1. A berry fruit leather comprising pulp of desired fruits in the range of 20% to 40%, juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries in the range of 20% to 50%, at least one of one or more sweetening agent in the range of 10% to 20%, at least one flavouring agent or taste enhancer or a combination thereof in the range of 10% to 20%.

2. The berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 1, wherein the berry fruit leather comprises 30% pulp of desired fruits, 40% juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries, 10%-20% sweetening agent, 10%-20% flavouring agent and/or taste enhancer or a combination thereof.

3. The berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sweetening agent is selected from honey, jaggery, sugar.

4. The berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flavoring agent and taste enhancer is selected from edible seeds such as sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, muskmelon seeds or a combination thereof.

5. The berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 1, wherein the desired fruits may be guava, mango, apple and papaya.

6. The berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 1, wherein the berry fruit leather has less than 1% moisture content.

7. The berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 1, wherein the berry fruit leather has a shelf life of 45-60 days at ambient temperature in conventional packaging and at least 90 days in green nanopackaging.

8. A process of preparing berry fruit, said process comprising - cooking of desired fruits at pre-determined cooking parameters, said desired fruits being selected from guava, mango, apple and papaya, - pulping of cooked fruits and taking pulp in a utensil in pre-determined ratio, - adding pre-determined ratio of flavouring agent and/or taste enhancer to the pulp in a utensil in pre-determined ratio, - adding pre-determined ratio of juice of at least one of the berries of Hipphophe rhamnoides and Rubus ulmifolius, - adding pre-determined ratio of sweetening agent to obtain final pulp, - spreading the final pulp on trays with flat surface and drying to obtain dried sheets of desired thickness, - cutting dried sheets into pieces of desired size.

9. The process of preparing berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 8, wherein the pre-determined ratio of pulp of desired fruits is in the range of 20% to 40%, pre-determined ratio of juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries in the range of 20% to 50%, pre-determined ratio of of at least one of one or more sweetening agent is in the range of 10% to 20%, pre-determined ratio of at least one flavouring agent or taste enhancer or a combination thereof in the range of 10% to 20%.

10. The process of preparing berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 8, wherein the pre-determined cooking parameters comprises temperature ranging from 80ºC to 80ºC for a duration ranging from 10 minutes to 15 minutes.

Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of food and nutrition. The present invention particularly relates to berry fruit leather. The invention more particularly relates to nutritionally rich berry fruit leather comprising berries of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius and Hippophae rhamnoides and method of making thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Fruit leather is a nutritious snacks or desserts for young and old alike. The leathery sheets of dried fruit purée are easy to make at home. Fruit leathers are dehydrated fruit products in flexible sheets that have a concentrated fruit flavour and nutritional aspects. Most fruit leathers are prepared by mixing fruit puree and other additives like sugar, pectin, acid, glucose syrup, color, and potassium metabisulphite and then dehydrating them under specific conditions. Most fruit leathers are dried at 30°C to 80°C until the final moisture content reaches to a desired level to obtain stable fruit leather.
Research about fruit leathers began in the 1970s. The types of fruits used, methods of preparation, effects of drying condition, and effects of packaging and storage, impact the nutritional value and shelf life of the fruit leather.
Rubus ulmifolius (wild blackberry or black heg) is a perennial shrub which belongs to the family of Rosaceae. In Italian traditional medicines, Rubus ulmifolius, has been in use for treatment of ulcers, abscesses, furuncles, red eyes, vaginal disorders, intestinal inflammations, diarrhea and hemorrhoids. It is also used as antipyretic and carminative agent. In Chilean folk medicine, Rubus ulmifolius is used for hypoglycemic activity. It contains organic acids, ascorbic acid, volatile oils and tannins. More, it has been reported that Rubus ulmifolius contains phenolics and flavonoids. Its key compounds are caffeic acid, ferulic acid, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, kaempferol-3-O-β-D-glucuronide, gallic acid, ferulic acid and tiliroside.
Hippophae rhamnoides is commonly known as seaberry or sea buckthorn. Sometimes also referred as the holy fruit of Himalaya, it is a deciduous shrub belonging to the Elaeagnaceae family. Fruits of Hippophae rhamnoides are used in traditional medicines in China, India, Tibet, Russia, Nepal and many other countries. The berries of Hippophae rhamnoides are rich in nitamins, neutral lipids hydroxylated fatty acids, long chain alcohols and their esters, sterols, pentacyclic triterpenes and volatile monoterpenes.

In India, both Rubus ulmifolius and Hippophae rhamnoides plant are found above the tree line in the Himalayan region, generally in dry areas such as Uttrakhand, the cold deserts of Ladakh and Spiti as well as some parts of Kinnaur. Both berries are rich source of phytochemicals and antioxidants and they also have many health benefits. Also, they help in combating cancer, obesity, inflammation, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and infectious diseases.
The present invention aims to prepare fruit leather incorporating berries of Rubus ulmifolius and/or Hippophae rhamnoides to provide fruit leather of enhanced nutritive value.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The main object of the present invention to provide a berry fruit leather.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a nutritionally rich berry fruit leather comprising berries of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius and/or Hippophae rhamnoides.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a nutritionally rich berry fruit leather comprising pulp of desired fruits, juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of making a nutritionally rich berry fruit leather comprising berries of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius and/or Hippophae rhamnoides.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention provides berry fruit leather of enhanced nutritive value. The berry fruit leather comprises pulp of desired fruits, juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, the berry fruit leather comprises pulp of desired fruits, juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries, and sweetening agent, flavouring agent, taste enhancer or a combination thereof.

Nutritional evaluation of berry fruit leather suggests that the berry fruit leather is rich source of protein, vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants and useful in high blood pressure, possesses antioxidant and anticancer property and shows hypocholesterolemic effects.

The berry fruit leather of the present invention is highly acceptable in taste, texture, color as well as flavour and possess good organoleptic properties.

The invention also provides a method of making the berry fruit leather comprising pulp of desired fruits, juice of Rubus ulmifolius berries and/or Hippophae rhamnoides berries, and sweetening agent, flavouring agent, taste enhancer or a combination thereof.

The berry fruit leather is a ready-to-eat stable food product that provides necessary nutrients for daily diet such as macronutrients and micronutrients along with good palatability, pleasant aroma, desired texture and mouthfeel and long shelf life.

It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended by way of embodiments and examples. Such alterations and further modifications in the present invention, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as would normally occur to those skilled in the art are to be construed as being within the scope of the present invention.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the summary of the invention provided herein is exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The composition, methods, processes, and examples provided herein are only illustrative and not intended to be limiting.

The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such a process or method. Similarly, one or more steps of method or components preceded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other, steps or components. Appearances of the phrase "in a preferred embodiment”, “in an embodiment", “in another embodiment” and similar language throughout this specification may, but not necessarily do, all refer to the same embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Fig. 1A shows colour, texture, taste, flavour, consistency and overall acceptability of berry fruit leather incorporating Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice on hedonic score.
Fig. 1B shows colour and texture of berry fruit leather incorporating Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice as compared to standard.

Figure 2 shows the protein and minerals contents of berry fruit leather incorporating Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice.
Fig. 3A shows colour, texture, taste, flavour, consistency and overall acceptability of berry fruit leather incorporating Rubus ulmifolius berry juice on hedonic score.
Fig. 3B shows that the colour and texture of berry fruit leather incorporating Rubus ulmifolius berry juice as compared to standard.
Fig. 4A shows colour, texture, taste, flavour, consistency and overall acceptability of berry fruit leather incorporating Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice and Rubus ulmifolius berry juice on hedonic score.
Fig. 4B shows that the colour and texture of berry fruit leather incorporating Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice and Rubus ulmifolius berry juice as compared to standard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION WITH NON-LIMITING EXAMPLES AND EMBODIMENTS
The present invention provides nutritionally valuable ready-to-eat berry fruit leather comprising pulp of desired fruits, and juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries. Nutritional evaluation of berry fruit leather suggests that the berry fruit leather is rich source of protein, vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, the berry fruit leather comprises pulp of desired fruits, juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries, and sweetening agent, flavouring agent, taste enhancer or a combination thereof.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, the sweetening agent is selected from honey, jaggery, sugar.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, the flavoring agent and taste enhancer is selected from edible seeds such as sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, muskmelon seeds or a combination thereof.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, the berry fruit leather comprises pulp of desired fruits in the range of 20% to 40%, juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries in the range of 20% to 50%, along with sweetening agent in the range of 10% to 20%, and flavouring agent and/or taste enhancer or a combination thereof in the range of 10% to 20%.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the berry fruit leather comprises 30% pulp of desired fruits, 40% juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries, 10% sweetening agent, 20% flavouring agent and/or taste enhancer or a combination thereof.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the berry fruit leather comprises 40% pulp of desired fruits, 20% juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries, 20% sweetening agent, 20% flavouring agent and/or taste enhancer or a combination thereof.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, the desired fruits may be guava, mango, apple and papaya.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, the sweetening agent is selected from honey and sugar.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, flavouring agent and/or taste enhancer is selected from sesame seeds, watermelon seeds, muskmelon and pumpkin seeds.

In a non-limiting example, the berry fruit leather comprises pulp of guava, juice of berries of Rubus ulmifolius berries and/or Hippophae rhamnoide, and honey.

In another non-limiting example, the berry fruit leather comprises pulp of guava, juice of berries of Rubus ulmifolius berries and/or Hippophae rhamnoides, sesame seeds and honey.

The invention also provides a method of making the berry fruit leather comprising pulp of desired fruits, juice of Rubus ulmifolius berries and/or Hippophae rhamnoides berries, and sweetening agent, flavour enhancer, taste enhancer or a combination thereof.

The method of making berry fruit leather comprises sorting of desired fruits, washing of sorted fruits, cooking of sorted fruits at pre-determined cooking parameters, pulping of cooked fruits, adding flavouring agent and/or taste enhancer, adding juice of at least one of the berries of Hipphophe rhamnoides and Rubus ulmifolius, adding sweetening agent to obtain final pulp, spreading the final pulp on trays with flat surface and drying to obtain dried sheets of desired thickness, cutting dried sheets into pieces of desired size.

The berry fruit leather of the present disclosure has less the 1% moisture content.

The pre-determined cooking parameters comprises temperature ranging from 80ºC to 80ºC for a duration ranging from 10 minutes to 15 minutes.

The berry fruit leather of the present disclosure has a shelf life of 45-60 days at ambient temperature in conventional packaging and at least 90 days in green nanopackaging.

The acceptability appraisal through sensory evaluation of the berry fruit leather has been carried out by 20 semi-trained panel members from the department of Food Science and Nutrition, Banasthali University, Rajasthan. The berry fruit leather has been evaluated by using 9-point hedonic rating scale with respect to various attributes namely color, appearance, texture/ consistency, flavor, taste and overall acceptability.

In an example, the rating value of various attributes of 9-point hedonic scores of berry fruit leather comprising guava juice, Hippophae rhamnoides (sea buckthorn) berries juice, sesame seeds and honey. Three variants of the berry fruit leather have been prepared. The variant A comprises 40% guava pulp, 20% Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice, 20% sesame seeds and 20% honey. Variant B comprises 20% guava pulp, 40% Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice, 20% sesame seeds and 20% honey. Variant C comprises 20% guava pulp, 50% Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice, 20% sesame seeds and 10% honey.

The colour, texture, taste, flavour, consistency and overall acceptability of variant A, B, and C was studied as compared to the standard fruit leather without berry juice. Figure 1A shows more than 90% overall acceptability of the variant B with 40% berry juice with hedonic score of 8.8±0.6, followed by variant C with 50% Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice with hedonic score of 8.4±0.2. Variant A with 20% berry juice was least acceptable with 7.7±0.7 score. Berry juice leather of variants A, B, and C showed acceptable score of 7.7±0.7, 8.8±0.6 and 8.4±0.2 of overall acceptability.

Fig. 1B shows that the colour and texture of Variant A, B, and C are comparable with standard.

Figure 2 shows the protein and minerals contents of sea buckthorn berry fruit leather of Variant B with 40% Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice. It contains calcium in the range of 74.1±0.02mg/100g, iron in the range of 3.0±0.01mg/100g, zinc in the range of 1.95±0.11mg/100g, magnesium in the range of 70.8±0.02mg/100g and protein in the rage of 3.60±0.02g/100g.

Table 1 shows phytochemical screening results of berry juice leather comprising guava juice, Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice, sesame seeds and honey. The berry juice leather shows presence of flavonoids, tannins, saponins, steroids and alkaloids in Sea buckthorn berry fruit leather, while steroids were absent.

Table 1:
Phytochemicals Screening Sea buckthorn fruit leather
Flavonoids +
Tannins +
Saponins +
Alkoloids +
Steroids -

In another example, sensory evaluation of berry fruit leather comprising guava juice, Rubus ulmifolius (blackberry) berries juice, sesame seeds and honey. Three variants of the berry fruit leather have been prepared. The variant A comprises 40% guava pulp, 20% Rubus ulmifolius berry juice, 20% sesame seeds and 20% honey. Variant B comprises 20% guava pulp, 40% Rubus ulmifolius berry juice, 20% sesame seeds and 20% honey. Variant C comprises 20% guava pulp, 50% Rubus ulmifolius berry juice, 20% sesame seeds and 10% honey.

The colour, texture, taste, flavour, consistency and overall acceptability of variant A, B, and C was studied as compared to the standard fruit leather without berry juice. Figure 3A showed more than 90% overall acceptability of the variant A with 20% berry juice with hedonic score of 8.8±0.6, followed by variant B with 40% Rubus ulmifolius berry juice with hedonic score of 8.3±0.6.

Fig. 3B shows that the colour and texture of Variant A, B, and C are comparable with standard.

Table 2 shows the protein and minerals contents of blackberry fruit leather of Variant A, B, and C.

Table 2 Protein and minerals content of blackberry fruit leather incorporated by Rubus ulmifolius juice.
Nutrients Standard Variant A Variant B Variant C
Calcium(mg/100g) 60.1±0.01 90.2±0.05 81.8±0.03 72.2±0.01
Iron(mg/100g) 0.5±0.01 3.6±0.05 2.8±0.01 1.2±0.01
Zinc(mg/100g) 0.2±0.03 2.3±0.01 1.9±0.05 1.5±0.02
Magnesium(mg/100g) 10.1±0.06 80.1±0.02 70.5±0.02 61.3±0.05
Protein(g/100g) Nil 4.4±0.00 3.6±0.01 1.8±0.02

Table 3 showed presence and absence of flavonoids, tannins, saponins, alkaloids and Steroids in all the variants of blackberry fruit leather. All the phytochemicals were present in the developed fruit leather, except steroids and saponins.
Table 3 Phytochemicals screening of blackberry fruit leather incorporated by Rubus ulmifolius berries juice
Phytochemicals Screening Standard Variant A Variant B Variant C
Flavonoids + + + +
Tannins + + + +
Saponins - - - -
Alkoloids + + + +
Steroids - - - -

In an embodiment, the berry fruit leather comprises berry juice of both the Hippophae rhamnoides berries and Rubus ulmifolius berries in a ratio ranging from 1:1 to 2:1.

In an example, the sensory evaluation has been conducted by incorporating berry juice of both the Hippophae rhamnoides berries and Rubus ulmifolius berries in a ratio ranging from 1:1. Three variants of the berry fruit leather have been prepared. The variant A comprises 40% guava pulp, 10% Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice, 10% Rubus ulmifolius berry juice, 20% sesame seeds and 20% honey. Variant B comprises 20% guava pulp, 20% Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice, 20% Rubus ulmifolius berry juice, 20% sesame seeds and 20% honey. Variant C comprises 20% guava pulp, 25% Hippophae rhamnoides berry juice, 25% Rubus ulmifolius berry juice, 20% sesame seeds and 10% honey.

In terms of overall acceptability, in terms of overall acceptability variant, A was highly acceptable with a score of 8.5±0.6 followed by the variant B and variant C. (Fig.4A)

Fig. 4B shows that the colour and texture of Variant A, B, and C are comparable with standard.

Table 4 showed the protein and minerals content of fruit leather incorporated by Hippophae rhamnoides and Rubus ulmifolius berries juice.

Table 4: Protein and minerals content of mix fruit leather incorporated by Hippophae rhamnoides and Rubus ulmifolius berries juice.
Nutrients Standard Variant A Variant B Variant C
Calcium(mg/100g) 60.1±0.01 92.1±02 82.8±0.03 70.8±0.01
Iron(mg/100g) 0.5±0.01 3.8±0.03 3.1±0.01 2.6±0.02
Zinc(mg/100g) 0.2±0.03 2.5±0.01 1.8±0.02 1.1±0.01
Magnesium(mg/100g) 10.1±0.06 88.1±0.02 74.5±0.01 70.4±0.01
Protein(g/100g) Nil 4.5±0.03 3.5±0.01 1.8±0.02
Table 5 showed presence and absence of flavonoids, tannins, saponins, alkaloids and Steroids in mix fruit leather comprising 1:1 ratio of Hippophae rhamnoides berries and Rubus ulmifolius berries. All the phytochemicals were present in the developed mix fruit leather. However, steroids and saponins were also absent in the developed mix fruit leather.

Table 5: Phytochemicals Screening of mix fruit leather Incorporated by Hippophae rhamnoides and Rubus ulmifolius berries juice
Phytochemicals Screening Standard Variant A Variant B Variant C
Flavonoids + + + +
Tannins + + + +
Saponins - - - -
Alkoloids + + + +
Steroids - - - -
The shelf life of berry fruit leather is at least 45 days in conventional packaging at ambient temperature and at least 3 months in green nanopackaging.  
, Claims:We Claim
1. A berry fruit leather comprising pulp of desired fruits in the range of 20% to 40%, juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries in the range of 20% to 50%, at least one of one or more sweetening agent in the range of 10% to 20%, at least one flavouring agent or taste enhancer or a combination thereof in the range of 10% to 20%.
2. The berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 1, wherein the berry fruit leather comprises 30% pulp of desired fruits, 40% juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries, 10%-20% sweetening agent, 10%-20% flavouring agent and/or taste enhancer or a combination thereof.
3. The berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sweetening agent is selected from honey, jaggery, sugar.
4. The berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flavoring agent and taste enhancer is selected from edible seeds such as sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, muskmelon seeds or a combination thereof.
5. The berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 1, wherein the desired fruits may be guava, mango, apple and papaya.
6. The berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 1, wherein the berry fruit leather has less than 1% moisture content.
7. The berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 1, wherein the berry fruit leather has a shelf life of 45-60 days at ambient temperature in conventional packaging and at least 90 days in green nanopackaging.
8. A process of preparing berry fruit, said process comprising
- cooking of desired fruits at pre-determined cooking parameters, said desired fruits being selected from guava, mango, apple and papaya,
- pulping of cooked fruits and taking pulp in a utensil in pre-determined ratio,
- adding pre-determined ratio of flavouring agent and/or taste enhancer to the pulp in a utensil in pre-determined ratio,
- adding pre-determined ratio of juice of at least one of the berries of Hipphophe rhamnoides and Rubus ulmifolius,
- adding pre-determined ratio of sweetening agent to obtain final pulp,
- spreading the final pulp on trays with flat surface and drying to obtain dried sheets of desired thickness,
- cutting dried sheets into pieces of desired size.
9. The process of preparing berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 8, wherein the pre-determined ratio of pulp of desired fruits is in the range of 20% to 40%, pre-determined ratio of juice of at least one of Rubus ulmifolius berries and Hippophae rhamnoides berries in the range of 20% to 50%, pre-determined ratio of of at least one of one or more sweetening agent is in the range of 10% to 20%, pre-determined ratio of at least one flavouring agent or taste enhancer or a combination thereof in the range of 10% to 20%.
10. The process of preparing berry fruit leather as claimed in claim 8, wherein the pre-determined cooking parameters comprises temperature ranging from 80ºC to 80ºC for a duration ranging from 10 minutes to 15 minutes.