www.tjprc.org editor@tjprc.org EVALUATION OF FUNCTIONAL AND PHYSIOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF BANANA PEEL AND PREPARATION OF HERBAL TEA USING THE PEELS, ASWAGANDHA AND TULSI MISHRA VARNIKA 1 & MISHRA SUNITA 2 1 Student of M.Sc. Food Science and Technology, Department of Food Science And Nutrition, School for Home Science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, A Central University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India 2 Professor and Dean, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, School for Home Science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, A Central University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India ABSTRACT: The current study investigates banana peel and its physical, chemical (dry matter, fat and ash content, acidity, pH, water and oil holding capacity and colour), mineral content (Ca, K, Na, P, S, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn and Ni) and phytochemical screening. Fiber-rich banana pieces were found to contain 66.8 g of total dietary fiber per 100 g, of which 58.6 g were insoluble dietary fiber per 100 g, while 8.2 g were soluble dietary fiber per 100 g; from these findings it can be inferred that banana peel is a good source of dietary fiber that can be used in food production. The high level of minerals helps battle against insomnia and calms down the nervous system. Also an herbal tea was prepared to check the acceptability of banana peel in Aswagandha and Tulsi tea. For this the two samples (T1 & T2) were evaluated by 10 community members on 9 point hedonic scale and T2 was found more acceptable which contains mixture of aswagandha, tulsi, banana peel, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and honey. All these ingredients are rich in antioxidants, enhances energy, helps the body to relax, aswagandha has anti-ageing properties while tulsi helps in maintaining cortisol hormaione level and has medicinal properties. Such ingredients are beneficial during the time of global pandemic due to Corona virus and in some way helps in boosting immunity. Key word: Mineral Content, Chemical, Phytochemical screening, Banana peel, Herbal tea, Received: Mar 12, 2022; Accepted: Apr 02, 2022; Published: Jun 02, 2022; Paper Id: IJFSTJUN20223 INTRODUCTION Banana is a plant species that develops in tropical and temperate areas and is one of the world’s most important food sources [1, 2]. Banana is from the family Musaceae, of genus Musa. These are one of the most produced fruits in the world, and are widely cultivated in some nations. According to data released, the worldwide registered outputs of Bananas were approximately 117.9 million tonnes[3]. Banana contains potassium, Vit.A, Vit.C, Vit.B6, dietary fiber and various antioxidant and bioactive compounds. It has high therapeutic value, low fat, low salt and cholesterol content. Being a tropical fruit it protects itself from oxidative stress by increasing antioxidant levels [4]. Banana peel accounts for 40 per cent of the fruit ends up as a waste product and is typically underused [5]. This has become an environmental problem which causes industrial damage. Therefore, the use of these residues in industry becomes important as there, the current destination is related to insufficient environmental issues as well as Economic losses [6]. Some scholars have pointed out the value of Banana peel to be used in the food industry because of its substantial compound and Nutrient value [7]. Meanwhile there is an increasing interest in natural Original Article International Journal of Food Science & Technology (IJFST) Vol. 12, Issue 1, Jun 2022, 17–26 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.