Ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is widely cultivated as a spice for its aromatic and pungent components. The essential oil and oleoresins from ginger are valuable products responsible for the characteristic flavor and pungency. Both are used in several food products such as soft beverages and also in many types of pharmaceutical formulations. More than 100 compounds have been reported from ginger, some of which are isolated and characterized, others are tentatively identified by GC-MS and / or LC-MS. [6]-Gingerol, the major gingerol in ginger rhizomes, has been found to possess many interesting pharmacological and physiological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and cardiotonic effects. Ginger is considered as "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) by Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA. Due to all these properties, ginger has gained considerable attention in developed countries in recent years, especially for its use in the treatment of inflammatory conditions. The present review is a persuasive presentation of the current information on processing, chemistry, biological activities, and medicinal uses of ginger. Further studies are required for the validation of the beneficial uses. Formulation for novel products and new usages may emerge in the years to come, based on the revealed results of various studies.

Defective (triage) coffee beans are beans rejected after separating the graded ones according to the size and color. These coffee beans represent about 15% to 20% of coffee production in India but are not utilized for beverages since these affect the quality of coffee brew. In the present study, physical characteristics such as bean density, brightness, titratable acidity, pH, moisture, and total soluble solids and also chemical composition, namely, caffeine, chlorogenic acids, lipids, sucrose, total polyphenols, and proteins, were evaluated in defective as well as in graded green coffee beans. The physical parameters such as weight, density, and brightness of defective coffee beans were low compared to the graded beans, which is due to the presence of immature, broken, bleached, and black beans. Caffeine content was low in triage beans compared to graded beans. Chlorogenic acids, one of the composition in coffee responsible for antioxidant activity, was found to be intact (marginally high in some cases) in defective coffee beans. Hence, triage coffee beans can be evaluated as a source of antioxidant or radical scavenging conserve for food systems.

No abstract

Current investigations revealed that DZ is a potential antifungal agent and can find application as an additive or adjuvant in food and pharmaceutical industries after appropriate toxicological studies.