimed in claim 1-8, wherein, the dietary fibre preparation from garden cress seed coat is free from trypsin inhibitor principles and its slurry retains homogeneous consistency at ambient conditions for 3 - 4 weeks without putrefaction. 10. A process as claimed in claims, 1-9, wherein, the dietary fibre supplement prepared as per the process could be consumed by the needy as such or as fibre supplement in combination with other dietary components. 11. A process for preparation of dietary fibre from garden cress seeds, substantially as here in described with reference to the examples.

Documents:

242-DEL-2002-Abstract.pdf

242-DEL-2002-Claims.pdf

242-del-2002-complete specification (granted).pdf

242-DEL-2002-Correspondence-Others.pdf

242-DEL-2002-Correspondence-PO.pdf

242-DEL-2002-Description (Complete).pdf

242-DEL-2002-Description (Provisional).pdf

242-DEL-2002-Form-1.pdf

242-del-2002-form-19.pdf

242-DEL-2002-Form-2.pdf

242-del-2002-form-3.pdf

242-DEL-2002-Form-4.pdf

242-DEL-2002-Form-5.pdf