ANALYSIS OF NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION AND ANTI-NUTRITIONAL FACTORS OF FRESH KARMWA LEAVES (IPOMOEA AQUATICA) AND ITS PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT.

Water Spinach is scientifically known as Ipomoea aquatica, is a popular ingredient in various cuisines such as desserts and salads and it is often eaten raw because of its deliciously sweet taste. It can be steam and boiled, just like regular spinach. The aim of the study is to find out the nutritional and anti-nutritional composition of the water spinach to prepare value added products with the incorporation of Water Spinach and to evaluate the sensory acceptability of the prepared products. Methods described by AOAC (2005) were used for the determination of nutritional and anti-nutritional composition of karamwa leaves. Leaves of Karamwa were incorporated into six conventional food products namely Roti, Daal, Khichadi, BesanChakali, Vegetable crispy ball (Vegetable Pakoda) and Mathari at the level of 40, 60 and 80 percent into the various recipes. The formulated products were subjected to sensory analysis by panel members with the help of nine point hedonic scale. In 100g of fresh karamwa leaves energy was 36 Kcal, ash 6.92g, Moisture 85.11%, total carbohydrate 3.98 g, protein 3.2g, fat 0.8 g, ?- Carotene 298 µg, iron 4.3 mg, oxalic acid 125 mg, phytate75mg. Result showed that the incorporation of Karmwa leaves in Roti, Daal, Khichadi, BesanChakali, Vegetable crispy ball (Vegetable Pakoda) and Mathari was most acceptable with 60 percent followed by 40 and 80 percent. Hence it is concluded that Leaves of Karamwa, can be successfully incorporated into different conventional food products and are helpful in improving nutrients content of developed recipes.