ADDRESSING FOOD SAFETY CONCERN AND PROMOTING BETTER HUMAN HEALTH THROUGH HYDROPONICALLY GROWN NUTRITIONAL POWERHOUSE

Anup Kalra 1,2 , Anil Kanaujia 1 *, Deepti Rai 1 , Sarvesh Kumar Upadhyay 1 , Om Prakash Jat 1 and A.C. Varshney 1 . 1. Ayurvet Research Foundation R&D Centre, Village, Chidana, Sonepat, Haryana. 2. Ayurvet Limited, KM Trade Tower, Sector-14, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History

Food Safety is increasingly viewed as an essential public health issue in the developed and developing countries. The rapidly changing and globalizing food economy and the concerns and commitments of a wide range of stakeholders about food production and security, food safety and quality, and the environmental sustainability of agriculture have prompted international organizations to establish standards for the safe production of fresh crops that can be safely consumed. Fertilizers, agrochemicals and pesticides, when used in higher quantities than needed, become contaminants to food, feed and environment. However, when used properly, they will improve crop yield and quality. FAO (Food and agriculture organization) has established Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and defined this concept as: "Applying available knowledge to addressing environmental, economic and social sustainability for on-farm production and post-production processes that result in safe and healthy food and nonfood agricultural products." To provide a wholesome nutrition for a healthy and rejuvenating body, green food could be very useful in providing nutrients like vitamins, minerals, proteins, enzymes and antioxidants which are researched for numerous health benefits (4). Wheat grass the mature shoot of Triticumaestivum Linn. belonging to the family Gramineae is a nutritional powerhouse, rich in chlorophyll, antioxidant vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that support optimal 277 health contains significant amount of iron, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper & zinc. It is a rich source of tocopherols with high vitamin E potency and biotin, which is a crystalline form of the vitamin B-complex, essential for the activity of many enzyme systems (2).The three most important effects of wheat grass on the human body are: blood purification, liver detoxification and colon cleansing.
Studies have been carried out to assess wheat grass juice's beneficial effect in alleviating specific health issues like diabetes and its complications. It was observed that it reverses hyperglycemia, has an efficacy on hemoglobin level, RBCs and platelets count indicating therapeutic usefulness of wheatgrass in some types of anemia. In addition, it produces anti-inflammatory and a potent immunomodulatory effects, therefore it could be used as an immune booster in diabetic subjects suffering from low immunity (3).
To address the issues related to food safety and make sincere efforts for wider acceptability of wheat grass juice and its maximum benefits to human health, Ayurvet Research Foundation, village Chidana, district Sonepat, Haryana took the initiative and grew the crop hydroponically at their premises under controlled conditions, without any use of fertilizer or pesticide, with optimal supply of nutrients. Its juice was prepared in house under hygienic conditions and analyzed for microbiological safety and various nutritional parameters. Material and Method:-750 g of good quality wheat seeds were soaked in water for 24 hours and put in tray in hydroponic machine maintained at temperature 18 ±1°C and RH 65±5%. The seeds were irrigated with appropriate nutrient mixture for 7 days and the leaf portion was harvested, washed properly and subjected for juice preparation using a blender and press filtration.

Apparatus:-
Kjeldahl assembly was used for the estimation of proteins, UV absorbance was taken on SHIMADZU UV 1700 UV VIS spectrophotometer, sodium was evaluated on Harrison's flame photometer.
Reagents &Material:-Chemicals and reagents used were of analytical reagent grade. Petroleum ether, chloroform, HPLC water, ammonia solution, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide & potassium thiocyanate were from RANKEM. Sulphuric acid, citric acid & hydrochloric acid were of SD fine chemicals. Ferrous sulphate was from HIMEDIA, potassium persulphate was from JT Baker, sodium diethyldithiocarbamate was from Sigma Aldrich. Other chemicals used were of AR grade and procured from authentic sources.

Methodology for the estimation of Fat:-
Defat the sample with petroleum ether (60-80°C) Transfer the filtrate to a tared petridish portion wise and evaporate to dryness on a boiling water bath. Cool the petridish in desiccator and weigh. The extractive value is calculated as a percentage.

Result and Discussion:-
Wheatgrass is an inexpensive and efficient source to provide all the required nutrients and medicinal benefits for a healthy and rejuvenating body. Its fresh juice is very good for human consumption as it provides chlorophyll, amino acid, vitamins, enzymes, significant amount of mineral nutrients like iron, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper & zinc and is rich source of tocopherols with high vitamin E potency (2). Wheat grass juice prepared out of hydroponically grown wheat grass without using any pesticide or fertilizer at Ayurvet Research Foundation, village Chidana, district Sonepat, Haryana was analyzed for various nutritional parameters and antioxidant activity (Table. 1) and for bio burden (Table. 2) at ARF's DSIR recognized state of the art R&D Centre.

Conclusion:-
The hydroponic technique for growing the green food/ wheat grass which is absolutely free of pesticide/ agrochemicals residues is a key step towards addressing the food safety concerns and providing the wholesome nutrition. The juice prepared out of it is a good source of proteins, strong antioxidant property apart from other nutrients which are essential for a healthy and rejuvenating body. The bio burden load was also found to be within

Name of parameter
Result Total plate count cfu/g <10 cfu/g Yeast and mould count cfu/g <10 cfu/g E. coli Detection/25gm Absent Salmonella Detection/25gm Absent 280 specified limits as per standard guidelines. It is suggested that wheatgrass juice should be a part of daily dietary intake in order to obtain its maximum benefits.