Volume 21, Issue 8

This work examines the potential of functional foods derived from vegetal waste, focusing on their antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. By-products such as fruit peels, seeds, stems, and leaves, typically discarded during agricultural activities and food processing, are rich in bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, flavonoids, and essential vitamins. These compounds have shown strong antioxidant activity, effectively neutralizing free radicals and reducing oxidative stress, which is a major contributor to cellular damage and chronic diseases. Furthermore, several in vitro studies demonstrate that extracts or isolated compounds from vegetal waste can inhibit cancer cell growth, induce apoptosis, and influence key signaling pathways involved in cancer progression, such as the MAPK, PI3K/Akt, and NF-κB pathways. These bioactive compounds exert anticancer effects by regulating oxidative stress, promoting cell cycle arrest, and triggering apoptosis. The work also underscores the dual advantage of using vegetal waste: reducing environmental harm by repurposing agricultural by-products and providing a sustainable source of functional ingredients that can contribute to disease prevention, particularly in oxidative stress-related conditions and cancer. This innovative approach to waste valorization not only supports eco-friendly food production but also opens new avenues for the development of health-promoting functional foods with therapeutic potential, offering a promising intersection between sustainability and human health enhancement.

This study investigated the impact of pasteurization (PS) and thermosonication (TS) on the quality of Jalpai ( Elaeocarpus floribundus ) juice. TS was applied at 30 °C, 40 °C, and 50 °C for 30–60 min using 40 % and 50 % amplitude. Compared to raw juice, TS enhanced total phenolic content (34.07 mg GAE/mL), flavonoids (17.99 mg QE/mL), vitamin C (15.28 mg/100 mL), and antioxidant activity (1.22 mg Trolox/mL), while reducing microbial loads. Complete inactivation of TVC and YMC was achieved at 50 % amplitude under optimum conditions. A probiotic beverage was developed using Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus paracasei . Fermentation led to reduced pH, TSS, and TPC, with increased titratable acidity, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity. TS retained heat-sensitive nutrients and supported probiotic growth. During storage at 4 °C, vitamin C declined slightly, but other nutrients remained stable. The synergistic effect of TS and fermentation improved juice quality, suggesting a commercially viable method for probiotic beverage production.

In the present study, the native banana starch of cv. Poovan (Musa sp. AAB) was modified by subjecting to high-intensity ultrasound treatment at amplitude levels (40, 60, and 80 %) with power 80 W for 60 min. Ultrasonic modification not only created cracks and micropores to the starch surface but also weakened the amorphous regions and orderly molecular structures. The observed impacts were linearly correlated with amplitude levels and was limited to surface modification which had no negative impact at molecular level. The modified starches showed a higher L * (lightness) as compared with the native starch which signifies better pigment oxidation. Sonicated banana starch at 80 % amplitude drastically reduced the syneresis (%), which is justified by enhanced freeze-thaw stability value. The modified starch had a reduced relative crystallinity % (RC) on account of erosion of few crystalline matrices upon exposure to cavitation. The cumulative effect led to an improvement in the hydration, emulsification and foaming properties. The ultrasound aided modification in the native banana starch of cv. Poovan was able to bring about positive impacts in the physicochemical, and techno-functional properties of native green banana starch which can be used in enhanced freeze thaw applications and processing operations requiring a slower retrogradation behavior.

Anthocyanins and soluble solids content (SSC) serve as key factors for evaluating blood orange quality. Currently, reliable non-destructive measurement methods are lacking in production. In this study, hyperspectral diffuse reflectance and transmittance imaging (400 nm–1,000 nm) technologies were utilized to predict SSC and anthocyanin content in blood oranges. Three methods including standard normal variate (SNV) correction, moving average smoothing (MAS), and first derivative (Deriv1) were employed for preprocessing spectra. Additionally, bootstrapping soft shrinkage (BOSS), successive projections algorithm (SPA), and competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) were used to select effective wavelengths. Finally, partial least squares regression (PLSR) models were developed for predicting anthocyanin content and SSC in blood oranges. The results showed that the hyperspectral transmittance imaging mode exhibited higher accuracy in predicting SSC and anthocyanin content in blood oranges when compared to the diffuse reflectance mode. Among the tested conditions, preprocessing the original spectra with SNV and establishing a PLSR model utilizing full-wavelength spectrum yielded the highest prediction accuracy for SSC, where R pre was 0.927, RMSEP was 0.418 °Brix, and RPD was 2.621. On the other hand, preprocessing the original spectra with SNV and establishing a PLSR model with SPA-selected effective wavelengths exhibited optimal performance in predicting anthocyanin content, where R pre was 0.872, RMSEP was 1.702 mg/100 mL, and RPD was 1.918. Additionally, the spatial distributions of SSC and anthocyanin content in blood oranges were visualized using the optimal models. The findings demonstrate that hyperspectral imaging combined with effective spectral preprocessing and wavelength extraction algorithms can achieve non-destructive quality prediction of blood oranges.

Omega-3-enriched healthy but heat-sensitive flaxseed and chia seed oils were used in the formulation of mayonnaise, at a 20:80 (w/w) ratio with rice bran oil and mayonnaises named MFO and MCSO, respectively. Mayonnaise, an oil-in-water emulsion, is typically not heat-treated during preparation. The study evaluated the mayonnaise samples’ rheological, chemical, and sensory properties, function groups, and shelf-life analysis. All mayonnaise samples exhibited pseudoplastic nature, with consistency indexes ranging from 1.46 to 2.94. pH decreased during the 90-day storage period, but it was the least for MCSO. Sensory evaluation on nine-point hedonic scale showed satisfactory results for all mayonnaise samples, with MCSO receiving the highest overall acceptance score of 8.71. The omega-6: omega-3 ratio of MFO, and MCSO was in the recommended range of 1–5. As there was no heat treatment, no significant deteriorations were found in the chemical characteristics and the fatty acid profiling of the extracted oils from mayonnaise.