Physicochemical and Sensory Evaluation of Jelly Supplemented With Cicer arietinum Leaf Extract

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is a predominant crop in the Indian subcontinent, typically used as a seed food; this food is a strong source of vitamins and minerals. Young chickpea leaves are a nutritious green vegetable that are frequently consumed, which confer health benefits to public health by preventing many diseases and disorders, especially in malnourished populations. However, they are not utilized to much extent despite their high nutritive value. In order to explore the potential value and acceptability of chickpea leaves as value-added products in the food industry, the goal of the current endeavor was to create jellies with 2-g pectin, 28-g sugar, and 1-mL lemon juice, along with varying concentrations of leaf extract (5, 7, and 10 mL). The prepared jelly was tested for physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory analysis and jelly evaluation tests. Physicochemical tests included TSS, pH, and titratable acidity, while jelly evaluation tests included weight variation, jelly dimension, swelling ratio, dissolving time, and syneresis test. All the prepared jellies conform to the physicochemical and jelly evaluation tests. Among the three leaf extract formulations, the formulation with 7-mL leaf extract was deemed ideal since it met all the criteria for physical qualities, exhibited no syneresis, and had the best texture. However, there was an effect on swelling ratio and dissolving time. Results showed that the swelling ratio decreased with increasing leaf extract concentration, while the dissolving time increased. Proximate analysis of leaf extract jellies showed a higher nutritional profile than the control jelly, with increased levels of crude fiber, energy, protein, and vitamin C. Due to their pleasing color, smooth texture, and flavor, chickpea leaf extract jellies were found to be acceptable by sensory examination of the made jellies. Using the hedonic scale, the formulation with 7-mL leaf extract had the highest overall acceptability score; hence, it was found best among all three formulations of leaf extract jellies. Besides, the total phenols present in the leaf extract of Cicer arietinum came out to be 6.85 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE), and the antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical was 50.77%. This shows that the phenols present in chickpea leaves are responsible for antioxidant properties.