Natural Preservative Idiosyncrasy of Kuji Thekera (Garcinia cowa)-A Minor Fruit of Assam

Kuji thekera (Garcinia cowa) is a very popular minor fruit of Assam which is orange in colour when ripe and requires almost about 3½ month to attain maturity after the fruit set. The fruit is highly acidic and sour in taste. Traditionally the people of Assam use this fruit in various pickles to increase the shelf-life of the pickles. In the present study three different pickles were prepared with different concentrations of Garcinia cowa i.e., sample A(75%), sample B (50%) and sample C (25%) respectively and the microbial study and sensory evaluation were carried out on the samples for three months to observes the storage properties. The study reveals that the pickle prepared with a high concentration of kuji thekera (Sample A) showed shelf preservative properties both in terms of microbial growth and in retrieving the sensory qualities of the pickle during the studied storage period. Therefore, Garcinia cowa can be considered a natural preservative and can replace chemical preservatives to extend the shelf-life of value-added products.