Enhancing prebiotic, antioxidant, and nutritional qualities of noodles: A collaborative strategy with foxtail millet and green banana flour.

Foxtail millet (FM) and green banana (GB) are rich in health-promoting nutrients and bioactive substances, like antioxidants, dietary fibers, and various essential macro and micronutrients. Utilizing GB and FM flour as prebiotics is attributed to their ability to support gut health and offer multiple health benefits. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of incorporating 10% GB flour (GBF) and different proportions (10-40%) of FM flour (FMF) on the prebiotic potential, antioxidant, nutrient, color, cooking quality, water activity and sensory attributes of noodles. The prebiotic potential, antioxidant, and nutrient of the produced noodles were significantly improved by increasing the levels of FMF. Sensorial evaluation revealed that noodles containing 30% FMF and 10% GBF attained comparable scores to the control sample. Furthermore, the formulated noodles exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) higher levels of protein, essential minerals (such as iron, magnesium, and manganese), dietary fiber (9.37 to 12.71 g/100 g), total phenolic compounds (17.81 to 36.35 mg GA eq./100 g), and total antioxidants (172.57 to 274.94 mg AA eq./100 g) compared to the control. The enriched noodles also demonstrated substantially (p < 0.05) increased antioxidant capacity, as evidenced by enhanced DPPH and FRAP activities, when compared to the control noodles. Overall, the incorporation of 30% FMF and 10% GBF led to a noteworthy improvement in the nutritional and antioxidant qualities of the noodles, as well as the prebiotic potential of the noodles with regard to L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus, and L. acidophilus. The implementation of this enrichment strategy has the potential to confer a multitude of health advantages.

Tea (Camellia sinensis) cultivated in three agro-ecological regions of Bangladesh: Unveiling the variability of methylxanthine, bioactive phenolic compound, and antioxidant activity.

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is a widely consumed beverage known for its numerous health benefits, largely attributed to its rich content of quality determining secondary metabolites such as methylxanthine compounds and bioactive phenolic compounds. The goal of this study was to find out variations of the levels of methylxanthines, bioactive phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activity in methanolic and hot water extracts of 129 tea samples grown in three different ecological regions of Bangladesh named Panchagar, Sylhet, and Chattogram. Methylxanthine and bioactive phenolic compounds were determined by using HPLC-DAD, and the antioxidant profile was analysed by UV-vis spectrophotometric methods for methanol and hot water extracts of tea leaves. The IC50 values showed the trend as Panchagar > Sylhet > Chattogram and Sylhet > Chattogram > Panchagar for water and methanol extract, respectively. The results revealed significant (p < 0.05) variations in the levels of methylxanthines content: Panchagar > Chattogram > Sylhet. Caffeine was significantly higher (103.02 ± 5.55 mg/g of dry extract) in the methanolic extract of tea leaves of Panchagar district and lower (53.33 ± 4.30 mg/g of dry extract) in the hot water extract of Sylhet district. Panchagar and Chattogram possessed significantly (p < 0.05) higher catechin content for methanol (57.01 ± 5.50 mg/g dry extract) and hot water (55.23 ± 4.11 mg/g dry extract) extracts, respectively. The utilization of canonical discriminant functions yielded highly favorable outcomes in the classification of tea from three distinct cultivation origins in Bangladesh, relying on their inherent features. This study demonstrated the potential effects of geographical variations on the bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties of tea, emphasizing the importance of regional differences in tea cultivation for optimizing its health benefits as well as dispersing tea cultivation across the country.

Chemical composition, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Piper chaba stem extracts with preservative effects on storage of raw beef patties.

Piper chaba, a traditional South-east Asian medicinal herb and well-known curry spice, was studied to evaluate its suitability as a source of natural preservatives for beef products. Plant extracts that are high in phenolics and have high antimicrobial and antioxidant activities are likely to be useful as a natural preservative. Therefore, the phytochemical composition and the bioactivities of both ethanolic and methanolic extracts of P. chaba stem were examined first. The study revealed a significant antioxidant activities and potential antibacterial activity of P. chaba extracts. Next we investigated the preservation characteristics of P. chaba by using beef patties as a model system. Beef patties were produced and treated with 0.2 % ethanolic extract (mentioned as PEE) of P. chaba and 0.1 % commercial preservative (mentioned as PCP). They were then assessed for various storage quality parameters under refrigerated (4° C ± 1° C) conditions, including free fatty acid, antioxidant contents, and oxidative stability at 0, 6th, 16th, and 33rd days. No significant variations were observed across the products with regard to proximate composition study such as protein, ash and fat contents. In comparison to both PEE and PCP, the control product had higher free fatty acid values throughout the storage period. This indicates that the fat content of the PEE and PCP degraded at a slower rate than the control over the 33-day storage period. Our study also showed that both PCP and PEE had increased antioxidant capacity, implying that lipid oxidation is minimized. In contrast to the control, the oxidative stability of the P. chaba treated products was also higher. Altogether this study revealed that P. chaba could be utilized commercially, particularly in the food industry to preserve muscle foods. Practical Applications: Natural preservatives are becoming more popular as a result of the different carcinogenic and toxic side effects of conventional preservatives. P. chaba, an exquisite culinary herb in Bangladesh, has long been used as a traditional medicine, because of its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. This study revealed that P. chaba can be utilized as a food preservative, which opens up new possibilities for its development and use in functional foods.

Physical, functional, nutritional and antioxidant properties of foxtail millet in Bangladesh.

The nutritional and phytochemical content of foxtail millet (Cetaria italica) makes it a viable food grain. In this study, we looked at foxtail millet in Bangladesh and analyzed its nutritional value, functional and physical characteristics. In addition, methanol, ethanol, and acetone: water: acetic acid (70: 29.50: 0.50) extracts of foxtail millet flour (FMF) were analyzed for their antioxidant properties (total phenolic and flavonoid content, total antioxidant capacity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity). According to this study, foxtail millet has favorable physiological and functional properties. FMF had protein at 11.65 ± 0.45 g/100 g, fat at 3.48 ± 0.04 g/100 g, carbohydrates at 75.33 ± 0.53 g/100 g, and crude fiber at 2.21 ± 0.03 g/100 g. Calcium was found at 47 ± 0.48 mg/100 g, iron at 4.59 ± 0.14 mg/100 g, potassium at 393 ± 15.87, sodium at 27.4 ± 1.21, magnesium at 45.40 ± 2.22, manganese at 0.71 ± 0.02, copper at 0.58 ± 0.04 and zinc at 2.30 ± 0.18 mg/100 g. The total flavonoid content (TFC) of the methanolic extract (68.26 ± 1.51 mg quercetin equivalents (QE)/100 g) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the extract of acetone: water: acetic acid. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (169.40 ± 3.45 mg ascorbic acid equivalents (AAE)/100 g) and total phenolic content (TPC) (51.35 ± 1.35 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 g) of the methanolic extracts were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than others. The ascending order of DPPH free radical scavenging activity of FMF extract is as follows: acetone: acetic acid: water < ethanol < methanol. In the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) test, the reducing power of FMF extracts increased with the rise in sample concentration. Foxtail millet has potential as a functional food that could influence rural residents' diets and health.

Relative evaluation of in-vitro antioxidant potential and phenolic constituents by HPLC-DAD of Brassica vegetables extracted in different solvents.

Cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli are well-known vegetables from the Brassica family having functional effects on human health. This study was carried out to identify different antioxidant properties and to quantify phenolic compounds by HPLC-DAD in different extracts (methanol, ethanol and water: acetic acid: acetone) of these vegetables. The results showed that, the methanolic dry extract of cabbage possessed the highest antioxidant activity (549 ± 7.30 µg/g) and IC50 was 90 ± 2.52 µg/mL than others. Whereas the ethanolic dry extract of cauliflower had 348 ± 5.20 µg/g of flavonoid, which was the highest among all. The maximum levels of total tannin (414 ± 5.20 µg/g) and total phenolic content (465 ± 3.25 µg/g) was found in broccoli dry extract. Several polyphenolic compounds were identified in different extracts of the vegetables and they were Cauliflower (8) > Cabbage (10) > Broccoli (9) in total. Therefore, the use of total vegetables rather than extracts in the food industry would be more appropriate to get greater health benefit.

Determination of dietary exposure and extraction efficiency of nitrosamine from cooked meat.

Meat products are claimed to be a source of carcinogenic nitrosamines (NAs) exposure in food. In this study, dietary exposure of six nitrosamines: N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP), N-nitrosodipropylamine (NDPA), N-nitrosodibutylamine (NDBA) were estimated by Gas chromatography method. Four types of processed beef products were collected from different restaurants of Dhaka city, Bangladesh and analyzed by Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after extracting under different methods. Nitrosamines were extracted by three different methods: i) Ultrasonic, ii) Autoclave for 10 min, iii) Autoclave for 20 min, and mean recoveries were 73%, 85% and 62% respectively. The LOD (limit of detection) and the LOQ (limit of quantification) for the six nitrosamines were in the range of 0.05-0.3 µg/kg and 0.85-1.5 µg/kg, respectively. The total nitrosamine content in beef products were Shik kabab (20.87 µg/kg) > Burger patty (20.44 µg/kg) > Steak (15.84 µg/kg) >Chap (14.95 µg/kg). The daily dietary exposure for commonly consumed beef products ranged from 0.029 to 0.056 µg/kg body weight which was less than the limit set by World Health Organization (WHO). Simultaneous determination of six nitrosamines by Gas chromatography can be used for monitoring the content of nitrosamines in meat products to ensure food safety.

Estimation and exposure concentration of trihalomethanes (THMs) and its human carcinogenic risk in supplied pipeline water of Dhaka City, Bangladesh.

Formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) through excessive chlorination in the supplied water and its carcinogenic nature is a public health concern in many parts of the world, including a couple of neighboring countries in Asia. However, the issue was not yet addressed either in the public health policy or in academia in Bangladesh. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to determine the THM concentration in supplied water, its multiple pathways to the human body, and an estimation of resultant carcinogenic risk to urban dwellers in six different regions of Dhaka city. Thirty-one supplied water samples were collected from 31 different water points located in Purana Paltan, Naya Paltan, Kallyanpur, Shyamoli, Malibagh-Rampura, and Panthapath regions in premonsoon time. Total chlorine and chlorine dioxide (ClO2) and trihalomethane (THM) concentration were determined using UV-VIS spectrophotometer; total organic carbon (TOC), total inorganic carbon, and total carbon concentration were measured using TOC analyzer, and chloroform concentration was determined by applying gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS-MS) in the supplied water samples. Research findings indicate that THM concentration exceeded the USEPA acceptable limit (80 ppb) in all regions except Panthapath. Study results showed that carcinogenic risk via ingestion was higher than the USEPA acceptable limit of 10-6. Carcinogenic risk via dermal absorption and inhalation exposure was lower according to USPEA acceptable limit. To conclude, this study represents the current knowledge about THM concentration in supplied pipeline water and adverse health risk, which signifies that regulatory measures should be taken to reduce the THM concentration.

Public Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Uptake by Vegetables Grown at a Waste-water-Irrigated Site in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Wastewater is often used in developing countries for irrigation of crops. This wastewater often contains a number of heavy metals which are harmful to human health due to their non-biodegradable nature, long biological half-lives and their potential to accumulate in different body parts. There are many potential risks to human health from heavy metal contamination of vegetables grown at waste-water-irrigated sites. OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to assess the concentration of heavy metals and the risk to human health by heavy metals (lead (Pb), nickel (Ni) and arsenic (As)) through the intake of locally grown vegetables collected from wastewater irrigated agricultural fields. The objectives of the present study were to determine concentrations of heavy metals in vegetables collected from the wastewater-irrigated fields, to calculate daily intake of heavy metals from the consumption of vegetables for both adults and children, and to evaluate their potential health risk. METHODS: Twenty-seven samples of nine different types of vegetables were analyzed by an Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) (Varian AAS 240 F S). RESULTS: The range of various metals in waste-water irrigated vegetables were not detected (ND)-0.188, 0.072-1.069 and ND-0.076 mg/kg for Pb, Ni and As, respectively. The highest mean concentration of all metals was detected in jute leaf, except for Pb which was found in the stem amaranth leaf. The mean concentration of all metals in all vegetables was within the safe limits of the World Health Organization/Food and Agricultural Organization (WHO/FAO) and China's national standards. The health risk index was more than 1 for As in jute leaf for both adults and children. The metal pollution index was highest (0.16 mg/kg) in jute leaf, whereas green papaya showed the lowest metal pollution index (MPI) value (0.005 mg/kg). Among all vegetables tested, the highest intake values of Ni and As were from consumption of jute leaf and the highest intake values of Pb from consumption of stem amaranth leaf for both adults and children. CONCLUSIONS: Higher values in the metal pollution index and health risk index indicate heavy metal contamination in wastewater-irrigated soils that present the potential for a significant negative impact on human health.