Food Science

Obesity has been pointed as a major issue plaguing in the World. Currently the Indian community has more of overweight / obese, people with excess body fat, abdominal adiposity, increased subcutaneous and intra-abdominal fat, and deposition of fat in ectopic sites. Fat is still the number one nutritional concern for most people because the continuous consumption of fat may lead to certain major health disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, obesity, hypertension, some types of cancer, high blood cholesterol etc. Evidence suggests that lowering total energy intake along with a reduction in total fat intake can have a substantial impact on body weight and risk of chronic diseases. Thus, the fat replacers have opened the door for a new generation of reduced fat foods that have the taste and texture of the high fat foods that consumers enjoy, without unnecessary calories, cholesterol or fat. By considering the current issue prevailing in India, effort was taken to prepare a modified rice starch to replace fat in certain food products without affecting the taste, texture and flavor. Though 100 percent replacement of fat is impossible it is feasible to reduce the fat content to an acceptable level with the help of modified rice starch.

Several synthetic chemicals used as preservative of food crops have been banned in some countries because of their toxicological effects (adverse reactions). This study aims the use of plant extracts as natural preservatives of a sorghum beer "tchakpalo". The drink has been produced following the traditional technology improved by the addition of the Mentha spicata L. essential oil. This essential oil was extracted by hydrodistillation with a Clevenger type apparatus and analyzed by gas chromatography and by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The antifungal activity of this oil was evaluated by the method of diffusion in agar against the strains responsible of the alteration (Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus and Penicillium digitatum) isolated from "tchakpalo". The extraction yield of essential oil was 0.27% after 135 minutes. The major compounds identified in this essential oil were: carvone (66.57%), limonene (16.33%) and 1.8-cineole (7.22%). Antifungal activity evaluation showed fungicidal effect of this essential oil on A. flavus at a concentration of 0.27 mg/ml and has shown fungistatic effect on the other two fungi at the concentrations tested. The addition of this essential oil at 0.05 % in the beverage produced has made it stable during two (02) months. It would therefore be advisable to continue the studies on a longer "shelf life" in order to confirm the conservative effect of this essential oil.

The glycemic index is a ranking of foods based on the post prandial blood glucose response compared with a reference food. Ten Healthy volunteers belonged to 35-60 years of age were recruited for the study. The glycemic response was found out before and after supplementation of test food and reference food. The blood sample was collected at zero, half an hour, one hour, one and half an hour and two hour intervals after giving 50g of glucose, 78 grams of Commercial Home Made Chocolate with 50 grams of carbohydrate and 200 grams of Developed Home Made Dark Chocolate (HMDC) samples containing 50 grams of carbohydrate. The blood sugar levels were measured in mmols/L using ascensia entrust diabetes care system. The glycemic index is calculated using the area under the curve (AUC) values. The subjects were healthy consuming sufficient amount of nutrients as recommended by Gopalan et al., 2007. Glycemic index and glycemic load value of the developed sample was. Thus the developed product was a low glycemic food compared to the standard product.

The present study aims to evaluate preventive effect of S.indicus on p-dimethylaminoazobenzene (DAB) induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats. Oral administration of stem ethanol extract of the S.indicus (300mg/kg) effectively prevent the hepatocarcinogenesis as exposed by reduce in the levels of extend of serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), alkaline phosphate (ALP), total bilirubin, total cholesterol, lipid peroxidase (LPO) and raise the level of glutathione-S-transferase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) when compared to DAB induced rats. The histopathological changes of the liver sample compared with respective control. The present study shows a significant preventive effect of S.indicus (SI) on DAB administrated hepatocarcinogenesis in rats.

The present investigation was done to prepare dosa using composite flour containing kodo and barnyard millet flour, whole wheat flour and defatted soy flour of four different combinations and to study the impact of millet flour blend incorporation on characteristics of dosa. The prepared dosa was characterized by analyzing physical properties, nutritional properties, organoleptic characteristics and in vivo glycemic load among ten normal and ten type 2 diabetic subjects. Results indicated that the diameter of dosa was increased with decrease in thickness; the spread ratio was increased significantly at p<0.001; and the weight of batter and dosa were decreased while increasing the incorporation of millet flour blend. The total carbohydrate, starch, and total sugar content were decreased; protein, amylose/amylopectin ratio and crude fiber content were increased significantly while increasing the incorporation of millet flour blend. As the millet flour blend ratio increased above 20%, most of liking and Just About Right (JAR) attributes especially on texture of dosa was decreased marginally. Organoleptically 30% level of incorporation was accepted. The glycemic index and glycemic load were decreased significantly while increasing the incorporation of millet flour blend. Thus the consumption of prepared dosa from composite flour will definitely pose a light to increase the nutritional security and decrease the incidence of double disease burden.

This paper is projected to cram the antioxidant activities the common leafy vegetables in eastern development zone of Nepal. The sprouts, microgreens and leafy greens of common and tartary buckwheat of Nepalese strains were compared for the phenolic contents and biological activity. The tartary buckwheat samples expressed higher total phenolic and flavonoid contents compared to the common buckwheat. The sprouts had the highest total phenolic contents (9333.48 ± 150.23 and 6976.21 ± 213.65 mgGAE/100g dw in tartary and common buckwheat, respectively) whereas, the highest total flavonoid content was present in the leafy greens (7635.39 ± 141.40 and 4414.61 ± 70.85 mg RE/100g dw in tartary and common buckwheat respectively). The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) results revealed that the tartary buckwheat vegetables had higher rutin, (3800.28 ± 434.41 mg/100g in leafy greens), quercetin (159.75 ± 9.04 mg/100g in sprouts) and chlorogenic acid (293.47 ± 65.06 mg/100g in microgreens) contents than those of common buckwheat. However, other phenolics like vitexin, isovitexin, orientin and isoorientin contents were more abundant in common buckwheat. In biochemical assay, all three types of vegetable of common and tartary buckwheat showed higher antioxidant and ?-glucosidase inhibition effect in dose dependent manner. Based on these results, it can be conformed that all the vegetables (microgreens, sprouts and leafy greens) of both varieties of buckwheat of Nepalese strains can be regarded as a potent sour ce of functional food.They also displayed high total antioxidant capacity. Therefore, the top five potential leafy vegetables consist of both hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant(s), the order being I. aquatica> B. campestris> B. alba> P. sativum> and L. siceraria carried out .

The association between fruit and vegetables (FVs) consumption and hypertension risk remains controversial. This study aims to validate a short screener of FVs intake on the Lebanese population. Based on the data collected, FVs consumption was analyzed accordingly to compare the intake between hypertensive and normotensive subjects.Cross-sectional study conducted in the greater area of Beirut. Subjects recruited were Lebanese citizens (N=300) aging 35 years old and above adjusted for age (N=150 participants < 65 years old and N= 150 participants ?65 years old) and gender (equally distributed between men and women). Descriptive Statistics, Chi Square test, Alpha Cronbach test, and Binary Logistic tests were conducted. FV consumption was high in subjects with hypertension compared to normotensive subjects who have low adherence to the 5 servings/day of FV recommendations. Also, there was no difference observed between genders concerning FV intake. The internal consistency test shows that the questions used in this questionnaire were not consistent thus; some modifications should be implemented to adjust this questionnaire appropriately to the population studied.High fruits and vegetables intake was associated with an increased risk of hypertension. While the mechanism of blood pressure variation via fruit and vegetable consumption is not yet clear, selective consumption of healthy foods and nutrients, maintaining a healthy body weight, and staying physically active may lead to prevention and treatment of hypertension. As for the questionnaire’s validity, more culturally adapted options should be added to the screener in a way that satisfies FV consumption of the Arabian world in general, and that of the Lebanese population specifically.

Pre-treatment effects on the quality of oven –dried peeled and unpeeled ginger, grown locally form Kadjebi in the Volta Region of Ghana was evaluated by determining proximate and phytochemical content using conventionally accepted methods. The pre-drying treatments under investigation were dipping in 10% citric acid solution, dipping in 10% ascorbic acid solution, dipping in 10% sodium chloride solution and a control. The pre-treatments resulted in varied results in the pH, protein, vitamin C and TTA readings. The vitamin C content of the treated peeled and unpeeled samples, with ascorbic acid scored the highest value of 0.54±0.01mg/100ml for peeled and 0.95±0.01 mg/100ml for unpeeled ginger. No significant difference was observed between the control of both peeled and unpeeled samples with respect to the protein content. However, there were significant differences in the treated peeled and unpeeled ginger samples. Peeled ginger, pre-treated with citric acid recorded the highest protein value of 9.63±0.11%. Unpeeled ginger samples exhibited higher antioxidant components than peeled ginger samples.

In Lebanon, Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has a major public health impact through high disease prevalence, significant downstream pathophysiologic effects, and enormous financial responsibilities. Diet is an important environmental factor in the development and prevention of T2D. This study aimed to investigate the association between the adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the risk of T2DM in Lebanese non-diabetic men and women and to compare the adherence to the Mediterranean Diet among non-diabetic versus diabetic as well as to validate the Arabic version of a 14-point Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) questionnaire. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the greater area of Beirut region. Study subjects were 150 diabetic and 150 non-diabetic aged ?40 years. They were matched by age and gender. The level of adherence to the Mediterranean Diet was identified using the MEDAS questionnaire and the risk of diabetes was identified using a short diabetes risk assessment questionnaire. Compared to Non-diabetic men, the majority of women in our population were obese (44%) and 63% of them were inactive (p=0.01).The majority of men had overweight (52%) (p=0.004). No significant differences between genders concerning body weight (p=0.002). Moreover, no significant differences between men and women concerning the family history of diabetes, the occurrence of high blood pressure or the risk of diabetes (p=0.4, p=0.6, p=0.2 respectively). The level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet among non-diabetic subjects shows no statistical differences among MEDAS score categories between genders, age categories, body weight and BMI (p>0.05). Unadjusted binary logistic regression shows that diabetic participants had low adherence to the Mediterranean diet by 0.53 times more than non-diabetic participants (OR=0. 53, 95% CI 0.288-0.994). In addition, regression shows that more than 70% of non-diabetic subjects with low adherence score had a high risk of diabetes (OR=0.35, [95% CI 0.12-1.0]) compared to those with moderate + high score. Concerning the validation of the MEDAS questionnaire, Cronbach’s alpha was not statistically significant in our population.These findings confirm that lifestyle modifications provide potentially useful and relevant information on the relationship between diet and disease prevention among Lebanese adults.

The present study was conducted in three different solvent extracts of leaves of Ageratum houstonianum (Mill.) (Asteraceae) and were screened against reference cultures, clinical isolates and fungal strains under in vitro condition. Among three solvent extracts of A. houstonianum tested against selected reference cultures, ethyl acetate extract was found to exhibit the highest activity (19 mm) against P. aeruginosa, followed by a second higher activity (18 mm) against S. typhi. In the case of K. pneumoniae, moderate inhibition was observed by ethyl acetate extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration for P. aerugenosa and S. typhi was found as 0.312 mg/ml of ethyl acetate extract. In the case of clinical isolates also, ethyl acetate extract of A. houstonianum was found to show higher activity (17 mm) against methiciline Resistant S. aureus (ICMR-5) which is found to be better than commercially available streptomycin, followed by a second higher activity using hexane extract (16 mm) against the same clinical isolate, whereas methanol extract showed only a moderate activity. Streptomycin was used as the positive control.