WHEATGRASS : AN ALTERNATIVE HOUSEHOLD NUTRITIONAL FOOD SECURITY

Wheatgrass is an inexpen si ve and efficient source to provide all the required nutrients and medicinal benefits for a healthy and rejuvenating body . This research work was focused on two objectives. First one was to study the various paramete rs that would affect the growth of whea tgrass like temperature, humid ity and time taken to reach a target height. The second objective was to improve the or ganoleptic characters and shelf - life of the wheatgrass juice as the currently available wheatgrass products (tablets, powders, e tc. ) are le ss popular because of their low organoleptic characters and low storage life. First, W heatgrass was grown in two trays , one in growth chamber and other in - field conditions and the ir growth characteristics were compared over a fixed time period . For improvi ng the flavor and aroma , fresh w heatgrass juice was mixed with var ious flavors in different dilutions and a survey was conducted among 50 subjects . After that, lyophilisatio n was carried out to obtain the dried form of wheatgra ss juice which provides a hig her shelf - life . The results obtained showed that wheatgrass growth in the tray kept in - field took 16 days while the tray in growth chamber took only 10 days to reach the same target height. Moreover, the diluted and fl avored forms of the wheatgrass juice w e re found to offer an acceptable organo leptic profile including taste, color and aroma . Lyophilized form of wheatgrass retained the orga noleptic characters and provide d it a longer storage life . All these results will formulate a mor e acceptable form of wh eatgrass product and are likely to increase its popularity. K eywords : lyophilisation , organoleptic characters, shelf - life, wheatgrass .