Development of chocolates enriched with prebiotics from ash gourd seeds

An analysis was done on select carbohydrate fractions of Benincada hispida seeds. Proximate analysis of seeds revealed 4.9% moisture, 24.8% protein, 40.27% crude fat, 2.41% crude fiber, 11.86% ash and 15.66% carbohydrate. The composition of lowmolecularweight carbohydrates, resistant starch and inulin in theseeds wasfoundto be 34%, 29.5% and 26.01 mg/dL respectively. A comparative study on the growth of Lactobacillus and E. coli on media supplemented with the carbohydrate was done. The results identified a higher growth rate in Lactobacillus when compared to E. coli. This was confirmed with a positive prebiotic activity score (PAS) of 1.63 ± 0.005. These prebiotics from ash gourd seeds wereincorporatedinto chocolates (1%and 5% concentrations). They were compared with a control for color, texture and sensory acceptability over a period of twenty-one days to assess shelf-life stability.