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Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2020; 9(5): 3145-3148
E-ISSN: 2278-4136
P-ISSN: 2349-8234
www.phytojournal.com
JPP 2020; 9(5): 3145-3148
Received: 21-06-2020
Accepted: 28-07-2020
Parth Hirpara
Department of Dairy
Technology, Parul Institute of
Technology, Parul University,
Vadodara, Gujarat, India
Nitin Thakare
Amul Dairy, Anand, Gujarat,
India
VD Kele
Department of Dairy
Technology, Parul Institute of
Technology, Parul University,
Vadodara, Gujarat, India
Dhruvin Patel
Department of Dairy
Technology, Parul Institute of
Technology, Parul University,
Vadodara, Gujarat, India
Corresponding Author:
VD Kele
Department of Dairy
Technology, Parul Institute of
Technology, Parul University,
Vadodara, Gujarat, India
Jaggery: A natural sweetener
Parth Hirpara, Nitin Thakare, VD Kele and Dhruvin Patel
Abstract
Jaggery is a natural sweetener obtained by concentrating the juices obtained sugarcane and/or palm trees.
Jagerry can be used as a base for number of sweet dishes in different countries because it has sweet winy
fragrance and delicious flavor which lies between brown sugar and molasses. It contains nutrients like
protein, vitamins and minerals like iron and copper. It is also used as an energy food having therapeutic
advantage so, it can be used for blood purification, regular functioning of liver and keeping blood
healthy. A good quality jaggery has golden yellow colour, hard texture, crystalline structure, sweeter
taste and less moisture content. Jaggery can be in the form of solid, liquid and granuals. In nowadays,
manufacturers prepare organic jaggery which is free from chemical like sodium bicarbonate, sulphur
dioxide, citric acid, alum, etc. Jaggery is known as ‘medicinal sugar’ which is used for pharmaceutical
formulations. Jaggery improves digestion, helps in cleansing the liver, relieves constipation, boosts
energy, purifies the blood, anti-toxic and anti-carcinogenic properties, relives tension, treatment of
bronchial or lung infections and pre-menstrual syndrome. Jaggery can be added with some different
natural flavour like black pepper, ginger, lemon, cardamom etc. and nutrients like protein, amino acids,
peptides, vitamins and phytochemicals (flavonoids, polyphenols, phytosterols, etc.). Jaggery has been
used for manufacture of ice cream, milk shake, sapota milk shakes and kulfi, jaggery chocolate etc. Due
to number of advantages of jaggery is a better choice as compared to sugar.
Keywords: Jaggery, nutrients, sweetener, pharmaceutical, organic
I. Introduction
Jaggery (Gur) is defined as the product manufactured by concentrating the sweet juices of
palm trees, or of sugarcane, to a solid or semi-solid state. It can be used for the countless sweet
dishes, which are famous in different countries. It has unique characteristics for which it is
preferred by individuals over white sugar for preparation of certain sweet dishes [1].
According to FSSAI (2018), “Gur or Jaggery means the product obtained by boiling or
processing juice pressed out of sugarcane or extracted from palmyra palm, date palm or
coconut palm” [2]. It is a natural sweetener and has a sweet, winy fragrance and flavour. It has
a heady aroma and a delicious flavour, somewhere between brown sugar and molasses.
Jaggery contains proteins, minerals and vitamins. It is also a potent source of iron and has
higher iron and copper contents than refined sugar. It is also a superior product in the category
of natural sweeteners in terms of the vitamin content. It is an energy food that is said to purify
blood, regulate liver function and keep the body healthy. As a form of sugar, it forms an
important item of the diet and is either consumed directly or as a sweetening agent for sweet
preparations [3].
A quality jaggery is golden yellow in colour, hard in texture, crystalline in structure, sweet in
taste and low in moisture. A good quality Jaggery/Gur contains over 70% sucrose, below 10%
of glucose and fructose, less than 5% minerals and under 3% moisture [4]. The quality jaggery
is influenced by the variety of cane used, quantity of fertilizers used, quality of irrigation water
and method of processing adopted [5].
India is the largest producer and consumer of jaggery. If compare with the total jiggery
production of the globe, more than 70% Jaggery produced in India. Jaggery is mainly
produced in the month of November to April [6]. From the total jaggery produced in India, 65-
70% is manufactured from sugarcane and the remaining is from other sugar yielding crops.
The major sugarcane producing states of India are Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar
Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh contributing to around 80-90% of jaggery production [7]. Out of
the 300 MT of sugarcane produced in India, 53% is converted into white sugar, 3% is used for
cane juice, 36% is processed into jaggery and khandsari and 8% is used as cane seed [8]. By
2020 AD, India would need at least 54 MT of sweeteners, out of this about 40% has to be met
by jaggery [9]. Table 1 and Table 2 shows the composition and nutrient content in jiggery.
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Table 1: Approximate Composition of Different Forms of Jaggery
And Refined Sugar (Per 100 G) [22, 8].
Parameter(s)
Forms of jiggery
Sugar
Solid
Liquid
Granular
Water (g)
3 to 10
30 to 35
1 to 2
0.2 to 0.4
Reducing sugar (g)
9 to 15
15 to 25
5 to 9
-
Sucrose (g)
65 to 85
40 to 60
80 to 90
99.5
Total minerals (g)
0.6 to 1.0
0.75
0.6 to 1.0
0.05
Fat (g)
0.1
0.1
0.1
-
Protein (g)
0.4
0.5
0.4
-
Calorific value (Kcal)
383
300
383
398
2. Methods of Manufacturing
Kumar [10] reviewed the different methods for manufacture of
jaggery viz., local method and modern scientific method of
jaggery production. From 10,000 g of sugar cane around 6500
g cane juice and 3500 g bagasse is obtained [11]. Jaggery is
manufacture in three forms i.e., liquid, solid and powder or
granular form [12], which is briefly describe under.
Table 2: Nutrients in Jaggery [42, 8].
Particulars
Quantity (mg)
Particulars
Quantity (mg)
Minerals
Vitamins
Calcium
40-100
Vitamin A
3.8
Magnesium
70-90
Vitamin D2
6.5
Potassium
10-56
Vitamin E
111.3
Phosphorus
20-90
Vitamin B2
0.06
Sodium
19-30
Vitamin B1
0.01
Iron
10-13
Vitamin C
7.000
Manganese
0.2-0.5
Vitamin B5
0.01
Zinc
0.2-0.4
Vitamin B6
0.01
Copper
0.1-0.9
Chloride
5.3
A. Solid Jaggery
The clarified, filtered cane juice is pumped into open pans
which is heated using triple pan furnace and the begasse is
used as fuel. Herbal clarificant (deola extract @ 45 g/100 kg
juice) is used for clarification of juice, to make light coloured
jaggery by eliminating impurities in suspension, colloidal and
colouring compounds by accumulation. The juice is then
boiled in open pan with stirring and concentrated to form
jaggery mass in desired shape and size [4].
B. Liquid Jaggery
The intermediate product which can be acquired during
concentration of purified sugarcane juice in the course of
jaggery making, and is semi-liquid syrup like product. Liquid
jaggery is a majorly part of diet in most parts of West Bengal,
Maharashtra and is achieving commercial values. The liquid
jaggery is being employed as sweetener in foods and drinks in
Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh
and Tamil Nadu [8].
The chemical and microbial quality of liquid jaggery mostly
depends on to the physico-chemical quality of cane juice,
striking temperature at which concentrating juice is collected
and type of clarificants used. For a good quality liquid
jaggery, the concentrated juice is removed from open boiling
pan, when it reaches striking point at a temperature of 103-
106 °C, which further depend upon the variety and agro-
climatic zone.
To eliminate the risk of crystallization and to make liquid
jaggery more eye-catching in colour, citric acid is added at a
rate of 0.04% (400 mg/kg of liquid jaggery), however to
enhance the storage life of liquid jaggery without
deterioration in its any quality parameters, potassium
metabisulphite at a rate of 0.1% (1 g/ kg of liquid jaggery), or
benzoic acid at a rate of 0.5%, is added. Liquid jaggery is then
hold undisturbed for 8-10 days at ambient conditions. Later
after filtration, it is properly packaged in sterilized bottles.
The chemical composition of typical liquid jaggery has about
30 to 36% moisture, 40 to 60% sucrose, 15 to 25% invert
sugar, ~0.30% calcium, 8.5 to 10 mg/100g iron, ~ 5mg/100g
phosphorus and ~0.10 mg/100g protein.
C. Granular Jaggery
The concentrated slurry (TS 58-60%) is worked with wooden
scrapper, for formation of grains. The granular jaggery is then
cooled and sieved. For a good quality of jiggery, less than 3
mm sized crystals are found to be better. Increasing pH of
cane juice with lime solution, up to 6.0 to 6.2, and striking
point temperature of 120°C produces an excellent quality
granular jaggery with high sucrose content of around 88.6%
with low moisture content of around 1.65%, with good colour,
friability and crystallinity. Jaggery in the granular form (about
3 mm), sun dried and reduced moisture content to about 2%
or less, and packed in polyethylene polyester bags or
polyethylene bottles, can be stored for longer time (more than
two years) at ambient temperatures, even during monsoon
period with little changes in its physicochemical quality.
3. Organic Jaggery
Now a day there is a trend to manufacture chemical-free
jaggery and organic jaggery [14]. In regular jaggery chemicals
such as sodium bicarbonate, ZFS (zinc formaldehyde
sulphoxylate), sulphur dioxide, calcium carbonate, chemofioc,
polyelectrolite, sodium hydrosulphite (hydros), citric acid,
hydrogen peroxide, alum, phosphoric acid etc. are used as
clarificants. These chemical clarificants should be used within
the safe limit. In manufacture of organic jaggery clarificants
such as deola, bhendi, semal, castor seed, phalsa, ground nut,
soybean, ambadi, tapioca, sukhlai, etc. [13]. In manufacture of
chemical-free jaggery specific varieties of sugarcane such as
CoJ64, CoJ82, CoJ88, etc. are used [14].
4. Health Benefits
Jaggery is popularly known as ‘medicinal sugar’ it is being
used in pharmaceutical formulations and daily consumption
jaggery may associated with elevation in human life span [15].
Jaggery is rich in minerals [16, 17] and contains high amount of
phenol [18]. The health benefits of jaggery has been described
by various authors in literature viz. improves digestion [19],
helps in cleansing the liver [20], relieves constipation [19],
boosts energy, purifies the blood [21], anti-toxic and anti-
carcinogenic properties [22], relives tension [19], treatment of
bronchial or lung infections and pre-menstrual syndrome
(PMS) [23], anti-oxidant activity [24].
5. Comparison Between Jaggery & Sugar [20].
Attributes
Comparison
Colour
Commercial sugar (Sucrose) is bright white color, whereas the colour of jaggery varies from dark brown or golden-yellow to
golden brown.
Texture
Commercial sugar is in crystals form, which are solid and hard while, jaggery is semi-solid, softer than sugar and also amorphous in
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Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry http://www.phytojournal.com
nature.
Composition
Sugar consist only of sucrose whereas jaggery consist of sucrose, mineral salts, iron and some fiber.
Health
➢ Sugar is readily absorbed in the blood, and high packs of energy is released rapidly. Therefore, it is not recommended for
diabetic people. But jaggery is digested slowly and hence, energy release is also slow.
➢ The potassium content in jiggery is high, which assists in weight management, as it prevents water retention in the body. It
also increases metabolism of the food.
➢ Addition to decreasing physical activity, sugar consumption assumes importance in terms of the high tendency for Indians to
develop insulin resistance (Type II Diabetes), hepatic steatosis, abdominal adiposity, the increasing “epidemic” of type 2
diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
6. Value addition in jaggery
Jaggery can be added with different natural flavouring
components (black pepper, cardamom, ginger, lemon etc.),
nutritive ingredient (protein, amino acids, vitamins and
phytochemicals), texture improving compounds (additives)
and taste enhancers (additives like nuts, cereal, spices and
pulses) [25, 4]. Anwar et al. [26] developed a vitamin C enriched
jaggery powder. He added a natural source viz., small pieces
of amla fruits and dried it up to 10% moisture content was
found to be the best.
7. Utilization of Jaggery In Dairy and Food Products
Jaggery has been used for manufacture of ice cream [27], milk
shake [27, 28], sapota milk shakes and kulfi [29, 30], jaggery
chocolate [31], jaggery pedha [32], milk based fortified eggless
pudding [33], coffee, khees [34], bomboyson [35], poppy seeds
payasam [36], bamboo seeds payasam [37], roat [38], weaning
foods [39], etc.
8. Adulteration in Jaggery
To identify the adulterations in jiggery, the ratio of reducing
sugar to non-reducing sugars can be used. GC-MS, GC, IR-
MS, NMR, HPLC and DNA based techniques used to check
adulteration. Sugarcane jaggery is often adulterated with
sodium bicarbonate, ZFS (Zinc Formaldehyde Sulphoxylate),
sodium hydrophosphide, calcium carbonate, etc. Date palm
jaggery is adulterated with sugarcane jaggery and plain sugar.
Palmyra jaggery is adulterated with sugar, sodium
bicarbonate, yellow colour, etc. A near-infrared (NIR)
spectroscopic method to detect adulteration of jaggery with
sugar and rice bran [40, 41].
9. Conclusion
Jaggery manufacturing has been one of the most antediluvian
practise and significant rural-based cottage industries in our
country. It has higher medicinal and nutritional values as
compare to other sweeteners, easily available to the rural
people and is highly recommendable by health experts. There
are number of applications of jaggery in variety of foods and
its use in households makes it a better choice as compared to
sugar. Also, jiggery is associated with number of health
benefits; which makes it a better choice than sugar.
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