1. A plant based high fiber banana blossom product comprising:
a) total carbohydrates having weight percentage in the range of about 45-70 % in
said product, wherein said carbohydrates comprise dietary fiber having weight
5 percentage in the range of 45-65 % of said product, and sugars having weight
percentage in the range of about 3-10 % of said product, wherein said dietary fiber
comprises soluble fiber having weight percentage in the range of about 2-7 %, and
insoluble dietary fiber having weight percentage in the range of about 40-65 %;
b) proteins having weight percentage in the range of about 10-20 % in said product;
10 and
c) total fats having weight percentage in the range of about 4-9 % in said product.
2. The banana blossom product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the product is in the
form of paste or flour.
15
3. The banana blossom product as claimed in claim 2, wherein the flour has a particle
size in the range of about 20-1000 µm and has a moisture content in the range of 3
to 10 %.
20 4. The banana blossom product as claimed in claim 2, wherein the paste comprises
banana blossom particles having size in the range of about 30 to 1000 µm and has a
moisture content in the range of 11 to 95 %.
5. A process of preparing a plant based high fiber banana blossom product as claimed
25 in claim 3, the process comprising the steps of:
a) obtaining and cleaning banana blossoms, and
b) processing the banana blossoms to obtain a banana blossom product having final
fiber value of minimum 45 % of dry weight, wherein the particles size of banana
blossom in said product is in the range of 20 to 1000 µm and wherein the banana
30 blossom product is banana blossom flour.
17
6. The process as claimed in claim 5, wherein the process optionally comprises a
step of isolating the florets and bracts from the banana blossom and then processing
the florets and bracts to obtain a banana blossom product and wherein, processing
the florets and bracts comprises the steps of dicing, dehydration and pulverization.
5
7. The process as claimed in claims 5-6, wherein the flour has a moisture content in
the range of 3 to 10 %.
8. A fortified flour composition, comprising:
10 a. the plant based high fiber banana blossom flour as claimed in claims 2-3 or
obtained from the process as claimed in claims 5-7, and
b. at least one other flour, wherein the banana blossom flour percentage in the
fortified flour composition is in a range of 1-25 %.
15 9. The fortified flour composition as claimed in claim 8, wherein the at least one
other flour is obtained from a group consisting of wheat, barley, rice, millet, and
combinations thereof.
10. A process of preparing the fortified flour composition as claimed in claims 8-9,
20 the process comprising the steps of:
a. obtaining the banana blossom flour, and
b. mixing the at least one other flour with the banana blossom flour in ratio of 1:99
to 20:80 to obtain the fortified flour composition.