Plant Proteins as Healthy, Sustainable and Integrative Meat Alternates

Vegetarian protein diet based food industry have emerged as one of the fastest growing industries with largest than ever shelf space it has created in today’s market. The rapid growth of plant protein industry is attributed to increased health awareness, economic and environmental sustainability issues of animal proteins and their nutritious, economical, and healthy food image among masses. Technological interventions like extrusion texturization has enabled the food engineers to create the imitation meat which approximates the esthetic attributes (texture, flavor, and appearance, binding ability, chewiness, firmness or softness) and/or chemical nature of meat. These texturized plant proteins are healthier and economical meat substitutes with sufficient opportunity to manage modify or change their functional properties in accordance to specific consumer demands

Deep eutectic solvents (DES): An update on the applications in food sectors

The food processing sector has expanded dramatically over the past ten years, particularly with regard to goods that are high in biologically active compounds. Thus, the efficacy and safety of food extraction techniques have also received attention. There is currently a sharp rise in research articles committed to the creation of new extraction techniques which are not only quick and affordable but also more effective and environmentally friendly, increasing yields and extract quality without the use of potentially dangerous organic solvents. The use of green solvents has been a focus of study to meet sustainable development goals. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are acknowledged as excellent alternatives to organic solvents due to their simpler manufacturing procedure with 100% atom economy, cheap cost, probable biodegradability, and negligible toxicity. DESs have become a popular and useful liquid with proven application in a variety of chemical reactions. Wide variety of food components may be extracted using DES, and they have been shown to be useful for applications involving food. However, the possibility for industrial scale-up use, however, has not been fully examined

A Comprehensive Review of Phytonutrients as a Dietary Therapy for Obesity

Obesity is a complex medical condition mainly caused by eating habits, genetics, lifestyle, and medicine. The present study deals with traditional diets like the Mediterranean diet, Nordic diet, African Heritage diet, Asian diet, and DASH, as these are considered to be sustainable diets for curing obesity. However, the bioavailability of phytonutrients consumed in the diet may vary, depending on several factors such as digestion and absorption of phytonutrients, interaction with other substances, cooking processes, and individual differences. Hence, several phytochemicals, like polyphenols, alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, etc., have been investigated to assess their efficiencies and safety in the prevention and treatment of obesity. These phytochemicals have anti-obesity effects, mediated via modulation of many pathways, such as decreased lipogenesis, lipid absorption, accelerated lipolysis, energy intake, expenditure, and preadipocyte differentiation and proliferation. Owing to these anti-obesity effects, new food formulations incorporating these phytonutrients were introduced that can be beneficial in reducing the prevalence of obesity and promoting public health