Development and Evaluation of Palmyrah (Borassus Flabellifer L.) Fruit Pulp

Palmyrah(Borassus flabellifer L) fruit pulp is available abundantly and has high potential for food in rural areas, useful for pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications, however, the main hindrance for these pulp is lack of mechanisation and availability of pulp in sufficient quantity at one place. The pulp of this fruit is usually used by rural communities where the processors use manual pulping, which are not only time-consuming but yields seasonal during July and August in India. Therefore, the objective of this work was to develop and evaluate the efficiency of fruit pulp extractor. The pulper was developed to be compact and easy to operate, consisting of main housing with stainless steel teeth on rotating shaft and pulping performed by beating and shearing. The performance evaluation of the machine was carried out with different rpm (320, 360, 410) input capacity(8,10 and 12 kg) for fixed time of operation is 6 minutes.. The pulp weight was evaluated during the pulping process period. The highest pulping efficiency (84.78%) and pulp recovery (33.9%) was obtained rpm of 410, with 6 minutes of pulping, and batch capacity of 10 kg of fruits which resulted in a capacity of 50 kg fruits per hour. This high efficiency makes this mechanized effective for pulping palmyrah fruits and, thus, it can replace manual pulping, especially in rural communities involved with the palmyrah fruit pulping. &nbsp

Optimization of osmotic dehydration in dragon fruit (Hylocereus Polyrhizus) slices using response surface methodology

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) is emerging as a super crop because of its several health and therapeutic benefits and ease of cultivation even in degraded land. Using response surface approach, the process parameters for osmotic dehydration of dragon fruit slices included process temperature, syrup concentration and process time. Slices of size 20 x 20 x 5 mm were dipped into sugar syrup with a syrup to dragon fruit slice ratio of 4:1 (w/w). After osmotic dehydration, the initial moisture content of dragon fruit samples was reduced to 27.5-68.49% (wb), demonstrating water loss, solid gain, and mass reduction in the range of 18.01-65.9%, 6.3-17.9% and 9.31-50.6%, respectively. After statistical analysis of the data on water loss, solid gain, and weight reduction, it was shown that regression equations of second order provided the greatest match for all the experimental data. With a syrup to fruit ratio of 4:1 and a syrup concentration of 65.3° Brix at a syrup temperature of 56.5°C, a maximum water loss of 58.2% and a minimum solid gain of 7.7% were expected to occur in 240 minutes of osmotic dehydration

Optimization of osmotic dehydration in dragon fruit (Hylocereus Polyrhizus) slices using response surface methodology

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) is emerging as a super crop because of its several health and therapeutic benefits and ease of cultivation even in degraded land. Using response surface approach, the process parameters for osmotic dehydration of dragon fruit slices included process temperature, syrup concentration and process time. Slices of size 20 x 20 x 5 mm were dipped into sugar syrup with a syrup to dragon fruit slice ratio of 4:1 (w/w). After osmotic dehydration, the initial moisture content of dragon fruit samples was reduced to 27.5-68.49% (wb), demonstrating water loss, solid gain, and mass reduction in the range of 18.01-65.9%, 6.3-17.9% and 9.31-50.6%, respectively. After statistical analysis of the data on water loss, solid gain, and weight reduction, it was shown that regression equations of second order provided the greatest match for all the experimental data. With a syrup to fruit ratio of 4:1 and a syrup concentration of 65.3° Brix at a syrup temperature of 56.5°C, a maximum water loss of 58.2% and a minimum solid gain of 7.7% were expected to occur in 240 minutes of osmotic dehydration

Perceptions and understanding of diabetes mellitus technology in adults with type 1 or type 2 DM: A pilot survey from Pakistan

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus technology (DMT) is increasingly used for routine management in developed countries, yet its uptake in developing countries is not as consistent. Multiple factors may influence this, including country specific patient perception regarding DMT. We conducted a pilot study in Pakistan to understand this important question which has not been studied yet.Methods: A cross-sectional pilot study was conducted in Pakistan. An anonymous survey exploring perceptions of diabetes technology was circulated on social media platforms, collecting responses over 2 weeks. Target population included adults (≥18 years) living in Pakistan, with DM1 or 2.Results: A total of 40 responses were received. The majority (36/40) reported using conventional glucometers. Nine used continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). Thirty-two of 40 patients believed DMT improved diabetes care, 22 felt it helped decreased risk of Diabetes-related complications. 15/40 stated that DMT results in increased cost of care. Sixteen reported their diabetes care teams had never discussed wearable DMT options whereas 11 disliked them because they did not want a device on their self.Conclusion: In our pilot study we have identified broad themes of opportunity and challenges to DMT use in Pakistan. Patients\u27 perceptions regarding DMT were generally positive but significant barriers to its acceptance included high cost, lack of discussion between doctor and patient about available technology and personal hesitation. Limitations of our study include sampling bias (online survey) and small sample size, but this data can help inform larger studies, to look at this important topic in greater detail

Optimization of Machine and Operational Parameters in the Development of Stubble Manager cum Crop Planter

Aims: Optimization of machine parameters (type of flail blade and number of strip-till blades per flange) and operational parameters (rotor shaft speed and forward speed) for the development of stubble manager cum crop planter for conservation agriculture. Study Design:  Split plot (3 factors); Type of flail blade/number of strip-till blades per flange as main plot and rotor shaft speed and forward speed as sub plots. Place and Duration of Study: Dr. NTR College of Agricultural Engineering, Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, India. Duration of the study was from August 2020 to July 2022 (24 moths). Methodology: Developed stubble manager cum crop planter as a solution for seeding of rice fallow pulse crops under combine harvested paddy field condition. This machine consists of two consists of stubble managing unit for mulching and strip tillage operations at a time and crop planting unit for placing pulse crop seed in furrow strips opened by stubble managing unit. The stubble managing unit was optimized for mulching parameters (shredding efficiency and paddy residue size reduction) and strip tillage parameters (furrow cross sectional area, furrow backfill and mass median diameter of soil clods) through field evaluation under combine harvested paddy field condition. Results: Interactions between machine and operational parameters were not significant on shredding efficiency. Highest paddy residue size reduction (77.33 %) up to 10 cm was observed with Y-type flail blade at rotor shaft and forward speeds 1650 rpm and 2.5 km h-1. Lowest furrow cross sectional area (20.93 cm2) and highest furrow soil backfill (23.24 %) were obtained with two numbers of strip-till blades per flange at rotor shaft and forward speed 1350 rpm and 2.0 km h-1 respectively. Interactions between machine and operational parameters were not significant on mass median diameter of soil clods. Conclusion: Optimized parameters for the stubble managing unit of the proposed machine were Y-type flail blade, 2-numbers of strip-till blades per flange, rotor shaft speed 1500 rpm and forward speed 2.0 km h-1

Development and evaluation of Ketoprofen sustained release matrix tablet using Hibiscus rosa-sinensis leaves mucilage

Currently, the use of natural gums and mucilage is of increasing importance in pharmaceutical formulations as valuable drug excipient. Natural plant-based materials are economic, free of side effects, biocompatible and biodegradable. Therefore, Ketoprofen matrix tablets were formulated by employing Hibiscus rosa-sinensis leaves mucilage as natural polymer and HPMC (K100M) as a synthetic polymer to sustain the drug release from matrix system. Direct compression method was used to develop sustained released matrix tablets. The formulated matrix tablets were evaluated in terms of physical appearance, weight variation, thickness, diameter, hardness, friability and in vitro drug release. The difference between the natural and synthetic polymers was investigated concurrently. Matrix tablets developed from each formulation passed all standard physical evaluation tests. The dissolution studies of formulated tablets revealed sustained drug release up to 24 h compared to the reference drug Apo Keto® SR tablets. The dissolution data later were fitted into kinetic models such as zero order equation, first order equation, Higuchi equation, Hixson Crowell equation and Korsmeyer-Peppas equation to study the release of drugs from each formulation. The best formulations were selected based on the similarity factor (f2) value of 50% and more. Through the research, it is found that by increasing the polymers concentration, the rate of drug release decreased for both natural and synthetic polymers. The best formulation was found to be F3 which contained 40% Hibiscus rosa-sinensis mucilage polymer and showed comparable dissolution profile to the reference drug with f2 value of 78.03%. The release kinetics of this formulation has shown to follow non-Fickian type which involved both diffusion and erosion mechanism. Additionally, the statistical results indicated that there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the F3 and reference drug in terms of MDT and T50% with p-values of 1.00 and 0.995 respectively

A Review of Moisturizers; History, Preparation, Characterization and Applications

Moisturizers are one of the most widely used preparations in cosmetics and have been extensively used to soften the skin for consumers. Moisturizers work effectively in combating dry skin which may cause pain, tightness, itch, stinging, and/or tingling. The aim of this review is to evaluate published studies on the history, ingredients, preparation processes, characteristics, uses, and applications of moisturizers. Moisturizers bridge the gap between medicine and consumer goods by being used to make the skin more beautiful and healthy. In the future, in moisturizer therapy, the capacity to adapt specific agents to specific dermatological demands will be crucial. Cosmetically, moisturizers make the skin smooth by the mechanism of increasing the water content in the stratum corneum, hence exerting its most vital action, which is moisturizing action and maintaining a normal skin pH

A Review of Moisturizers; History, Preparation, Characterization and Applications

Moisturizers are one of the most widely used preparations in cosmetics and have been extensively used to soften the skin for consumers. Moisturizers work effectively in combating dry skin which may cause pain, tightness, itch, stinging, and/or tingling. The aim of this review is to evaluate published studies on the history, ingredients, preparation processes, characteristics, uses, and applications of moisturizers. Moisturizers bridge the gap between medicine and consumer goods by being used to make the skin more beautiful and healthy. In the future, in moisturizer therapy, the capacity to adapt specific agents to specific dermatological demands will be crucial. Cosmetically, moisturizers make the skin smooth by the mechanism of increasing the water content in the stratum corneum, hence exerting its most vital action, which is moisturizing action and maintaining a normal skin pH