Guava is an important climacteric fruits in terms of taste and aroma, which contains various vital nutrients such as minerals, carotenoids, ascorbic acid, and polyphenols. At ambient conditions, it exhibits a short shelf life, which makes it difficult for marketing and subsequent storage. Therefore, it is necessary to develop procedures to extend its shelf life and conserve quality. For this purpose, an aloe vera (AV) gel coating was assessed for its potential to enhance the shelf life of guava fruits. Guava fruits coated with AV gels (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80%, v/v) were evaluated for postharvest shelf life extension, changes in quality attributes, anti-oxidative activities, and flavonoid content when stored at ambient conditions (23 ± 2 °C and 70–75% relative humidity) for 12 days. The AV gel-treated fruits showed reduced increments in total sugar, malondialdehyde, and total carotene contents compared to untreated controls. AV gel-treated fruits exhibited higher contents of ascorbic acid, flavonoids (quercetin and rutin), and total phenolics in comparison to control fruits. Moreover, AV gel-treated fruits displayed greater activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and ascorbate peroxidase, along with higher antioxidant capacity and higher levels of total soluble solids, than untreated fruits. These results demonstrate that AV gel coating, especially at high concentrations, can be considered an eco-friendly and non-chemical substitute treatment for maintaining the postharvest quality of guava fruit.

Survivability of probiotics is severely affected by harsh gastrointestinal conditions. In the present study, microbeads of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG were formulated using alginate (1.5% w/v) and combination of alginate (1.5% w/v) with xanthan gum (0.5% w/v) through an emulsion technique to improve bacterial viability in low pH orange juice and in gastrointestinal conditions. The microbeads were tested for encapsulation efficiency, survivability in bile salt, SGF (simulated gastric juice), SIF (simulated intestinal fluid), and storage stability. Probiotic orange juice was formulated and tested for physicochemical parameters (pH, titratable acidity, and total sugars) and sensorial properties during storage. Gum-coated alginate microbeads (T3) showed higher encapsulation efficiency, i.e., 95.2% compared to alginate microbeads (T2), i.e., 86.85%. Similarly, T3 showed the highest resistance against bile salt (8.50 log CFU/g), SGF (7.95 log CFU/g), and SIF (8.0 log CFU/g) during 80 min exposure compared to T2 and free cells. The viability of gum-coated alginate beads (T3) remained above 107 CFU/g in gastrointestinal conditions and at the end of 21 days storage (8.3 log CFU/mL). All physicochemical parameters of probiotic juice were significantly ( p ≤ 0.05 ) decreased with respect to storage except acidity. In addition, minimal changes in physicochemical parameters were observed in T3 compared to other treatments. Treatment had no significant impact on the sensory characteristics of juice, but storage had a significant effect ( p ≤ 0.05 ) on the sensory characteristics of juice. The alginate gum microbeads improve the survivability of probiotics for targeted delivery. Hence, encapsulated probiotics can be used for functional beverage development to take advantage of their therapeutic benefits.

Strawberry is highly appreciated for its aroma and texture, but rapid detrimental changes lead to decay and loss of quality in strawberries, which are the main reasons for huge economic losses. To tackle this major concern, this research focused on assessing the efficacy of edible coatings based on aloe vera (AV) gel to maintain quality parameters and postharvest storage of strawberries. Fruits were coated with gel containing one of five different concentrations of AV gel (0%, 20%, 40%, 60% and 80%) and stored at 1 °C and 95% relative humidity (RH) for up to 20 days. The weight loss, total soluble solids and malondialdehyde content was higher in untreated fruits, whilst these parameters were reduced in treated fruits. The AV gel treated fruits also maintained firmness, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid and total antioxidant activity, whereas, a significant decrease in these parameters was observed in untreated fruits. Furthermore, AV gel coated fruits had better superoxide dismutase, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activities than uncoated fruits. Additionally, AV gel coatings reduced the rate of loss of total phenolic and flavonoid contents during storage. Consequently, it is concluded that AV gel edible coating is recommended for improving postharvest life and for maintaining maximum quality characteristics of strawberry stored for 20 days stored at 1 °C and 95% RH. Among all treatments, 80% AV gel revealed the best results in maintaining the overall fruit quality and delaying ripening throughout the storage period

e present study aimed at assessing the nutritional, antioxidant, and sensorial attributes of fenugreek seed powder (FSP) and supplemented functional noodles prepared by replacing wheat flour at 2-10% supplementation levels. Cooking losses of the valueadded baked goods significantly (p < 0.05) declined from 2.4-1.2%. e results for water solubility, foaming capacity, and bulk density suggested significant (p < 0.05) increases from 8-10%, 77-87% and 0.51-0.70 g/mL, respectively, on replacing wheat flour with FSP in the value-added product. Dehydrated FSP addition caused significant (p < 0.05) improvement in ash (0.90-1.54%), proteins (10.4-13.7%), and crude fibers (0.9-1.9%) contents of the noodles. Maximum supplementation of FSP in supplemented noodles significantly (p < 0.05) improved the TPC, TFC, DPPH, and FRAP values from 111-310 mg GAE/100 g, 2.3-2.8 mg CE/g, 31-42%, and 215-460 umol/100 g, respectively. Sensory evaluation of supplemented noodles revealed the highest sensory acceptability of the value-added product at a 6% supplementation level. Conclusively, supplementing dehydrated FSP in the development of value-added foods could improve its functional features. It could also be considered as a plausible source of fibers and proteins, which might be helpful in mitigating malnutrition and a number of health maladies, such as cancer and diabetes.

Nanoemulsions are increasingly used in the food industry for the encapsulation of lipophilic compounds such as nutraceuticals, flavors, vitamins, antioxidants, and colors. The advantages of nanoemulsion-based encapsulation include increased bioavailability, higher solubility, control release, protection from chemical degradation, and incorporation of different ingredients into food products. Food industries are interested in the preparation of natural polymer-based nanoemulsions to prepare clean label products. A variety of polymers such as soya lecithin, WPI, GA, and modified starches have been used to fabricate nanoemulsion-based delivery systems for nutraceuticals and micronutrients. Hence, nanoemulsion-fortified food products have received great attention due to consumer demand for safer and healthier food products. Additionally, nanoemulsions can be used for the texture modification of food products and encapsulation as well as delivery of antimicrobial agents. The main challenge for the preparation of nanoemulsions is the selection of appropriate ingredients.

Food producers are scouring for substitute sweeteners in food products because of the change of consumer discernment on the absorption of sucrose. Due to the composite mixture of characteristics surviving within sucrose in terms of its taste and textural features, recreating it within a low calorie sweetener is frequently a demanding task. The gustatory system is the primary tool for evaluating sweet flavors, most desired by all categories of age, especially children. Consumer behavioral shifts toward vegan ingredients due to various reasons for global food shortfalls and awareness campaigns have diverted global health organizations' and food industrialists' attention toward vegan sweeteners to sweeten the tongue in a more natural manner with low or zero caloric products. Furthermore, recent advances in the phytoceutical attributes of food ingredients and higher yields with green approaches have gained importance, with a low loss of nutrients in waste.

S ugarcane is an imperious sugar crop of Pakistan and it has a contribution of 0.6% in GDP and 2.9% in the value added by the agriculture sector (GoP, 2020). Pakistan ranks at 5 th position regarding the area of production, whilst, it occupies 8 th position regarding the production amid the 104 sugarcane producing countries worldwide (FAO, 2017). The average sugarcane yield of Pakistan is 55.6 t ha -1 that is quite lower than other advanced countries i.e.,

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