NITK faculty gets patent for cashew apple wine

The faculty of NITK, Surathkal, has received a patent for producing wine using cashew apple and raisins.

The technology is developed by Dr Prasanna Belur Devarabhatta, an associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. The patent is titled ‘A process for the production of an alcoholic beverage from cashew apple and raisins and the alcoholic beverage produced thereof’.

NITK had filed an application for the patent in 2012 and received it on May 4, 2022.

According to Dr Belur, “Cashew apples are a rich source of carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, carotenoids, phenolics, organic acids and antioxidants and considered a source of energy. The cashew apple is an excellent source of ascorbic acid (averaging 200-275 mg/100 ml of juice), which is about five to seven times that of orange juice. Several attempts were made in Brazil, India, Nigeria, etc, to find uses for cashew apple. However, most of them failed to meet the requirements of the consumers and hence failed to kick-off in the market so far.”

One of the major problems in utilising the cashew apple is its very high astringency due to the presence of Leucodelphinidin, gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, conjugate cinnamic acid and free cinnamic acid. The binding of tannins to salivary glycoproteins develops an astringent taste. During preservation, the unstable polyphenols undergo chemical and biochemical reactions and result in brown colour. Also, due to the presence of 2-methyl butanoic acid and related compounds, the wine was getting an unpleasant sweaty odour, he said.

Further, it was observed that the characteristic fruit flavours fade very rapidly during storage, which makes it difficult for the manufacturer to offer consistent quality to the consumer all the time. As a result, cashew apples continued to be considered agricultural waste. The current technology developed makes use of raisins and fresh cashew apple and produces an alcoholic beverage. The wine which has raisins in it is translucent red/transparent colour with sweet, fruity, and with a characteristic of the cashew apple aroma. It has the desirable acidity. The characteristic astringency of the cashew apple is absent. The alcohol content could be in the range of 7.5 to 15% v/v, he added.

If this technology is commercialised, then it could be a new addition to the world of alcoholic beverages and help in generating additional revenue for the cashew grower. Now, NITK is looking forward to transferring the technology (licensing) to the interested entrepreneurs/companies. Further, NITK will also provide the required technical support to the licensee during the implementation of the said technology, he said.