Walnut fruit: Impact of ethylene assisted hulling on in vitro antioxidant activity, polyphenols, PUFAs, amino acids and sensory attributes.

The effects of three different hulling methods wiz natural heaping/traditional (T1), steeping (T2), and spraying (T3), on moisture, colour, fat, free amino acids, fatty acids, antioxidant activities, flavonoids, tannins, total phenolic content, and organoleptic qualities of walnut kernels were examined in this study. The kernels extracted from walnuts subjected to T3 method recorded significantly (p ≤ 0.05) highest DPPH inhibition (68.61 %), ABTS (54.56 %inhibition) and FRAP (0.106 µM trolox/100 g); flavonoids (1993.08 mg QE/100 g), tannin content (0.312 %) and phenols (0.736 mg GAE/g) compared to T1 and T2. Walnut kernels of T3 treatment group were rated better in terms of taste (3.8), odour (3.6) and overall acceptability (3.78) Furthermore, walnut kernels obtained from T3 treatment group exhibited the highest percentage of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) and sweet free amino acids. The outcome of the present study offers a fresh viewpoint regarding the hulling processes of green walnuts to meet the quality requirements of walnut kernels.

Explicating genetic diversity based on ITS characterization and determination of antioxidant potential in sea buckthorn (Hippophae spp.).

BACKGROUND: Sea buckthorn (Hippophae) is in the focus of interest mainly for its positive effects on health of both human and animal organisms. Due to the similarities in vegetative morphology, Hippophae species are often misidentified. Therefore, current study was focused on ITS based sequence characterization of sea buckthorn species and comparative biochemical evaluation for its antioxidant properties. METHODS AND RESULTS: DNA was extracted from leaf samples. Primer pairs K-Lab-SeaBukRhm-ITS1F1- K-Lab-SeaBukRhm-ITS1R1 and K-LabSeaBukTib- ITSF1- K-LabSeaBukTib-ITSR1 were used for PCR amplification. The purified PCR products were outsourced for sequencing. Phylogenetic tree was constructed based on neighbor-joining (NJ) method. Moreover, comparison of antioxidant potential of leaves of two sea buckthorn species (Hippophae rhamnoides and Hippophae tibetana) collected from different regions of Ladakh viz., Stakna, Nubra, DRDO Leh and Zanskar was determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azino-bis (3- ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), and Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) by phosphomolybdenum assays. The present investigation led to the differentiation of two sea buckthorn species viz., H. rhamnoides and H. tibetana based on Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region. Moreover, significant variation was observed in antioxidant potential of leaf extracts collected from different regions. CONCLUSIONS: Primary ITS sequence analysis was found to be powerful tool for identification and genetic diversity studies in sea buckthorn. Leaves of sea buckthorn have pronounced antioxidant properties and can be used in food, neutraceuticals and pharmaceutical industries etc. The current study will pave the way to discover small bioactive molecules responsible for antioxidant and anticancer properties in sea buckthorn.