Author(s):

Virendra Singh, Alok Shrivastava, KG Patel, Deepa Hiremath, PN Kore and Lokesh Yadav

Abstract: <div> Aonla (<em>Emblica officinalis</em> Gaertn) Aonla is indigenous to tropical south-eastern Asia, particularly in central and south India. In India, forests have been the traditional source of aonla fruit for medicinal uses with annual harvests estimated to be about 50,000 tonnes. Increasing demand from industry, especially for ayurvedic formulations, and appreciation of nutraceutical and medicinal properties for home consumption has resulted in the growing of this tree as a cultivated crop. In India, it is estimated that aonla is cultivated on about 91,000 ha, having a production of 9, 89,000 MT (Annon, 2017). The fruit is nutritious and is a rich source of Vitamin- “C. Ascorbic acid and other constituents are well retained in dried aonla fruits (Roy, 2000) ^[10]. The fruit is highly nutritious and is a rich source of pectin, polyphenols apart from ascorbic acid. The fruits are well known for their medicinal properties in curing chronic dysentery, bronchitis, and diabetes in the traditional Indian system of medicine. The fruits of aonla possess expectorant, purgative, spasmolytic, antibacterial, hypoglycaemic (Jamwal <em>et al</em>., 1959)^[4] Jayshri and Jolly, 1993)^[5], hepatoprotective and hypolipidemic (Thakur and Mandal, 2004)^[11] activity. The aqueous extract has been reported to have anti-pyretic laxative and tonic properties and also showed antibacterial activity (Vinaygamoothy, 1982). Potassium and iron content are relatively high in the fruit. The fruit has a very high content of ascorbic acid and is analgesic, antiinflammatory, and antipyretic. Vitamin- “C” is also antihepatoxic, antinephrotoxic, antioxidant, and promotes chromosomal stability. The fresh fruit contains as much as 4.45% tannin compounds of which ellagic acid, gallic acid, corilagin, etc. are important. Ellagic acid is antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic. Gallic acid scavenges free radicals generated by various metabolic processes. The fruit contains (-) epicatechin which is hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory and its antiviral action is effective against Moloney murine leukaemia virus. The fruit contains an appreciable amount of linoleic acid, which promotes immunomodulation in the human body. Ingestion of linoleic acid by the patients having multiple sclerosis reduces the frequency and intensity of heart attacks. The fruit contains kaempferol, quercetin, and rutin. All these compounds are partially cardiotonic. It also contains phyllemblin which regulates blood pressure and respiration (Pathak, 2003)^[9]. The root bark is astringent and is useful in treating gastric ulcers. The stem bark is also astringent and is useful in treating jaundice, diarrhea, and myalgia. The flowers arecooling and aperient. The leaves are useful in alleviating conjunctivitis, inflammation, dyspepsia, diarrhea, and dysentery. Seeds are reported to be useful in treating asthma, bronchitis, and biliousness. The seeds contain a fixed oil, phosphaids, and a small quantity of an essential oil with a characteristic odour. The fixed oil (16%), is brownish yellow in colour and contains fatty acids in the following proportions: linolenic (8.78%), linoleic (44.0%), oleic (28.4%), stearic (2.15%), palmitic (2.99%), and myristic acids (0.95%). Aonla fruit is not palatable for direct human consumption because of its high acidity and astringent taste. Fruit is consumed mainly in the processed form. The excellent nutritive and therapeutic values of the fruit offer great potential for processing into several quality products. In general, aonla fruits are utilised for three purposes: (a) Food items: RTS, nectar, squash, jam, preserve, candy, pickle, sauce, chutney, dehydrated shreds, etc. (b) Ayurvedic preparations: Chavanprash, trifla, amlakai girth, trifla churan, and trifla prash tablets. (c) Cosmetic preparations: in face packs, hair oil, shampoos and tooth powder. <strong>Amla Candy and human health: </strong>The health benefits of Aonla are limitless and the fruit is always revered as a wonder fruit that is a power source of various vitamins and nutrition. Many people hesitate to take Aonla raw, thereby ignoring all the health benefits that it has got to offer. In order to fill this gap, Aonla candy has been introduced which provides for a sweet taste and also brings along with all the health benefits that Amla has got to offer. It is a dried up form of Aonla that tastes great. There are many people who find it quite difficult to refrain from it, once they have it. The aonla candy is usually made out of sugar, Aonla and glucose. <strong>Vitamin- “C”: </strong>Amla is a rich source of Vitamin- “C” (600-800 mg/100g pulp), which is known to boost the immunity levels in the body. People who have aonla on a regular basis find themselves less prone to fall ill of a disease as they would have built up an effective immune system over the course of time. It is </div> also anti-inflammatory in nature and is known to bring down pain and discomfort to a great extent. The Vitamin- “C” rich fruit also contributes greatly for maintaining skin and hair. <strong>Skin and hair: </strong>Amla works like a wonder when it comes to treating skin and hair problems. It is known to be packed with anti-oxidants that is known to fight the body against any sort of issues. It fights against the radical and provides for a naturally glowing and healthy skin. It is known to have anti-ageing properties and by taking aonla regularly, one can delay the aging process considerably. Aonla is extensively used for treating hair conditions and makes it look strong and beautiful. People who take Aonla juice on a regular basis can visibly see the difference that their skin is glowing and the hair fall has stopped. <strong>Cures cough and cold: </strong>Aonla candy brings down cough and cold condition in individuals. It is packed with rich nutrients and provides for an instant relief from cough. When Aonla juice is mixed with honey and consumed, it is known to be a perfect cure for cold. Apart from that, there are various other health benefits that this small yet powerful fruit has got to offer (Ref. https://jasco.in/amla-candy-highly-beneficial-for-health/). The best thing about Vitamin- “C” in Aonla is the fact that this source of Vitamin is easily absorbed by the body when compared to Vitamins offered by supplements and hence this turns out to be an ideal choice by many. There are many ready made Aonla candy that are available in the market and one can buy them and take it on a regular basis. It would be possible to see effective results in a matter of just one month and once started to have it, one cannot refrain from it totally. An investigation was conducted to study the “standardization of recipe and drying method for candy making of aonla (<em>Emblica officinalis</em> Gaertn.) cv. Gujarat Aonla-1”. There were nine treatment combinations of different recipe and drying methods. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Completely Randomized Design with three repetitions. The treatment R₃ (80 % sugar solution) showed the maximum TSS and total sugars, in aonla candy whereas, the maximum titrable acidity and ascorbic acid were observed in the R₁ (60 % sugar solution). The chemical characteristics like TSS, titrable acidity, ascorbic acid and total sugars were obtained maximum in the D₁ treatment (Sun drying) in the candies of aonla at all the storage periods. The treatment combination R₃D₁ (80 % sugar solution and sun drying) was recorded the highest total sugars, whereas the titrable acidity in aonla candies were recorded in the R₁D₁.

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