Application and Acceptability of Microbiomes in the Production Process of Nigerian Indigenous Foods: Drive towards Responsible Production and Consumption

In Nigeria, the use of microorganisms for food product modulation, development, and commercialization through biotechnological innovations remains unexplored and unaccepted. The microbiome-based sustainable innovation in the production process of Nigerian indigenous food requires a vigorous drive toward responsible consumption and pro�duction. The production process of locally fermented beverages and foods culturally varies in terms of fermentation tech�niques and is characterized by the distinctiveness of the microbiomes used for food and beverage production. This review was conducted to present the use of microbiome, its benefits, and utility as well as the perspectives toward and media�tory roles of biotechnology on the processing of locally fermented foods and their production in Nigeria. With the current concerns on global food insecurity, the utilization of modern molecular and genetic sciences to improve various rural food processing technologies to acceptable foreign exchange and socioeconomic scales has been gaining attention. Thus, further research on the various types of processing techniques for locally fermented foods using microbiomes in Nigeria is needed, with a focus on yield optimization using advanced techniques. This study demonstrates the adaptability of processed foods locally produced in Nigeria for the beneficial control of microbial dynamics, optimal nutrition, therapeutic, and organoleptic characteristics

Unveiling the role of functional foods with emphasis on prebiotics and probiotics in human health: A review

Functional foods particularly prebiotics and probiotics have attracted a lot of attention due to their ability to alter gut microbiota and have an impact on a number of health and disease-related factors, in relation to human health in recent years. Functional foods are foods that provide benefits to health beyond simple sustenance. They contain biologically active ingredients that offer additional health benefits when consumed on a regular basis as part of a balanced diet. Prebiotics, which are indigestible fibers that specifically promote the growth and activity of beneficial bacteria, and probiotics, which are live microorganisms that offer health benefits upon consumption of sufficient amount, have shown great promise in modifying the composition and function of the gut microbiota. The identified review problem involves clarifying the precise impacts of prebiotics and probiotics on immune system function, gut microbiota composition, metabolic health, and disease prevention. This review emphasizes the numerous advantages of probiotics and prebiotics in preserving the balance of gut microbiota, boosting immunity, enhancing metabolic parameters, and reducing the risk of a number of diseases. The review also insight to recent advances in the formulation of functional foods in mitigating health conditions and synergy between probiotics and prebiotics

Ethics of therapeutic foods consumption for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Hormesis-Based Anti-Aging Strategies

Food ethics allow individuals to make a right choice, determine the future consequences and outcomes. Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Multiple Sclerosis, moto neuron, human prion and Alzheimer’s at the moment are incurable illnesses characterized by waning/weakening in social behaviour, emotional control and social communication which are mainly caused by metabolic disorder. Various therapies have been targeted and developed for their treatment. Hormesis provides fundamental sustaining neuroprotective responses for improving the accuracy of the therapeutic treatments in reducing age-related diseases and assist healthy aging. The ethics of therapeutic diet must be based majorly on providing patients the nutrients needed to recover from diseases, considering food habits, food intolerances, allergy, occupation, meal timings among others. This review examined the influence of ethics on the level of application of therapeutic food in treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. It can be concluded that several foods play vital role in averting and lowering the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases conditions. Flexibility in tolerance to therapeutic foods in alignment with food ethics considering religion, culture, belief, passion, education, social and economic perspective among others will help in maintaining or improving the nutritional status of patients and beneficial for the brain. Hence, channeling ethics of therapeutic diet towards improving lifestyle factors and healthy hormesis in aging are germane strategies to combat incidences of neurodegenerative diseases

Application of Astaxanthin and Carotenoids Derived from Algae for the Production of Nutraceuticals, Pharmaceuticals, Additives, Food Supplement and Feed

The importance of astaxanthin and carotenoids for the production of nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, additives, food supplement and feed cannot be overemphasized due to several health benefit among which are anti-inflammatory and immune booster properties in persons and animals. They are major natural source of pigments; high in antioxidants that have been documented to be more competent compared with vitamins C, E, carotene, lutein, lycopene, zeaxanthin etc. Therefore, its vital to explore the use of astaxanthin and carotenoids from algae, hence this book chapter discusses the potentials of optimizing astaxanthin and carotenoids from macro and microalga cells. Utilization of astaxanthin and carotenoids from algae must be extended beyond serving as food colourant by leveraging on its powerful antioxidant potentials as a scavenger using microencapsulation to reduce oxidation damage which is germane in treatment of several documented health challenges. Hence, considering the futuristic prospects of maximizing astaxanthin and carotenoids produced from algae as major raw material in manufacturing of nutraceuticals, pharmaceutical products, and nutritional supplement on industrial scale for the global market, is a progressive phase towards attaining sustainable technology and agriculture, which is ecofriendly and supports healthy living of humans and animals

Trends in Processing, Preservation of Tomatoes and Its Allied Products

Tomato is universally grown, its consumption and allied products are proven over the years to have several health benefits. Tomato fruits have short shelf life hence usually preserved by canning whole, crushed, or processed into juice, ketchup, paste, puree, and dried slices. Therefore, it is imperative to collate recent advances that are used for production into finished products that are health-friendly and identify crucial associated challenges in developed and developing countries. Storage technologies are significantly upgraded from primitive techniques to ensure the availability of tomatoes all year-round whether fresh or processed. The review is aimed at responsible consumption and production of tomato and its allied products to sustain the food supply chain between the farmers, processors, and consumers who desire its availability, easy accessibility, the economical and durable shelf life in ready-to-eat packages. The review showed that some of the recent innovations/advances in the processing and preservation techniques of tomatoes are easy to adopt, consequently making unified goods accessible and affordable, hence proposed that such developments be modified in developed countries to tame overabundance season

Perspectives on communicating 21st-Century agricultural innovations to Nigerian rural farmers

This perspective paper reviews the existing research directions on agricultural extension programmes in Nigeria and highlights how they are incapable of diffusing enough knowledge to facilitate the adoption of 21st-century agricultural innovations and enhance sustainable practices among rural farmers. A key idea of this paper is to suggest a new direction of research that is oriented towards the quality, skills, and strategies of effective and efficient communication that the extension agents possess, and a two-way communication delivery, and accentuate how it is a panacea for effective diffusion of knowledge and adoption of agricultural innovations among rural farmers. The methodology was to review and compare bodies of literature from countries with the best agricultural extension and rural advisory services, particularly some countries in Asia, and show how insights from those countries can inform a new research direction in effectively communicating agricultural innovations to Nigerian rural farmers. Drawing on experiences from those countries, it was confirmed that Nigeria's extension system is not effective and efficient in communicating innovations in global agricultural practices to farmers in the rural areas, and research efforts in extension services in the country are still fixated on the role of extension agents as teachers to farmer-pupils and one-way communication delivery from research through extension to farmers, and the availability and ability to use communication channels. Based on the current challenges in farming and agriculture at large, there is a need to rethink the concept of extension in Nigeria, emphasize training of agents, acquisition of communication skills and adoption of a two-way communication delivery that recognises farmers as autonomous agents and co-designers of agricultural innovations and not just passive receivers. The value of this paper is that it is arguably the first attempt to chart a new perspective and communication delivery methods for research and practice in agricultural extension programmes in Nigeria

Poultry and Green Manures Effects on Soil Properties, and Sorghum Performance, and Quality

Nigeria’s savanna soils where sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is majorly produced are characterized by a lot of challenges. Hence, field experiments were conducted in 2018 and 2019 on sole and combined effects of Panicum maximum, Tithonia diversifolia, and poultry manure (PM) on soil physico-chemical properties, growth, yield, and proximate contents of sorghum. The treatments were: 10 t ha⁻¹ Tithonia leaves, 10 t ha⁻¹ Panicum leaves, 10 t ha⁻¹ PM, 5 t ha⁻¹ Tithonia leaves + 5 t ha⁻¹ Panicum leaves, 5 t ha⁻¹ Tithonia leaves + 5 t ha⁻¹ PM, 5 t ha⁻¹ Panicum leaves + 5 t ha⁻¹ PM (Panicum + PM), control. The treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Green manures and PM either sole or combined reduced sorghum’s grain fiber, fat and carbohydrate, soil bulk density and increased porosity, moisture content, soil organic matter (SOM), nutrient content, growth, yield, and moisture, ash and protein contents of sorghum compared with the control. When manures were combined, Panicum + PM has the highest value of these parameters but the least of grains fiber, fat, carbohydrate, and soil bulk density. The increased growth, yield, and quality of sorghum credited to Panicum + PM was owed to improved soil physical and chemical properties and also due to the fact that slowly decaying Panicum may allow retention of released nutrients from rapidly decomposing PM within the rooting zone. The study revealed that locally available organic materials can be recycled in improving soil and crop productivity especially when they are combine

Production of a Complementary Food: Influence of Cowpea Soaking Time on the Nutritional, Antinutritional, and Antioxidant Properties of the Cassava-Cowpea-Orange-Fleshed Potato Blends

Soaking and incorporation of legumes for fortification are essential to a complementary food production process. Cassava, orange-fleshed potato, and cowpeas are sustainably cheap, locally available, and underutilized for food biofortification. This study investigated the effect of cowpea soaking time (3, 6, and 9 h) on different composition ratios of cassava, cowpea, and orange-fleshed sweet potato (CCP) blends (50 : 40 : 10 (EC), 50 : 30 : 20 (FC), 50 : 20 : 30 (GC), and 50 : 50 : 0 (HC)). Each blend was assayed for pH, antinutrient, antioxidant, and proximate contents. Results obtained showed that the CCP blends were significantly influenced by the length of cowpea soaking. Moisture and fiber content decreased significantly (P≤0.05) with increased steeping time (3 to 9 h) for the cassava-cowpea-OFSP blends. The blends were significantly different (P≤0.05) in terms of their protein, fiber, fat, ash, and carbohydrate contents. The moisture content of the EC blend was significantly different from only FC and HC blends, respectively. Six (6) hours of soaking showed no significant difference in the nutritional composition of the flour samples compared with 9 hours. The soaking length optimizes the health and nutrient-promoting factors in the various blend samples while also reaffirming cowpeas as a viable biofortification option for use in complementary food production

Fermented Gluten-Free Multi-Grain Cereal Paste Development: The Role of the Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) as a Dietary Supplement

Vitamin A deficiencies is a becoming persistent among young children and a growing concern to parents in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in crisis-affected areas. Fermented cereal paste from maize, millets, and sorghum grains are significant food for young children. Thus, the study focuses on food fortification using orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) as fortifier as studies have confirmed the presence of nutrients that can help meet the Vitamin A dietary requirement. The cereals were soaked ambient temperature (27 ± 1°C) for 72 hours and were blended with OFSP (90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50), and the formulated products were studied for Vitamin A, β-carotene, proximate composition, physicochemical, functional properties, and storage. Application of OFSP as forticant increased the Vitamin A (4.98-6.65 mg/100 g), β-carotene (0.10-0.17 mg/100 g) and the calorific value (222.03-301.75 kcal) of the gluten-free multi-grain cereal paste. The addition of OFSP also increased the ash content (1.41%-3.35%), crude fiber (2.56%-4.225%), carbohydrate (39.83%-48.35%), total solid content (55.20%-60.87%), and water absorption capacity (112.20%-137.49%) of the formulated cereal samples. The fortified fermented paste was objectively stable throughout on the shelf from the storage studies. The study deduced that addition of orange-fleshed sweet potato to fermented mixed cereal paste as a fortifier can help increase the nutritional quality of the complementary food

Effect of polishing duration on physical, milling, cooking, and sensory properties of a novel mix‐colored Nigerian parboiled rice

Background and objectives Polishing is a step of milling process to produce white rice. It influences rice quality. This study evaluates the effect of increased polishing duration (0, 1, 2, and 3 min) on the physical, milling, cooking, and sensory properties of novel mix‐coloured Nigerian rice. These quality parameters influence the consumers’ choice. Findings Polishing duration had a significant effect on the physical, milling, cooking, and sensory properties of the milled rice. As the polishing duration increased, the length, width, length/width ratio, 1000‐grain weight, bulk density, true density, porosity, optimum cooking time, cooking loss, aroma, and flavour of the milled rice reduced while increased polishing duration increased the head rice yield, percentage broken rice, milled rice yield, percentage dockage, kernel elongation ratio, width expansion ratio, water uptake ratio, texture, appearance, and overall acceptability of the milled rice. The correlations between physical, milling, cooking and sensory properties were strongly significant (P˂0.01 and P˂0.05). Conclusions This study revealed that increasing the polishing duration improves the cooking, head rice yield, milled rice yield and some sensory quality attributes of the mix‐coloured parboiled rice, but reduced its physical attributes. Significance and novelty The mix‐coloured rice showed an improved milling, cooking, and sensory attributes but poor physical characteristics during polishing which is very vital to Rice milling industry