Bioactive and pharmacological characterization of Chenopodium quinoa, Sorghum bicolor and Linum usitassimum: A review

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and flaxseed (Linum usitassimum L.) are grains and seeds popularly known for their nutritional values. This  review aimed to discuss the nutritional profile of these grains and seeds, their bioactive compounds and how those compounds help to prevent chronic diseases. These crops were selected for this study as they are all free of gluten; they are a rich source of protein, and they all have a low glycemic index (GI) i.e. they do not spike the blood sugar level, which makes them a good choice for people with diabetes and celiac disease. During the study, it was found that some or all of the bioactive compounds like phenolic acids, flavonoids, saponins, phytosterols, tocopherol, tannins, betalains, stillbenoids, polycosanols, alpha-linoleic acid, and lignans have anti- cancerous, anti- diabetic, anti-hypertensive and cardiovasculareffects on the body.  Quinoa posses’ bioactive compounds like quercetin, kaempferol, Betacyanins, betalains and tocopherol, that have biological functions such as anti-hypertensive, anti-viral, anti-oxidant, anti-cancerous, anti-diabetic, anti-allergic, anti-thrombosis, and anti-atherosclerosis effects on the body. Sorghum contains trans-resveratrol, caffeic acid, gallic acid, campesterol, stigmasterol and gallotannins, which helps prevent lung, breast and prostate cancer, prevents type-2-diabetes, and has neuroprotective effect. Flaxseed bioactives like Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), lignans and cyanogenic glycosides have Immunomodulatory, anti-fibrosis, anti-mutagenic and anti-obesity effects. Since the world is moving towards a healthy lifestyle, grains and seeds are a good source of nutritious foods

Edible cutlery: An eco-friendly replacement for plastic cutlery

Plastic has become a significant threat to the entire ecological system, the daily utilization of plastic products has several beyond-description losses like air pollution caused by incinerating plastic, pollution of the marine environment and microplastics damaging internal organs of animals and indirectly harming humans by consuming the sea-food, meat and other products which rife with micro-plastic. This review aimed to assess the replacement of plastic usage with a better alternative, including studies on various types of cutlery, preparation of edible cutlery, therapeutical properties and the market of edible cutlery.They occur in everyday life, which compromises the standard of living. Plastic usage can be minimized with a better alternative, as complete eradication is not possible due to their consistent dependence and usage. So, a better substitute is cutlery made up of plant-based products like rice, sorghum, wheat, soy, and rice bran flour. The edible cutlery has biodegradable and eco-friendly properties and is the finest substitute for plastic cutlery. This cutlery can help change the system of unhealthiness into a better lifestyle by minimizing the health-associated risks such as cancers, endocrine disruption, and impaired immunity with exposure to leaching plastic packages which are used to store food items. It can help to achieve sustainable development goals (SDG) of United Nations Organisation i.e., ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages (SDG-3) and take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (SDG-13), the ultimate aim of this paper was to reduce the usage of plastic and products made up of plastic

Probiotics as a boon in Food diligence: Emphasizing the therapeutic roles of Probiotic beverages on consumers' health

Probiotics are living microorganisms that improve health when eaten or introduced to the body. They have become an essential aspect of everyone’s life now due to these products growing health benefits. They contain live bacteria that help our gut maintain good gut microflora and keep us healthy. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are the most used probiotic strains. Everyone knows the importance of these products nowadays and has highlighted the parts that a reader must know about these products and how they affect the human body. This review discusses probiotics, dairy-based probiotics, non-dairy based probiotics and their role in therapeutics. This review has also been elaborated on an essential by-product of the dairy industry, i.e., whey, which has many health benefits and highly recommended for people who are in sports and body-building. While analysing the health benefits of probiotic supplements, there is a lot to discuss,i.e. how and where probiotic products work in our body and provide us with different health benefits. The most common way a probiotic performs is by boosting our immune system and fighting diseases. While looking at the market part of probiotic products globally, it is a multibillion-dollar market mostly based in Europe, where people are more health-conscious. The probiotic market has now frowned worldwide and is one of the most profitable markets in the current world

Owalla Reservoir in South-western Nigeria: Assessment of Fish Distribution, Biological Diversity, and Water Quality Index

The Water Quality Index (WQI) was used to evaluate the ecological health and status of Owalla Reservoir and the implications on fish species distribution and biological diversity of the reservoir. Water quality and fish species were collected from three sampling zones (A, B, and C) from September 2019 to August 2020 and biological diversity indices such as dominance, Shannon-Weiner, Evenness, Brillouin, Menhinick, Margalef, Equitability, and Fishers index were calculated. The mean values measured for the temperature (25.9 ± 0.48 oC), dissolved oxygen (4.14 ± 0.10 mg/L), pH (7.0 ± 0.01), and nitrate (0.68 ± 0.25 mg/L) of Owalla Reservoir were within the recommended range; while ammonia (0.13 ± 0.20 mg/L), nitrite (0.14 ± 0.21 mg/L) were high and above the recommended limits. The WQI was highest in zone A (155.97) with an overall index value of 152.73 for the reservoir. Zone A recorded the highest relative fish abundance (49.95%) and was more diversified than other sampling zones. In terms of fish biodiversity indices, zone A had the highest richness (9), number of individuals (136), Shannon (1.84), and Brillouin (1.62) index values. Zones B and C were highest in terms of Dominance (1.0), and Evenness (1.0). Zones A and C were highest in terms of Simpson (0.83); zone B was highest in terms of Menhinick (1.58), and Fisher_alpha index (3.98) while zone C was highest in terms of Margalef (2.0), and Equitability (0.99) indices. The elevated levels of WQI, ammonia, and nitrite pose a danger to fish species and watershed systems. It is important to maintain the quality of water within Owalla Reservoir by ensuring best human practices and averting inappropriate human wastes as well as sewage disposal and agricultural activities. These should be checked for the sustainability of fish species

Nutraceutical and pharmaceutical behavior of bioactive compounds of miracle oilseeds: an overview

India plays an important role in the production of oilseeds, which are mainly cultivated for future extraction of their oil. In addition to the energic and nutritional contribution of these seeds, oilseeds are rich sources of bioactive compounds (e.g., phenolic compounds, proteins, minerals). A regular and moderate dietary supplementation of oilseeds promotes health, prevents the appearance of certain diseases (e.g., cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers) and delays the aging process. Due to their relevant content in nutraceutical molecules, oilseeds and some of their associated processing wastes have raised interest in food and pharmaceutical industries searching for innovative products whose application provides health benefits to consumers. Furthermore, a circular economy approach could be considered regarding the re-use of oilseeds’ processing waste. The present article highlights the different oilseed types, the oilseeds-derived bioactive compounds as well as the health benefits associated with their consumption. In addition, the different types of extractive techniques that can be used to obtain vegetable oils rich from oilseeds, such as microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), are reported. We conclude that the development and improvement of oilseed markets and their byproducts could offer even more health benefits in the future, when added to other foods.King Khalid University (Saudi Arabia) | Ref. #RGP2/3/4

Owalla Reservoir in South-western Nigeria: Assessment of Fish Distribution, Biological Diversity, and Water Quality Index

The Water Quality Index (WQI) was used to evaluate the ecological health and status of Owalla Reservoir and the implications on fish species distribution and biological diversity of the reservoir. Water quality and fish species were collected from three sampling zones (A, B, and C) from September 2019 to August 2020 and biological diversity indices such as dominance, Shannon-Weiner, Evenness, Brillouin, Menhinick, Margalef, Equitability, and Fishers index were calculated. The mean values measured for the temperature (25.9 ± 0.48 oC), dissolved oxygen (4.14 ± 0.10 mg/L), pH (7.0 ± 0.01), and nitrate (0.68 ± 0.25 mg/L) of Owalla Reservoir were within the recommended range; while ammonia (0.13 ± 0.20 mg/L), nitrite (0.14 ± 0.21 mg/L) were high and above the recommended limits. The WQI was highest in zone A (155.97) with an overall index value of 152.73 for the reservoir. Zone A recorded the highest relative fish abundance (49.95%) and was more diversified than other sampling zones. In terms of fish biodiversity indices, zone A had the highest richness (9), number of individuals (136), Shannon (1.84), and Brillouin (1.62) index values. Zones B and C were highest in terms of Dominance (1.0), and Evenness (1.0). Zones A and C were highest in terms of Simpson (0.83); zone B was highest in terms of Menhinick (1.58), and Fisher_alpha index (3.98) while zone C was highest in terms of Margalef (2.0), and Equitability (0.99) indices. The elevated levels of WQI, ammonia, and nitrite pose a danger to fish species and watershed systems. It is important to maintain the quality of water within Owalla Reservoir by ensuring best human practices and averting inappropriate human wastes as well as sewage disposal and agricultural activities. These should be checked for the sustainability of fish species

Fungal Growth and Mycotoxins Production: Types, Toxicities, Control Strategies, and Detoxification

Fungal growth and the production of mycotoxins are influenced by several factors. Environmental conditions such as temperature, water activity, and humidity affect mycotoxin production and fungal growth. Other factors such as pH, fungal strain, and substrate also play roles. Common mycotoxins include aflatoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes, sterigmatocystin (STC), citrinin, ergot alkaloids, ochratoxins, zearalenones (ZEAs), patulin, deoxynivalenol (DON), Alternaria toxins, tremorgenic mycotoxins, fusarins, cyclochlorotine, sporidesmin, 3-nitropropionic acid, etc. These toxins cause many health conditions in animals and humans, including death. A comprehensive approach starting from the field before planting, continuing throughout the entire food chain is required to control mycotoxin contamination. Good practices, such as proper field practices before and after planting, good harvest practices and postharvest handling, and proper drying and storage measures, help reduce mycotoxin contamination. Several physical, biological, and chemical techniques have been applied to help reduce/eliminate mycotoxin contamination. Food processing also play slight role in mycotoxins removal

A review on the comparative study of nutraceutically activated fruits and herbs based wines: Fruit vs. Herbal wine

Nowadays, fruits and herbs wine is a boon for the alcoholic beverage industry since it has a plethora of secondary metabolites (bioactives) with numerous pharmacological properties. The article aims to provide an overview of the possibility of making wine from a variety of nutraceutically active herbs and fruits. The different databases have been used to compile the information. Wine can be made from tropical, subtropical, and temperate fruits that are highly perishable, nutritionally diverse, and underutilised, such as raspberries, pomegranates, sweet potatoes, papaya, pineapples, and kiwi fruit. Herbal wine is beneficial to the alcoholic beverage industry because it has a large number of secondary metabolites (bioactives) with a variety of medicinal properties. Herbal and fruit wine provide biological functions and health benefits such as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory activity, anticancer, anti-aging, and protection against cardiovascular problems, diabetes, obesity, and neurodegenerative disorders. Among herbal and fruit wine constituents, phenolic compounds are important in conferring health benefits. Most significantly, phenolic substances like flavanols, flavanones, flavones, tannins, anthocyanins, hydroxycinnamic acids, hydroxybenzoic acids, and resveratrol can help prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes, inflammation, and other chronic diseases. This study focuses on the comparative health benefits of the bioactive chemicals which are present in the fruits and herbal wines. Wine includes physiologically active components that have the potential to improve consumer’s health. Various herbs and fruits used for winemaking and their medicinal applications have been discussed in this paper.         

Bioactive, antioxidant, industrial, and nutraceutical applications of banana peel

ABSTRACTPeople usually waste or discard the numerous benefits of banana peel due to a lack of awareness. Banana peel is a rich source of many bioactive compounds like carotenoids, biogenic amines, polyphenols, phytosterols, and antioxidants. It also contains minerals like iron, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, and good levels of dietary fiber. The use of antioxidants present in banana peels can help reduce the risk of diseases like cancer. Antioxidants play a crucial role in the removal of toxins from the human body. One complete banana comprises about 30–40% peel, and the rest is the pulp portion. Banana peels are used in a wide range of industries like cosmetics, medicine, food processing, beverages, textiles, energy resources, paper manufacture, bio-absorbents, biofuel production, and the agricultural sector. An epic transformation in different industrial sectors can be seen because of the versatile nature of banana peel. In agricultural sectors, banana peel can be used as fertilizer to enhance the soil's physical properties, crop quality, and yield due to potassium. Even fiber-rich banana peels can be used to treat constipation problems. Banana peel carries anti-inflammatory properties that can be used in daily life as a first-aid at home to control, reduce, and cure inflammation and infections. Banana is commonly available in our homes, and thus it can be known as a zero-budget organic cosmetic product. Industrial products like paper, fiber, and textiles can be manufactured from banana peels

A narrative review on nutraceutical, food and industrial applications of flaxseed (<i>Linum usitatissimum.</i> L)

Flaxseed is a nutritional powerhouse, packed with essential nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, notably alpha-linolenic acid, Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG), lignans, protein, soluble fiber, and an array of phenolic compounds. This holistic nutritional profile makes flaxseed a remarkable dietary addition. A mere serving of flaxseed offers substantial protein, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids, making it an ally in weight management, blood pressure regulation, and the reduction of cancer risk and inflammation. These health benefits make flaxseed an attractive choice for individuals seeking to improve their overall well-being. Flaxseed’s appeal goes beyond its nutritional advantages. Its mild, nutty flavour and crispy texture make it a versatile ingredient that elevates the taste and consistency of a wide range of recipes. Whether sprinkled on yogurt, blended into smoothies, or used as a binder in baking, flaxseed’s culinary applications are as diverse as they are delightful. Furthermore, flaxseed’s potential uses extend into the food industry, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 3, which promotes good health and well-being. The current applications of flaxseeds for attaining strategic solutions in areas of textiles, paper production, biofuels and health supplements is considered as an industrial novelty. Flaxseed’s incorporation into food products contributes to the development of health-conscious and sustainable dietary options.</p