Development of value added Pasta with incorporation of malted finger millet flour

This study considers the replacement of Semolina with malted finger millet flour containing wide range of nutrients in enrichment of pasta. The changes in nutritional constituents and bioactive compounds (TPC, Radical Scavenging Activity) of pasta were examined by adding malted finger millet flour to the pasta formulations at the level of 0 (T0), 10 (T1), 20 (T2), 30 (T3), 40 (T4) and 50 (T5) per cent flour replacement. The results indicated that T4 sample of finger millet flour added pasta contained more protein content i.e. 12.65 g compared to that of control pasta (T0) i.e. 7 g. Same way the calorie content of value added pasta was higher i.e. 409.94 Kcal/100 g as compared to control pasta (T0) i.e. 324.40 Kcal/100 g. Calcium content of value added pasta was comparatively very high i.e. 170.4 mg/100 g as compared to 15.3 mg/100 g of control. As far TPC content & DPPH % were considered, T4 sample of pasta have higher amount of both i.e. 220 mg Gallic acid eq. & 53.38 % as compared to control pasta (T0) i.e. 220 mg Gallic acid eq. & 17.59 % respectively. Pasta and related products are the most popular are the most popular food worldwide. Usually pasta and other extruded products are high in starch but low in dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins. The present study clearly indicates that the use of malted finger millet flour will improve nutritional quality of pasta in terms of antioxidant activity

Prevalence of Vitamin A deficiency among school going children of Jasra block of Allahabad, India

The present study was conducted to find out the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency(VAD) among school going children of district Allahabad in year 2015 to assess the nutritional status of selected school going children (aged 6-12 years). The six months study was based on school going children in four selected village in Jasra block of Allahabad district.A structured Performa was used to collect the information. Out of the 105 children examined, 2 (1.90%) had clinical signs of night blindness. The overall prevalence of VAD was found to be 10.47%. Most of them exhibited dull and lusterless appearance of conjunctiva, non-had bitot’s spot, any corneal xerosis, corneal scare and keratomalacia. The prevalence of VAD was higher in girls rather than in boys. To overcome this problem of VAD persisting in community, nutrition education regarding regular intake of plant food rich in carotene such as green leafy vegetables, yellow fruits, carrots and animal foods containing retinol like fish liver oil, fortified food like vana- spati, margarine should be strengthened

Minimum Dietary Diversity-Women Score, a Key Indicator of Micronutrient Adequacy and its Association with Iron Status among Pregnant Women: Evidence from a Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study

A diversified diet is crucial for micronutrient adequacy in a pregnant woman. Iron deficiency Anemia (IDA) is linked to a lack of diversity in diets. The Minimum Dietary Diversity-Women (MDD-W) is a global indicator developed by the FAO to assess diet quality among women of reproductive age. The study seeks to determine the prevalence of MDD scores and its association with sociodemographic factors and iron status among pregnant women. Hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women at the women’s hospital, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh using systematic sampling frame. An enumerator-administered semi-structured interview schedule was used. Hemoglobin levels were assessed and IDA categorized. The prevalence of anemia was 47.4%, of which only 18.1% of women consumed a diverse diet and 81.89% had low MDD-W scores. The mean hemoglobin was 10.82 g/dl, Standard deviation 1.58. Socioeconomic status showed significant correlation to anemia (P = 0.001), and an OR of 1.099 at 95% confidence interval. The high prevalence of IDA and low MDD-W scores proves the need for increased awareness on dietary diversity rates among pregnant women so that micronutrient adequacy can be achieved

Enhancing micronutrient content of beverage powder by incorporating malted finger millet

Introduction: There is growing interest in the role of the micronutrients in optimizing health, and in prevention or treatment of disease. Micronutrients play a central part in metabolism and in the maintenance of tissue function, an adequate intake therefore is necessary. Rationale: This research work was concerned with the development of micronutrient especially calcium rich instant health beverage powder from malted finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and gurhal powder (Hibiscus rosa- sinensis). Aims & Objectives: In this study attempts have been made to investigate that whether the extruded malted finger millet flour and hibiscus flower powder has improved the nutritional and phytochemical quality of instant health beverage powder without deteriorating their sensory properties and whether it can be a supplement for calcium deficit sedentary women. Materials and methods: Instant health beverage powder was prepared by adding malted and extruded finger millet with glucose, hibiscus flower powder, citric acid and vanilla essence. All the ingredients were mixed well. Prior to consumption this powder was dissolved in water and stirred well manually. Further Instant health beverage powder was assessed for nutritional composition. Results: Results shows that beverage powder has very high content of protein (12.25 %) and calcium (96.5 %) along with highly beneficial neutraceutical properties as compared with the health drinks available in market, it is because of enhanced antioxidant activity resulted due to the incorporation of gurhal leaf powder and malting of the finger millet. Conclusion: This study may prove as a potential step to utilise malted finger millet as a supplement for calcium deficit women. The nutritional composition was found sufficient enough to meet approximately one fourth of RDA of Protein and Calcium as prescribed by NIN, India for sedentary women who are the main sufferers of calcium deficiencies in various life stages like pregnancy, lactation and menopause

EMBRACE Culture in Kindy Program

The EMBRACE Culture in Kindy Program was funded by Queensland Department of Education and Training (DET) to provide statewide support to kindergarten providers and communities in Queensland for the purpose of increasing kindergarten participation for families from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse (CAL D) backgrounds

Formulation of Herbal Tea and in Vitro Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity Against Drug-Resistant Uropathogens

The present study aims to formulate herbal tea and examine antioxidant and antimicrobial activity against uropathogens. Total phenolics content and radical scavenging activity of herbs (Hibiscus, Lemongrass, and Tinospora) and optimized tea were determined by the Folin–Ciocalteu method and percent of DPPH inhibition, respectively.The antibacterial activity of selected herbs and optimized tea were tested against three clinical isolates, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the modified agar disc diffusion method. The highest phenolic content and radical scavenging activity were observed in lemongrass, followed by hibiscus flower and tinospora stem. Although, the highest antibacterial activity was recorded by hibiscus flower against all tested pathogens, followed by lemongrass and tinospora. The sensory score of different treatments of herbal tea was analyzed by the Hedonic scale and treatment T2 (55:20:25) is found to be best followed by T1, T0, T3. The radical scavenging activity and antibacterial activity of herbal tea were found to be higher than in green tea. The herbal tea also exhibit significant antibacterial activity against common uropathogens E.coli (0.73mm),K.pneumoniae(0.5 mm) and P.aeruginosa (0.4 cm).  Therefore, the prepared herbal tea could be recommended for the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infection

Heat unit requirement and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties under different growing environment in mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh

A eld experiment was conducted during rabi seasons of 2015-16 and 2016-17 to study the accumulated growing degree days (GDD), helio-thermal unit (HTU), photo-thermal unit (PTU), heat use efciencies (HUE) at different phenological stages and performance of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties grown under different sowing dates. Results of present study revealed that the crop sown on 20th October required maximum calendar days, growing degree days, photo-thermal unit and helio-thermal unit for tillering, owering, earing and maturity which was signicantly reduced with subsequent delay in sowing time. The grain yield recorded in 20th November (4065 kgha-1) was statistically at par with 5th November yield (3863 kgha-1). The signicant reduction in grain yield on varieties was recorded when sowing was delayed beyond 20th November. Among the varieties 'VL-907' produced highest grain yield (3771 kgha-1) which was statistically on par with 'VL-829' (3726 kgha-1). The early and timely sown wheat  variety like VL-829 and VL-907 took highest calendar days, GDD, HTU and PTU for earing and maturity. The variety 'VL-907' recorded the highest grain yield (4196 and 4168 kgha-1) at 5th and 20th November sowing as compared to all other sowing dates