Abstract Cheese has become an important food item that may provide great nutritional benefits to consumers all over the world. Rennet is the most important milk coagulant obtained from calf stomach but nowadays due to lesser availability of ruminant stomach, higher rennet prices, religious concerns (Islamism; Halal / Haram) or the ban of recombinant calf rennet has given rise to the need for other substitutes than rennet. The present study was conducted to develop vegetative extracts of Citrus aurantium flowers, fig, pineapple, and melon extract as vegetative coagulants as an economical, easily available and halal source and their evaluation on basis of pH, dry matter protein content, milk clotting, and proteolytic activities potential in comparison with rennet and acid. The protein contents of CAFE, fig latex and bromelain were much greater than melon extract. The trend in milk clotting activity (MCA), proteolytic activity (PA) and MCA/PA ratio was rennet > acid > bromelain ˃ CAFE ˃ fig latex> melon extract. ORAC assay for antioxidant potential of extracts showed the following trend: fig latex 592 µM (TE)>CAFE 566 µM (TE)>bromelain 130 µM (TE)> melon extract 120 µM (TE) using Trolox as standard. These plant extracts proved a better substitute for animal rennet in the cheese industry.

Abstract Euphorbia helioscopia and Rumex dentatus are two essential medicinal plants that are widely used in traditional medicines against various illnesses. The present research was focused to confirm and validate the antibacterial, antifungal and antitumor activities of both plants. The antimicrobial activities were investigated against different bacterial and fungal strains. The in vitro antioxidant activities were confirmed against DPPH, hydroxyl and superoxide free radicals using ascorbic acid (Vc) as a standard. The results indicated that the increase in percentage scavenging activity is due to the increase in concentration of both plant extracts from 50-500 µg/mL. Moreover, the percentage tumor inhibition of both plant extracts was confirmed by potato disc method using dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as a negative control. The higher percentage of tumor inhibition was observed for water and ethanolic extract in case of E. helioscopia and R. dentatus, respectively.

Abstract Fenugreek leaves contains bioactive compounds, which are helpful in maintaining human health. These compounds are adversely affected in conventional drying methods. Therefore, this study was carried out to retain maximum amount of these components through microwave-assisted drying and extraction technique. The technique was optimized for simultaneous drying and extraction process for fenugreek leaves. The drying rate and drying time were influenced by the level of microwave power; time was reduced from 21 to 5 minutes, when microwave power was changed from 30 to 100 W. Unlikely, the drying rate increased from 1.79 to 4.56 ± 0.05 g/(100 g.min) with the change in power (30 to 100 W). Moreover, moisture ratio analysis determined that two term model was the best to demonstrate the fitness with experimental values. The energy consumption was lowest for 100W compared to other powers. Furthermore, comparison between microwave-based extraction and methanol-extraction indicated that the antioxidant activity was better preserved compared to conventional ones even at higher microwave power levels.

Abstract Nutri-bars were prepared (110 g) using dates (64 g), dried apricots (16 g), cheddar cheese (8 g), whey protein isolate (12 g) and roasted-chickpea flour (10 g). Bars were prepared for Pakistani-athletes based on their calories and protein requirement (3500-3925 kcals/day, 1.4-1.8 g/kg body weight). Efficacy trials were performed (1, 15 and 30 days) to evaluate the effect of nutri-bars on blood serum profile, stamina building and body-composition. Results showed that hepatic-indexes such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were decreased (p > 0.05) during experimental-period. At day 30, ALT (6.8%), AST (1%) and ALP (0.4%) indicates the inhibitory effect of nutri-bar on the pathological serum-profile of athletes while significant increase (p > 0.05) was observed in total-protein (0.52%). Liver injury-indexes lactate dehydrogenase, Creatine kinase, total-cholesterol and total-glycerides showed a significant increase (p > 0.05) while low-density-lipoprotein and high-density-lipoprotein were decreased (p > 0.05). Effect of nutri-bar on body composition showed increase (p > 0.05) in body weight (kg) and body-mass index (BMI (kg/m2). In the twelve-minutes running test, distance covered by athletes (p < 0.05) increased after 30 days as compared to day 1. The study revealed the significant (p < 0.05) effect of nutri-bar in developing the stamina building of Pakistani-athletes while the effect on the blood-serum profile was non-significant.

Abstract Milk is a nutritious perishable product having a short shelf-life owing to the occurrence of spoilage bacteria in it. This has led to an increasing demand for ensuring safety through milk processing. Conventional techniques (such as heat treatment) increase shelf-life but damage the nutritional and sensory qualities of milk. Hence, there is a need to develop innovative, nonthermal processing techniques that increase the shelf-life while preserving its nutritional quality. This review focuses on the recent advances in assuring microbial safety of milk by using nonthermal techniques such as high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, ultrasound, ultraviolet irradiation and membrane microfiltration.

Abstract Rabbit meat is a good source of protein as compared to beef and chicken. The processing of rabbit meat gives attractive texture with a strong flavor. Charcoal grilling is a well-known cooking method which results in the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Therefore, to determine the concentration of PAHs, rabbit meat samples were prepared with and without additives and analyzed for six PAHs (naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, and pyrene) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Naphthalene was dominant in all the samples and the highest naphthalene concentration (2.61 µg/g) was found in the foreleg sample (without additives) due to the presence of higher fat molecules. PAHs concentration was found to be significantly (p ≤ 0.05) lower by the addition of antioxidants. Lowest naphthalene concentration was observed in the back sample of seekh kebab (0.77 µg/g) with 1 h marinating duration. The content of pyrene was only noticed in foreleg (0.01 µg/g) and hind leg (0.03 µg/g) samples from reshmi kebab. The content of fluorene was not observed in all the samples.

Resumo Vegetais minimamente processados podem ser preparados a partir de várias etapas de processamento como lavagem, toalete, retirada da casca, corte, seguidas por embalagem e armazenamento refrigerado. O presente estudo objetivou determinar os efeitos de diferentes na qualidade e na vida-de-prateleira de batata minimamente processada. Tipos diferentes de corte, tais como fatias, dadinhos, cubos e cunhas, foram selecionados para este estudo, com intuito de avaliar seu efeito na vida-de-prateleira das batatas. Batatas cortadas em diferentes formatos foram tratadas com cloreto de cálcio, ácido cítrico e metabissulfito de potássio (3%, 2% e 0,3%), armazenadas a 4 °C por 60 dias e depois avaliadas por análises físico-químicas (firmeza, perda de peso, pH, acidez titulável, sólidos solúveis totais (SST) e conteúdo de ácido ascórbico (AA)) e microbiológicas. Os melhores resultados foram obtidos para o corte em pequenos cubos, com mudanças mínimas em SST (5,31%), pH (5,65), acidez titulável (0,34%), perda de peso (9,04%) e conteúdo de AA (10,86%). A atividade microbiana em todos os cortes de batata permaneceu dentro de limites aceitáveis, durante o armazenamento refrigerado.

Abstract Fresh-cut vegetables can be minimally processed through cleaning/washing, trimming, peeling, slicing and dicing, followed by packaging and cold storage. This study aimed to verify the effect of different cuts on the quality and shelf life of fresh-cut potato. Different cut types, such as slices, dices, cubes and wedges, were selected for this study to evaluate the shelf-life response of potatoes. Potato pieces of these different shapes were treated with calcium chloride, citric acid, and potassium metabisulfite (3%, 2% and 0.3%, respectively), stored in plastic boxes at 4 ˚C for 60 days, and then physicochemically (firmness (N), weight loss (WL), pH, titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), and ascorbic acid (AA) content analyses) and microbiologically assessed. The best results were observed for the dice cut type, which showed minimal changes in TSS (5.31%), pH (5.65), TA (0.34%), WL (9.04%), and AA content (10.86%). Moreover, the microbial activity of all shapes of potato pieces remained within acceptable limits during cold storage.