Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

EFFECT OF STEVIA LEAF EXTRACT POWDER ON RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF DIETETIC AMRAKHAND

J. C. Tondare and A. S. Hembade

Abstract

Amrakhand is a variation of Shrikhand (a sweet dish) where it is mixed with pureed mango of Indian origin and regularly consumed in Gujarat, Maharashtra and certain parts of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Amrakhand contains high sugar content but in the era of health consciousness refined carbohydrate is the most restricted item in the diet of both insulin and non-insulin dependent diabetic individuals, hence dietetic Amrakhand was prepared to study the effect of using stevia as an natural sweetener. Amrakhand was prepared using different levels of stevia leaf extract powder as 30:70 (T1), 25:75 (T2), 20:80 (T3), 15:85 (T4), 10:90 (T5) and control sample 100:0 (T0). Rheological properties like apparent viscosity and flow behavior were evaluated. The dietetic Amrakhand presents with increasing the stevia leaf extract powder increases the apparent viscosity: T1 (32.5 mPas), T2 (32.7 mPas), T3 (28.1 mPas), T4 (33.8 mPas), T5 (31.6 mPas) compared to T0 (29.2 mPas) at a specific shear rate.