Malting is the process of preparing barley for brewing through partial germination followed by drying. This process softens the grain cell wall and stimulates the production of diastatic enzymes, which convert starch into malt extract. The suitability of a barley grain for malt production depends upon a large number of quality parameters that are crucial for the identification and release of high-quality malt varieties. Maintaining tight control of these quality attributes is essential to ensure high processing efficiency and final product quality in brewery and malt house. Therefore, we have summarized the basic malting process and various physiological and biochemical quality parameters that are desirable for better malt quality. This study may provide an understanding of the process, problems faced, and opportunities to maltsters and researchers to improve the malt efficiency by altering the malting process or malt varieties.

Anthocyanins are high-value compounds, and their use as functional foods and their natural colorant have potential health benefits. Anthocyanins seem to possess antioxidant properties, which help prevent neuronal diseases and thereby exhibit anti-inflammatory, chemotherapeutic, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective activities. They also show different therapeutic effects against various chronic diseases. Anthocyanins are present in high concentrations in onion. In recent years, although both conventional and improved methods have been used for extraction of anthocyanins, nowadays, improved methods are of great importance because of their higher yield and stability of anthocyanins. In this review, we compile anthocyanins and their derivatives found in onion and the factors affecting their stability. We also analyze different extraction techniques of anthocyanins. From this point of view, it is very important to be precisely aware of the impact that each parameter has on the stability and subsequently potentiate its bioavailability or beneficial health effects. We present up-to-date information on bioavailability, dietary effects, and health implications of anthocyanins such as antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancerous, antiobesity, cardioprotective, and hepatoprotective activities.

The vegetable oils are obtained from the oilseeds and also from other oil bearing parts of plants like fruits (mesocarp and/or stones), tubers, germs, sprouts, and so on. A host of methods are employed to obtain the oil from different matrices and each method has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. The traditional methods of oil extraction are exhaustive and have low efficacy, while conventional method of mechanical pressing is simple and involves low cost but considered as an inefficient method because of low oil recovery when compared with chemical extraction methods. Due to higher oil recovery and economic gains, chemical methods of oil extraction are preferred globally; however, the chemical solvents used exhibited detrimental effect on the environment, oil quality, and human health, which impelled the development of new technologies. New advanced eco‐friendly techniques namely, enzyme‐assisted extraction, microwave‐assisted extraction, ultrasound‐assisted extraction, and supercritical fluid extraction can easily overcome the shortcomings of the conventional methods and holds the potential to meet the ever‐increasing demand of edible oils. Practical applications Limited land availability and growing demands for vegetable oils call for the development of improved cultivars for harnessing higher yields as well as more efficient oil extraction technologies to augment oil recovery from different oilseed crops without compromising with the oil quality. Widely practiced traditional and conventional methods of extraction have various disadvantages namely, use of solvents, protractive protocols, and have adverse effects on environment, oil quality, and human health. Therefore, in order to overcome the demerits associated with the existing methods, green extraction technologies have been developed as an alternative, which offer various advantages like less extraction time, high extraction yields, and quality and minimized solvent consumption. The information compiled in this review on various extraction technologies will help oilseed processors and researchers in choosing the most appropriate method of oil extraction in order to achieve high yields without compromising the inherent quality of oil.

Background and Objectives β‐amylase plays a vital role in starch hydrolysis during mashing to obtain fermentable wort for beer production. Since starch gelatinization requires a high temperature, the catalytic activity, and thermostability of β‐amylase are crucial for obtaining high‐quality malt owing to its heat‐labile character. This study aimed to determine the variation in thermostability of β‐amylase among a diverse set of barley genotypes (hulled, hulless, mutants, and wild). Findings Statistical analysis indicated the significant effect of genotype and temperature on β‐amylase activity. The mutant genotypes had a wider variation for β‐amylase activity followed by hulled, hulless, and wild genotypes. The % relative residual activity was found to be the highest at 55°C for all the genotypes. Among 54 barley genotypes, PL891 (hulless) was reported to have the highest activity at all temperatures followed by BL1714 (hulled) and BL2105 (mutant) which shows the thermostable nature of β‐amylase in these genotypes. The β‐amylase activity was positively correlated with the amount of reducing sugars formed at a 1% level of significance (r = .852), further corroborating the results. Conclusions The β‐amylase activity declined after 55°C in the majority of the genotypes depicting its optimum temperature. Few genotypes, namely PL891, BL1714, and BL2105 had been identified that possessed high β‐amylase activity at all temperatures. Significance and Novelty β‐amylase with high thermostability may prove more helpful than selecting the genotype with higher β‐amylase levels if one attempts to increase the amount of fermentable sugars in the wort. Therefore, in the current study genotypes identified with high thermostability of β‐amylase may be exploited in the genetic improvement programs for incorporating beneficial traits into low malting efficiency cultivars but possessing high yield and resistance to various stresses.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease), which was initially noticed in the seafood market at Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Since then this deadly virus has outspread like wildfire across the globe and has put all the healthcare services at red alert. The outburst of COVID-19 has already taken the shape of the pandemic, affecting more than 200 countries in just a few months. A global response to prepare our health systems is very much imperative and the whole world is desperate to find ways to tackle this pandemic by developing effective treatments. Unfortunately, no reliable therapeutic interventions are available currently for critically affected ill COVID-19 patients. Treatment of COVID-19 patients is mainly based on symptomatic management. Emerging clinical trials and research data representing the structural and functional aspects of SARS-CoV-2 suggests testing of the repurposed drugs ranging from flu treatments to failed ebola drugs, to anti-malarial drugs that were first developed decades ago. The review focuses on the various already adopted and ongoing trials to date for developing effective therapeutic strategies to combat this viral outbreak. We hope that the accumulated information about various repositioning trials will help the international research community to lead potential clinical practices and to find solutions for COVID-19 treatment in this need of the hour.