Syzygium caryophyllatum L. Alston (Family: Myrtaceae, Sinhala: Heendan) is a red-listed plant that has been used in traditional medicine in Sri Lanka for the treatment of diabetes, but it is yet to be exploited for its potential uses as a functional food or a source of supplements. The present study focused on the evaluation of antidiabetic property of S. caryophyllatum fruits and leaves assessing antioxidant, antiglycation, and antiamylase activities and functional mineral element composition. The crude extracts (CR) of leaves and fruits were fractionated into hexane (Hex) ethyl acetate (EA) and aqueous (AQ) and evaluated for bioactivities along with the crude extracts. The isolated fraction (C3) of Hex fraction of fruit showed significantly high (p<0.05) antiamylase activity with IC50 value 2.27 ± 1.81 μg/mL where the Hex fraction of fruits exhibited the IC50 value as 47.20 ± 0.3 μg/mL which was higher than acarbose (IC50: 87.96 ± 1.43 μg/mL). The EA fraction of leaves showed highest values for DPPH radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and oxygen radical absorbance capacity. Significantly high (p<0.05) ABTS radical scavenging activity and iron chelating activity were observed in Hex fraction of fruit. The composition of volatiles in leaf oil was studied with GC-MS, and 58 compounds were identified. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry data revealed the presence of biologically significant trace elements such as Fe, Zn, Mg, Cu, Se, and Sr in leaves and fruits. It is concluded that the Hex fraction of S. caryophyllatum fruits will be a good source for the formulation of supplements for diabetic management with further evaluation of potency and efficacy.

Among the cold plasma generating configurations, Gliding Arc Discharge has not been evaluated as a potential source of inactivating of microbes in food matrices. This study aims to investigate the level of reduction of existing natural microbial counts in black peppercorns by applying Atmospheric Pressure Cold Plasma Gliding Arc Discharge (APCPGAD) remote treatment and respective changes in physicochemical properties. The study focused on commercially available black peppercorn samples. APCPGAD treatment was effective in reducing Yeasts & Moulds after 10 min. L value of color changed only after 5 min and no further reduction was investigated with the treatment. Moisture content and water activity of the samples reduced significantly. Twelve components of volatile oils were identified by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectroscopy and quantified by Gas Chromatography-Flame Ion Detection. No significant effect on the monoterpenes content and a significant decrease in sesquiterpene content was observed after 15 min in extracted volatile oils. Scanning Electron Microscopic images and Attenuated Total Reflectance -Fourior Transform Infrared Spectra revealed changes in surface morphology and chemical structural changes respectively after 15 min. Results conclude that there is a potential for reducing microbial counts using APCPGAD treatment. Temperature increase with the longer treatment times lead to undesirable effects thus limiting the application of APCPGAD as a non-thermal technology.