Commodity Online
LUDHIANA: Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed a new health drink based on Beetroot which can be used by all and sundry.

Ludhiana based Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering & Technology (CIPHET), a subsidiary of ICAR developed the new drink.

ICAR presently engaged in efforts to standardize the process for making beetroot powder that can be further utilized for making various health products.

Reconstituted beetroot powder in water is one of the drinks which are useful for all adults, even in case of degenerative diseases conditions.

The acceptability of the developed powder in the reconstituted form in plain water without adding any flavoring agent was also good because of the high solubility of more than 77 per cent. The technology is ready and can be adopted by a small entrepreneur/ farmer for income generation.

Beetroot is a rich source of carbohydrates, a good source of protein, and has high levels of important vitamins, minerals and micronutrients. It is a good source of dietary fibre, has practically no fat, and no cholesterol.

Recently, CIPHET has also developed the process technology for making aonla based beverage in the form of juices.

Aonla is one of the important indigenous fruits of Indian subcontinent. Aonla fruit is highly nutritive with a great medicinal use and the richest source of vitamin C.