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Rice starch is one of the major cereal starches with novel functional properties. Significant progress has been made in recent years on the characterization of rice starches separated from different rice cultivars. Studies have revealed that the molecular structure and functional properties are affected by rice germplasm, isolation procedure, climate, agronomic conditions, and grain development. Morphological studies (microscopy and particle size analysis) have reflected significant differences among rice starch granule shapes (polyhedral, irregular) and in granule size (2 to 7 μm). Nonwaxy and long-grain rice starches show greater variation in granular size than the waxy starches. Rice starch granules are smaller than other cereal starches with amylose contents varying from virtually amylose-free in waxy to about 35% in nonwaxy and long-grain rice starches. Amylose content appears to be the major factor controlling almost all physicochemical properties of rice starch due to its influence on pasting, gelatinization, retrogradation, syneresis, and other functional properties. Waxy rice starches have high swelling and solubility parameters, and larger relative crystallinity values than nonwaxy and long-grain starches. However, nonwaxy rice starches have a higher gelatinization temperature than the waxy and long-grain starches. The bland taste, nonallergenicity, and smooth, creamy, and spreadable characteristics of rice starch make it unique and valuable in food and pharmaceutical applications. This review provides recent information on the variation in the molecular structure and functional properties of different rice starches.

International audiencePlant proteases used as milk coagulants in cheesemaking are reviewed in this paper. Plant proteases have been used as milk coagulants in cheesemaking for centuries either as crude extracts or in purified form. These coagulants are an alternative to the calf rennet due to the limited availability and high price of rennet, religious factors, diet or ban on recombinant calf rennet in some countries. These enzymes are found in almost all kinds of plant tissues and can be obtained from their natural source or through in vitro culture to ensure a continuous supply of plant proteases. Almost all the enzymes used as milk coagulants belong to aspartic proteases, but enzymes from other groups such as cysteine and serine proteases have also been reported and possess the ability to clot milk under proper conditions. The excessive proteolytic nature of most plant coagulants has limited their use in cheese manufacturing due to lower yields of cheese, bitter flavors and texture defects. The search for new potential milk-clotting enzymes from plants still continues in order to meet the increasing global demand for diversified and good quality cheese production

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A total of 293 sporadic cases of acute viral hepatitis were identified in Kashmir, India, from April 1979 to December 1981; 44 (15%) were found serologically to be hepatitis A, 94 (32%) hepatitis B, and 155 (53%) non-A, non-B type. The non-A, non-B hepatitis observed was a disease of young adults (29.8 +/- 15 years) with slight male predominance (1.4:1). Six of the 155 non-A, non-B cases had history of prior parenteral exposure, while 51 (33%) had a recent contact with another case of jaundice, suggesting that this form of hepatitis was spread by person-to-person contact. Fulminant hepatic failure occurred in 19 cases, and six (31.5%) of the 19 cases occurred in pregnant women. None of 90 non-A, non-B cases followed up six months later had developed chronic hepatitis. The acute sporadic non-A, non-B hepatitis described in Kashmir resembles epidemic non-A, non-B hepatitis epidemiologically and seems to be distinct from the non-A, non-B hepatitis described in the West.

Microgreens are emerging specialty food products which are gaining popularity and increased attention nowadays. They are young and tender cotyledonary leafy greens that are found in a pleasing palette of colors, textures, and flavors. Microgreens are a new class of edible vegetables harvested when first leaves have fully expanded and before true leaves have emerged. They are gaining popularity as a new culinary ingredient. They are used to enhance salads or as edible garnishes to embellish a wide variety of other dishes. Common microgreens are grown mainly from mustard, cabbage, radish, buckwheat, lettuce, spinach, etc. The consumption of microgreens has nowadays increased due to higher concentrations of bioactive components such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than mature greens, which are important for human health. However, they typically have a short shelf life due to rapid product deterioration. This review aimed to evaluate the postharvest quality, potential bioactive compounds, and shelf life of microgreens for proper management of this specialty produce.

Observational and manipulative studies have revealed that alien plant invasions are an outcome of interplay between a myriad of biotic and abiotic factors operating at various spatio-temporal stages and scales. Despite the salient role of ubiquitous arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in plant interactions, studies exploring the role of such symbionts in invasiveness of alien species and invasibility of communities are limited, in part because of difficult-culturablilty of AM fungi on artificial media and apparent complexities in manipulations of AM-plant interactions in field and laboratory experiments. Moreover, analysis of the AM-plant invasion studies conducted so far have yielded contradictory results with some indicating facilitation of invasion by AM fungi and others its inhibition. Other studies have indicated that arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis has no effect on invasiveness of alien plants. While arbuscular mycorrhizas may facilitate invasiveness of some alien plants, such plants may also potentially impact mycorrhizal community structure and functions in the invaded habitats in different ways. The present review addresses these paradoxically conflicting observations in the context of mutualismcommensalism-parasitism gradient that characterizes the relationship between AM fungi and their alien vs. native hosts and also discusses the influence of alien invasive plants on mycorrhizal community structure of invaded ecosystems. Through critical analysis of costs and benefits for invasive plants that associate with AM fungi in their introduced range, invasion-induced shifts in AM mutualism are evaluated in the context of their impact on native biodiversity. Underlining limitations of methodologies and experimental designs usually employed to understand AM-mediated plant invasiveness, we proposes herein some alternative frameworks and experimental approaches to overcome these limitations.