The research study was conducted to develop a healthy vegetables soup powder supplemented with soy flour, mushroom, moringa leaf and compare its nutritional facts with locally available soup powders. Proximate analysis and sensory evaluation were done by standard method. In this study, moisture, ash, protein, fat, fiber, carbohydrate, and energy content were ranged from 2.83% to 5.46%, 9.39% to 16.48%, 6.92% to 16.05%, 4.22% to 6.39%, 0.22% to 1.61%, 58.81% to 75.41%, and 337.42 to 386.72 kcal/100 g, respectively. Highest content of vitamin D, minerals, protein, and fiber and lowest content of moisture, fat, and carbohydrate were found in the presently developed soy–mushroom–moringa soup powder compare to locally available soup powders. Vitamin C was also found significantly higher than locally available soup powders S1, S2, and S3. Heavy metals were not found in any of the soup powders. On the sensory and microbiological point of view, the presently developed soup powder was found highly acceptable up to 6 months. So, the developed soy–mushroom–moringa soup powder is nutritionally superior to locally available soup powders and sufficient to meet day‐to‐day nutritional requirements as a supplement.

Aflatoxins are the potential lethal toxin produced by Aspergillus sp. important health hazard throughout the world. In this study, 26 Aspergillus sp. have been isolated from 50 samples of red chilli collected throughout the country. These 26 isolates were grown primarily on agar media to identify the aflatoxin producing species. It is possible to distinguish A. flavus strains from other Aspergillus sp. developing orange colour on the reverse of the plates. The Coconut Cream Agar (CCA) is used to detect aflatoxin producer strains having blue fluorescence when exposed to a UV-light. Several other media were used for morphological characteristics of Aspergillus sp. Out of 26 isolates, four isolates were confirmed as Aspergillus sp. These isolates were subjected to cross contamination with freshly ground, sterile maize and after 15 days of incubation the contaminated maize were analyzed by HPLC and found aflatoxin in each of the sample containing 186 ppb (max.). This study was conducted to assay the ability to produce aflatoxins by the Aspergillus spp. isolated from red chilli (Capsicum annuum L. Solanaceae) available throughout the country. The results found in the experiment are much more behind the acceptable limit according to some international standard. As red chilli is a widely used spice in Bangladesh, the proper controlling measures may be taken for controlling the surveillance of aflatoxinic fungi like as use of bio-pesticides, proper drying method and storage conditions.

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The aims of this study were quantitative determination of the bio-active compounds and to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant activities of methanolic extract of soy mixed wheat flour and traditional wheat flour. Soy mixed wheat flour was developed by combination of processed soy flour and wheat flour. Total phenolics, flavonoids, tannin, and proanthocyanidin contents of the crude methanolic extract were determined by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer. Further individual bio-active compounds were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector and showed (+)-catechin, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, (-)-epicatechin, p-coumaric acid, rutin hydrate, and ellagic acid in soy mixed wheat flour but only rutin in traditional wheat flour. The soy mixed product showed significantly higher concentration of bio-active compounds than traditional wheat flour. Antioxidative activities were measured through different in vitro models: phosphomolybdenum blue method, FeCl 3 reducing power, ABTS scavenging activity, 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) scavenging activity, N,N-dimethyl-1,4-diaminobenzene free radical scavenging activity, reducing power, metal chelating power and super oxide scavenging ability. All results of in vitro antioxidant models revealed that the soy product showed significantly higher antioxidant activities than traditional wheat flour. These results suggested that soy mixed wheat flour can play the greater roles than the traditional wheat flour for different physiological activities in human body due to the presence of greater amount of bioactive compounds and can be considered as a potential antioxidant containing flour for human consumption than the traditional wheat flour.

Consumer demand for food nutritional content and quality is driving the design of plant-based foods that are enhanced with proteins. In this study, we aimed to reveal the nutrient compositional differences of various states of soy flours. We compared soy protein concentrate (SPC) with full fat (FF), raw soy flour (RSF), and defatted (DF) soy flour for investigating nutritional content, phytochemicals, and in vitro antioxidant activity. The results showed that the SPC contained significantly ( p < 0.001 ) higher protein content (65.14%) and low-fat content (0.54%) than RSF, FF, and DF. Furthermore, the findings revealed that all products contain a significant (ANOVA, p < 0.001 ) amount of essential minerals. The RSF contains significantly higher ( p < 0.001 ) potassium (1178.6 mg), calcium (216.77 mg), and magnesium (247 mg) per 100 g than FF, DF, and SPC. SPC contains essential amino acids, but we were unable to detect phenylalanine and tryptophan due to a limitation in the method. Furthermore, using methanolic and aqueous extracts of RSF, FF, DF, and SPC, the flavonoid, phenolics, and antioxidant capacity were also evaluated. According to the findings, soy products in methanolic extract had higher phenolic (about 12-34 mg/g) and flavonoid (about 63-150 mg/g) levels than aqueous extract. Results also demonstrated that FF had higher phenolic content, and SPC had higher flavonoid content than the other products. In vitro models such as phosphomolybdenum blue, FRAP, DPPH, and ABTS assays were used to study the total antioxidant and free radical scavenging potential of soy products, and results found that soy products contained a significant ( p < 0.001 ) amount of antioxidant equivalent to gallic acid and vitamin C standard. In the DPPH and ABTS assays, the results also showed that soy products can reduce free radicals in different in vitro models. Altogether, these findings suggest that soy flours, particularly DF and SPC, could be a beneficial food ingredient in the formulation of functional foods.