CSIR-NBRI drink Pio
No Alcohol, Cocoa or Other Synthetic Chemicals. This new soft drink doesn’t contain any alcohol, sugar or other synthetic chemicals, but has the fizz and taste intact.
A year ago, CSIR-NBRI tried to develop an herbal soft drink, but it was not a great fit for the existing multinational beverage giants that dominated the market. Till then the scientists kept improving the product till they could finally come to a healthy alternative. This product, ‘Pio’ can last for 4 months as it contains no preservatives.
According to NBRI director Ajit Kumar Shasany “Soft drinks are consumed by people of all ages, be it children or elderly. Hence, there was an urgent need to replace these unhealthy drinks with healthy options. A team of scientists carried out an in-depth study to develop scientifically validated and standardized health beverages by fortifying them with certain health protective/ promotive functional attributes,”
“Based on traditional knowledge, we selected certain herbs. Extracts of herbs like liquor ice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), commonly known as ‘mulethi’, heart-leaved moonseed (giloy), Ashwagandha, punarnava (Boerhavia diffusa), common grapevine, and cardamom have been used in the product,” he further added.
“These extracts are blended with carbonated water in such a way that the drink tastes like any other synthetic drink available in the market. Sugar mixing is kept on a minimum level to tackle the bitterness of plant-based extracts,” he said.
“These extracts are blended with carbonated water in such a way that the drink tastes like any other synthetic drink available in the market. Sugar mixing is kept on a minimum level to tackle the bitterness of plant-based extracts,” he added.
The NBRI director said Pio had no alcohol, cocoa, or other synthetic chemicals and has been successfully evaluated for its efficacy. “The product is a unique blend of modern nutraceutical concepts with traditional knowledge in the soft drink category where the product is fortified with medicinal plants having colour and taste similar to synthetic beverages,” Shasany said.
“The herbal plant extract used in the drink has hepatoprotective, antioxidant, immuno-enhancing, cardio-tonic, diuretic and digestive properties.
Managing director of the private company concerned, Sandip Vyas, said: “This herbal soft drink has the potential to replace other synthetic soft drinks. We have taken the technology from CSIR -NBRI and the product was commercially launched by the union minister. We have undertaken all the necessary tests which are essential for its production and efficacy.”
Jitendra Singh, Union science and technology minister comes with the tagline
‘Pio Herbal, Jio Har Pal’.
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