Loquat seed starch - Emerging source of non-conventional starch: Structure, properties, and novel applications.

Recently, non-conventional sources of starch have attracted attention due to their potential to provide cost-effective alternatives to traditional starch. Among non-conventional starches, loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) seed starch is an emerging source of starch consisting of the amount of starch (nearly 20 %). It could be utilized as a potential ingredient due to its unique structure, functional properties, and novel applications. Interestingly, this starch has similar properties as commercial starches including high amylose content, small granule size, and high viscosity and heat stability, making it an attractive option for various food applications. Therefore, this review mainly covers the fundamental understanding of the valorization of loquat seeds by extracting the starch using different isolation methods, with preferable structural, morphological, and functional properties. Different isolation and modification methods (wet milling, acid, neutral and alkaline) are effectively used to obtain higher amounts of starch are revealed. Moreover, insight into various analytical techniques including scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction used to characterize the molecular structure of the starch are discussed. In addition, the effect of shear rate and temperature on rheological attributes with solubility index, swelling power, and color is revealed. Besides, this starch contains bioactive compounds that have shown a positive impact on the enhancement of the shelf-life of the fruits. Overall, loquat seed starches have the potential to provide sustainable and cost-effective alternatives to traditional starch sources and can lead to novel applications in the food industry. Further research is needed to optimize processing techniques and develop value-added products that can be produced at a large scale. However, there is relatively limited published scientific evidence on the structural and morphological characteristics of loquat seed starch. Thus, in this review, we focused on different isolation techniques of loquat seed starch, its structural and functional characteristics, along with potential applications.

Biological Activity of Picrorhiza kurroa: A Source of Potential Antimicrobial Compounds against Yersinia enterocolitica.

Yersiniosis, caused by Yersinia enterocolitica, is the third most rampant zoonotic disease in Europe; the pathogen shows high antibiotic resistance. Herbs have multiple anti-microbial components that reduce microorganism resistance. Therefore, an extract of Picrorhiza kurroa (P. kurroa) was evaluated for potential antimicrobial activity. We report that the ethanolic extract of P. kurroa showed effective antimicrobial activity (zone of inhibition: 29.8 mm, Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC): 2.45 mg/mL, minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC): 2.4 mg/mL) against Yersinia enterocolitica. Potential bioactive compounds from P. kurroa were identified using LC-MS, namely, cerberidol, annonidine A, benzyl formate, picroside-1, and furcatoside A. P. kurroa showed effective antimicrobial potential in skim milk at different pH, acidity, and water activity levels. P. kurroa affected the physiology of Yersinia enterocolitica and reduced the number of live cells. Yersinia enterocolitica, when incubated with P. kurroa extract, showed lower toxin production. Picroside-1 was isolated and showed higher antimicrobial potential in comparison to the standard antibiotic. Picroside-1 lysed the Yersinia enterocolitica cells, as observed under scanning electron microscopy. Docking revealed that picroside-1 (ligand) showed both hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions with the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) protein of Yersinia enterocolitica and that DHFR is a possible drug target. The high activity and natural origin of Picroside-1 justify its potential as a possible drug candidate for Yersinia enterocolitica.

In-vitro antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity of modified solvent evaporated ethanolic extract of Calocybe indica: GCMS and HPLC characterization.

Recent interest in the utilization of mushroom-based bioactive compounds has increased due to their potential bioactivities and as alternatives in the reduction of high concentrations of chemical utilization. Therefore, we evaluated the physicochemical, functional, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activity of the Calocybe indica. The nutritional composition of the mushroom was found to be a good source of proteins (12.48%) and fiber (6.87%). Polysaccharide and protein moiety showed both hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains and the sample showed higher water (3.01 g/g), oil binding (2.45 g/g) emulsifying (68.94), and foaming properties (59.39%). Structural characterization revealed the porous and small crystalline structure of the mushroom powder. Ethanolic extract was quantified for total phenolics and flavonoids and revealed 11.1534 ppm caffeic acid, 0.057 ppm syringic acid, 1.6385 ppm p-coumaric acid, and 0.3495 ppm rutin, respectively. Presence of ethyl tridecanoate, hexadecanoic acid ethyl ester, pentadecanoic acid ethyl ester, undecanoic acid ethyl ester, N, α, α'-trimethyl diphenethylamine, nicotinonitriles, phosphonic acid decyl-, 1-hexyl-2-nitrocyclohexane, diallyl divinylsilane, 3-phenyl-pyrrolo(2,3-ß) pyrazine was confirmed during GC-MS analysis. Furthermore, the mushroom extract showed effective antimicrobial against Gram-positive (23.67 mm) and negative bacteria (20.33 mm) in terms of zone of inhibition. Significantly comparable anti-inflammatory activity was observed for mushroom extract during protein denaturation (43.72-85.69%) and membrane stabilization. In conclusion, the mushroom extract has shown good functional properties and potential bioactivity, therefore, it can be scaled up as an effective food preservative, potential anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial agent at the industrial level.

Formulation, Characterization, and In Vitro Mineral Absorption of Ficus Palmata Fruit Extract Nanoemulsion.

OBJECTIVE: Loss of vital bioactive components of Ficus palmata fruit extract during food processing is a major issue. Therefore, to retain the antioxidant potential and to increase the mineral bioavailability, gum arabic stabilized nanoemulsion of Fig fruit extract was prepared. METHOD: . Nanoemulsion was formulated using three different levels (1, 3, and 5%) of fig extract, however, to optimize the fig extract concentration, the amount of gum arabic and linoleic acid was kept constant. RESULTS: The average droplet size of nanoemulsion was observed in the range of 22.88-37.87 nm, whereas the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy confirmed the presence of functional groups in the emulsion system. Also, increased ionic concentration significantly (p < 0.05) increased the average droplet size and zeta potential of nanoemulsion during storage. Increased shear rate and temperature unveiled a slight decrease in apparent viscosity of the nanoemulsion. Non-significant (p < 0.05) difference in TBA value confirmed the oxidative stability of the emulsion. Significantly (p < 0.05) higher mineral bioavailability for calcium was observed as compared to iron and zinc. CONCLUSION: Our results manifested improved anti-oxidant activity, mineral bioavailability, and oxidative stability of Fig extract nanoemulsion, suggesting its potential use as a therapeutic alternative.

Assessment of Anti-Inflammatory and Antimicrobial Potential of Ethanolic Extract of Woodfordia fruticosa Flowers: GC-MS Analysis.

Currently, the potential utilization of natural plant-derived extracts for medicinal and therapeutic purposes has increased remarkably. The current study, therefore, aimed to assess the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity of modified solvent evaporation-assisted ethanolic extract of Woodfordia fruticosa flowers. For viable use of the extract, qualitative analysis of phytochemicals and their identification was carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Analysis revealed that phenolic (65.62 ± 0.05 mg/g), flavonoid (62.82 ± 0.07 mg/g), and ascorbic acid (52.46 ± 0.1 mg/g) components were present in high amounts, while ß-carotene (62.92 ± 0.02 µg/mg) and lycopene (60.42 ± 0.8 µg/mg) were present in lower amounts. The antimicrobial proficiency of modified solvent-assisted extract was evaluated against four pathogenic bacterial and one fungal strain, namely Staphylococcusaureus (MTCC 3160), Klebsiellapneumoniae (MTCC 3384), Pseudomonasaeruginosa (MTCC 2295), and Salmonellatyphimurium (MTCC 1254), and Candidaalbicans (MTCC 183), respectively. The zone of inhibition was comparable to antibiotics streptomycin and amphotericin were used as a positive control for pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. The extract showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) anti-inflammatory activity during the albumin denaturation assay (43.56-86.59%) and HRBC membrane stabilization assay (43.62-87.69%). The extract showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging assay and the obtained results are comparable with BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) with percentage inhibitions of 82.46%, 83.34%, and 84.23%, respectively. Therefore, the obtained results concluded that ethanolic extract of Woodfordia fruticosa flowers could be utilized as a magnificent source of phenols used for the manufacturing of value-added food products.

A Review on Antifungal Efficiency of Plant Extracts Entrenched Polysaccharide-Based Nanohydrogels.

Human skin acts as a physical barrier; however, sometimes the skin gets infected by fungi, which becomes more severe if the infection occurs on the third layer of the skin. Azole derivative-based antifungal creams, liquids, or sprays are available to treat fungal infections; however, these formulations show various side effects on the application site. Over the past few years, herbal extracts and various essential oils have shown effective antifungal activity. Additionally, autoxidation and epimerization are significant problems with the direct use of herbal extracts. Hence, to overcome these obstacles, polysaccharide-based nanohydrogels embedded with natural plant extracts and oils have become the primary choice of pharmaceutical scientists. These gels protect plant-based bioactive compounds and are effective delivery agents because they release multiple bioactive compounds in the targeted area. Nanohydrogels can be applied to infected areas, and due to their contagious nature and penetration power, they get directly absorbed through the skin, quickly reaching the skin's third layer and effectively reducing the fungal infection. In this review, we explain various skin fungal infections, possible treatments, and the effective utilization of plant extract and oil-embedded polysaccharide-based nanohydrogels.

Effect of processing conditions on the stability of native vitamin A and fortified retinol acetate in milk.

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the stability of vitamin A in fortified milk which was exposed to different processing conditions viz. heat treatments (pasteurization, boiling and sterilization), light exposure treatments (1485, 2970 and 4455 lux for 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 h) and different packaging materials (polyethylene pouches and glass bottles) and also to evaluate the effect of fortified iron (ferric pyrophosphate soluble (FPP) and ferrous gluconate hydrate (FG) on vitamin A stability during processing and storage. Toned milk was fortified with 25 ppm iron and vitamin A acetate 2500 IU/L, singly and also in combination. The vitamin A analysis method was optimized and accuracy and precision were below ± 5%. The results indicated that vitamin A was heat-labile and its degradation increased with the increase in the intensity of heat treatments. Pasteurized milk (318.11 IU/L) showed non-significant (p > 0.05) decrease, however, boiling (250.21 IU/L) and sterilization (205.65 IU/L) showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) in vitamin A content in comparison to control (324.71 IU/L). Similarly, vitamin A was light sensitive and its degradation significantly increased (p < 0.05) with an increase in the intensity of light exposure (34.82 to 92.53%). Loss of vitamin A (%) was significantly greater (p < 0.05) in iron-fortified milk suggesting that iron might have played a role in accelerating the degradation of vitamin A. Extent of losses were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in FG compared to FPP fortified milk. Vitamin A (microencapsulated form) which was added externally was more stable than the inherent vitamin A present in milk.

Development of an analytical protocol for the estimation of vitamin D(2) in fortified toned milk.

A simple and rapid method has been developed for the isolation and determination of vitamin D2 in fortified milk samples by HPLC. The advantage of the proposed method is that sample preparation time is reduced and both crystalline and encapsulated forms of vitamin D2 can be estimated. The developed protocol involves a few extraction steps and requires less amounts of reagents. The HPLC separation of vitamin D2 was carried out on a reverse phase C18 column with photo diode array detector at 254 nm. Some additional steps were required for extraction of microencapsulated vitamin D2 for breaking down coating material in comparison to crystalline vitamin D2. The recovery of vitamin D2 in fortified toned milk by the proposed method ranged from 96.46% to 99.05%. Non significant degradation was observed in vitamin D2 during seven days storage and also under light exposure (1485 lux) for 32 h.

Bioavailability of vitamin D2 and calcium from fortified milk.

The objective of the present investigation was to determine bioavailability of calcium and vitamin D2 from milk fortified with either calcium or vitamin D2 alone or when both were used for preparation of multiple micronutrient fortified milk and also to study its interaction with iron and zinc bioavailability. 32 weanling male rats (aged 21-28 days) were assigned into four groups and were fed milk and milk fortified with calcium, vitamin D2 and calcium+vitamin D2. Vitamin D2 increased calcium bioavailability. In multiple micronutrient fortified milk, the bioavailability of both calcium+vitamin D2 increased in comparison to single fortification. Calcium fortification decreased, whereas vitamin D2 increased the absorption of iron and zinc. However, calcium and vitamin D2 when fortified in combination, the iron and zinc bioavailability was similar to control group. There was positive association between bioavailability of calcium and vitamin D2.