Incorporation of garlic extract as antifungal agent in psyllium based edible coating for mandarin

oai:ojs.ijfaas.com:article/2In present Research work, the mathanolic extract of garlic was incorporated in locally developed Psyllium based edible coating for its application on mandarin. Different concentrations of the extract were used in the coating and quality of the fruit was monitored during storage at room temperature. The results indicated that there was least change (increase) in brix, weight loss, brix/acid ratio, pH and acidity of the fruit during storage studies.  The fungal contamination was effectively controlled due to incorporation of garlic extracts at a rate of 6-8%. On the basis of these results it was concluded that the garlic extracts can be used in psyllium based edible coating and it has antifungal significant antifungal potential but at relatively higher concentrations (>6%)

Assessment of Growth Inhibition of Eugenol-Loaded Nano-Emulsions against Beneficial Bifidobacterium sp. along with Resistant Escherichia coli Using Flow Cytometry

The intestinal tract microbiota influences many aspects of the dietary components on colon health and during enteric infections, thus, playing a pivotal role in the colon health. Therefore, the eugenol (EU) nano-emulsion effective concentration reported in our previous study against cancer cells should be explored for safety against beneficial microbes. We evaluated the sensitivity of Bifidobacterium breve and B. adolescentis against EU-loaded nano-emulsions at 0, 300, 600 and 900 µm, which were effective against colon and liver cancer cells. Both B. breve and B. adolescentis showed comparable growth ranges to the control group at 300 and 600 µm, as evident from the plate count experimental results. However, at 900 µm, a slight growth variation was revealed with respect to the control group. The real-time inhibition determination through flow cytometry showed B. breve viable, sublethal cells (99.49 and 0.51%) and B. adolescentis (95.59 and 0.15%) at 900 µm, suggesting slight inhibition even at the highest tested concentration. Flow cytometry proved to be a suitable quantitative approach that has revealed separate live, dead, and susceptible cells upon treatment with EU nano-emulsion against Escherichia coli. Similarly, in the case of B. breve and B. adolescentis, the cells showed only live cells that qualitatively suggest EU nano-emulsion safety. To judge the viability of these sublethal populations of B. breve and B. adolescentis, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy was carried out, revealing no peak shift for proteins, lipids, DNA and carbohydrates at 900 µm EU nano-emulsion compared to the control. On the other hand, EU-loaded nano-emulsions (900 µm)-treated E. coli showed a clear peak shift for a membrane protein, lipids, DNA and carbohydrates. This study provides insights to utilize plant phenols as safe medicines as well as dietary supplements

Nutrigenomics: Challenges and Opportunities

Nutritional genomics is one of the emerging fields of food sciences for innovative trends in food sciences. Understanding of the genetics of the human health and diseases is very important to set the diet and nutrition plans. Functional genomics studies have paved the path to the cure of the disease with diet. With the advancement in the field of genetics and genomics especially next generation sequencing and molecular markers, nutrigenomics has been gaining much attention in the field of food sciences. The chapter will elaborate challenges and opportunities associated with the field of nutrigenomics and will propose strategies to address the issues

Cuticular collagen genes from the parasitic nematode Ostertagia circumcincta

The nematode cuticle is a multifunctional structure whose roles include exoskeleton and barrier between the animal and its environment. It is an extracellular matrix which consists predominantly of small collagen-like proteins. For those species studied, these cuticular collagens are encoded by a multigene family. In the free living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, this family has approximately 100 members. Our data indicate a gene family of similar size in the parasitic nematode Ostertagia circumcincta. We have characterised a pair of tandemly duplicated collagen genes from O. circumcincta, colost-1 and colost-2, which we believe to be the direct homologues of col-12 and col-13, a tandemly duplicated pair previously identified in C. elegans. The interspecies comparison of these homologues indicates regions of extreme conservation. We conclude that the gene duplication event that resulted in the creation of col-12 and col-13 in C. elegans is most likely the same duplication that generated colost-1 and colost-2 in O. circumcincta, and thus this particular gene duplication precedes the divergence of the two species. These two nematode species are deeply diverged, O. circumcincta belonging to the order Strongylata and C. elegans to Rhabditata. The ability to identify direct homologues of individual cuticular collagen genes between deeply diverged species provides a powerful method for determining regions of structural importance in these small collagens. Characteristics that are conserved between homologues in divergent species, but not conserved with other members of the multigene family within one species, must relate to the specific function of that particular cuticular collagen

Chemistry and Functionality of Bioactive Compounds Present in Persimmon

Extensive research has related the consumption of persimmon with the reduced risk of various diseases and particularly highlighted the presence of bioactive phenolic compounds for their therapeutic properties. Major phenolic compounds present in persimmon are ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, and gallic acid. β-Cryptoxanthin, lycopene, β-carotene, zeaxanthin, and lutein are important carotenoids having antioxidant potential. They are important to prevent oxidation of low-density lipoproteins, safeguard beta cells of the pancreas, and reduce cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes mellitus, and damage caused by chronic alcohol consumption. In this paper, the chemistry and health benefits of bioactive compounds present in persimmon are reviewed to encourage impending applications and to facilitate further research activities

Effects of water extracts of apple and pomegranate peel on the quality of orange squash

Punica granatum (pomegranate) and Malus domestica (apple) are rich source of bioactive compounds i.e. phenolics components, anthocyanins and tannins that can be potential preservative agents. The aim of the present research plan was to evaluate the quality characteristics of orange squash after addition of aqueous extracts of apple and pomegranate peels. For this purpose aqueous extracts of pomegranate and apple peels were added in orange squash and then the final product was examined for physiochemical and sensory attributes during storage. Results of current study demonstrated that physico-chemical parameters of orange squash significantly changed with the storage period in all the treatments in such a way that total soluble solids (°Brix) were gradually decreased but the acidity increased. Sensory examination result of orange squash revealed that color, flavor and taste were decreased with the passage of time in all the treatments but preservative and 100% apple peel extract were upto acceptable level. Whereas 50% preservative and 50% pomegranate extract and 100% pomegranate extract were highly rejected