Lactoferrin (Lf), an iron-binding protein from the transferrin family has been reported to have numerous functions. Even though Lf was first isolated from milk, it is also found in most exocrine secretions and in the secondary granules of neutrophils. Antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity reports on lactoferrin identified its significance in host defense against infection and extreme inflammation. Anticarcinogenic reports on lactoferrin make this protein even more valuable. This review is focused on the structural configuration of iron-containing and iron-free forms of lactoferrin obtained from different sources such as goat, camel and bovine. Apart for emphasizing on the specific beneficial properties of lactoferrin from each of these sources, the general antimicrobial, immunomodulatory and anticancer activities of lactoferrin are discussed here. Implementation of nanomedicinial strategies that enhance the bioactive function of lactoferrin are also discussed, along with information on lactoferrin in clinical trials.

The number of hypercholesterolemic and hyperglycemic people is increasing rapidly in the world. The prevention against these health problems is related to a complex management of conventional and non-conventional risk factors. The inclusion of dietary fiber in the diet is the right approach to reduce these risks. Cholesterol and glucose lowering effects are most often associated with gelling, mucilaginous, and viscous fibers such as guar gum, an edible thickening agent. It has widespread applications in the food industry due to its ability to hydrate without heating. The demand for guar gum is still growing rapidly because in addition to its indispensable role in lowering serum cholesterol and glucose levels, it is also considered helpful in weight loss programs. The main thrust of therapeutic and medicinal properties lies in the soluble dietary fiber content of guar gum to improve the serum biochemical profile of human and non-human primates, reducing total serum cholesterol, triglycerides, increasing the high density lipoprotein cholesterol level, and the management of glycemic indices and obesity. Among the various intervention strategies, diet diversification is the right approach to overcome these problems. Composite flours containing wheat and legumes have proven practical uses and are being utilized in many parts of the world to improve the nutritional and functional properties of flour. The main focus of this manuscript is to review the available information on various aspects of guar gum with special reference to its effectiveness in reducing the cardiovascular disease risk, diabetes and weight loss programs.

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The objective of this study was to assess functional properties of wheat flour blends with defatted maize germ flour (DMGF), a byproduct of the corn oil industry, at 5-25% levels. The bulk density, oil, and water absorption capacities, emulsion/foaming capacity and stability, objective color, least gelation concentration, and rheological properties (apparent viscosity and dough compression) were determined in control and flour blends. With DMGF addition, bulk density and foaming capacity decreased from 0.62 g/mL to 0.55 g/mL and 33.7% to 25.7%, respectively, both at 25% level. In general, when compared to control, oil and water absorption and emulsion capacities increased significantly in flour blends with >10% DMGF. Overall, regardless of the DMGF level, complete or partial gelling was observed at ³ 8% gelation concentration. The apparent viscosity increased with increasing DMGF levels (0-25%) in all flour blends and also at all 4 concentrations from 5% to 20%. The control flour dough had a hardness value of 7.56 N, which increased significantly to 84.6N, when the DMGF level increased to 25% in the flour blend. These results indicate that most of the functional properties of wheat flour blends improved with DMGF addition, thus DMGF has a great potential to be used in a variety of food products.

β-Glucan is a dietary fibre, found in many natural sources, and controls chronic metabolic diseases effectively. However, β-glucan from the yeast has rarely been investigated. Objectively, conditions were optimized to isolate β-glucan from the yeast (max. 66% yield); those optimized conditions included 1.0 M NaOH, pH 7.0, and 90°C. The purity and identity of the isolated β-glucan were characterized through FT-IR, SEM, DSC, and physicofunctional properties. The obtained results from DSC revealed highly stable β-glucan (m.p., 125°C) with antioxidant activity (TAC value 0.240 ± 0.0021 µg/mg, H2O2 scavenging 38%), which has promising bile acid binding 40.463% and glucose control (in vitro). In line with these results, we evaluated the in vivo anti-inflammatory potential, that is, myeloperoxidase activity and reduction in MDA and NO; protective effect on proteins and keeping viscosity within normal range exhibited improvement. Also, the in vivo cholesterol binding and reduction in the skin thickness by β-glucan were highly encouraging. Finally, our results confirmed that yeast β-glucan is effective against some of the inflammatory and oxidative stress markers studied in this investigation. In general, the effect of 4%  β-glucan was more noticeable versus 2%  β-glucan. Therefore, our results support the utilization of β-glucan as a novel, economically cheap, and functional food ingredient.

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Defatted maize germ (DMG) was blended with wheat flour for making cookies. DMG flour at 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25% was used to partially replace wheat flour in cookie formulation, and cookies thus made were evaluated for physical characteristics and sensory quality by a small semi‐trained panel and a 75‐member consumer panel. Proximate analysis of DMG flour showed a composition of 27.6% crude protein, 13.0% crude fiber and 7.5% ash contents. The force required for breaking cookies increased with DMG flour addition. Based on preliminary evaluation of cookies made with all five DMG flour levels by the small panel, three treatments (5%, 10% and 15% DMG flour fortification) were selected for cookies sensory analysis by a consumer panel. On a 9‐point hedonic scale, the highest overall acceptability score of 6.6 was obtained with 5% fortification, which was similar to control (6.7). All other treatments, though significantly different than the control, had an overall acceptability score of >5. These results demonstrate that cookies made with up of 15% DMG flour exhibited sensory scores within an acceptable range, as none were≤5 (neither like, nor dislike) that was deemed as a limit of marketability. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Defatted maize germ (DMG), a by‐product of the maize milling industry, is a nutrient‐dense and relatively low‐cost product. In a separate study in our laboratory, the DMG flour was shown to possess excellent functional properties, such as bulk density, water‐ and oil‐absorption capacities, and dough textural properties. The DMG flour addition to different food systems can greatly enhance the nutritional status, especially protein and crude fiber content, without compromising consumer acceptance. The results of the present study can also serve as a valuable resource to further explore the utilization of DMG as a flour extender in marketing of other bakery products – bread, cakes, muffins, to name a few – of acceptable quality.

The selectivity and beneficial effects of prebiotics are mainly dependent on composition and glycosidic linkage among monosaccharide units. This is the first study to use prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) that contains β-1,6 and β-1,3 glycosidic linkages and the novel combination of GOS and inulin in cancer prevention. The objective of the present study is to explore the role of novel GOS and inulin against various biomarkers of colorectal cancer (CRC) and the incidence of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in a 1,2-dimethyl hydrazine dihydrochloride (DMH)-induced rodent model. Prebiotic treatments of combined GOS and inulin (57 mg each), as well as individual doses (GOS: 76–151 mg; inulin 114 mg), were given to DMH-treated animals for 16 weeks. Our data reveal the significant preventive effect of the GOS and inulin combination against the development of CRC. It was observed that inhibition of ACF formation (55.8%) was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher using the GOS and inulin combination than GOS (41.4%) and inulin (51.2%) treatments alone. This combination also rendered better results on short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and bacterial enzymatic activities. Dose-dependent effects of prebiotic treatments were also observed on cecum and fecal bacterial enzymes and on SCFA. Thus, this study demonstrated that novel combination of GOS and inulin exhibited stronger preventive activity than their individual treatments alone, and can be a promising strategy for CRC chemoprevention.