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Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea), also known as pigweed, fatweed, pusle, and little hogweed, is an annual succulent herb in the family Portulacaceae that is found in most corners of the globe. From the ancient ages purslane has been treated as a major weed of vegetables as well as other crops. However, worldwide researchers and nutritionists have studied this plant as a potential vegetable crop for humans as well as animals. Purslane is a nutritious vegetable with high antioxidant properties and recently has been recognized as the richest source of α-linolenic acid, essential omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, ascorbic acid, glutathione, α-tocopherol and β-carotene. The lack of vegetable sources of ω-3 fatty acids has resulted in a growing level of attention to introduce purslane as a new cultivated vegetable. In the rapid-revolutionizing worldwide atmosphere, the ability to produce improved planting material appropriate to diverse and varying rising conditions is a supreme precedence. Though various published reports on morphological, physiological, nutritional and medicinal aspects of purslane are available, research on the genetic improvement of this promising vegetable crop are scant. Now it is necessary to conduct research for the genetic improvement of this plant. Genetic improvement of purslane is also a real scientific challenge. Scientific modernization of conventional breeding with the advent of advance biotechnological and molecular approaches such as tissue culture, protoplast fusion, genetic transformation, somatic hybridization, marker-assisted selection, qualitative trait locus mapping, genomics, informatics and various statistical representation have opened up new opportunities of revising the relationship between genetic diversity, agronomic performance and response to breeding for varietal improvement. This review is an attempt to amalgamate the assorted scientific information on purslane propagation, cultivation, varietal improvement, nutrient analyses, medicinal uses and to describe prospective research especially for genetic improvement of this crop.

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Date palm fruits (Phoenix dactylifera L.) were found to contain high levels of allomelanin (1.2–5.1%). The melanin is localized in the tanniferous cells between the inner and outer mesocarp tissues of the fruit. The melanin, extracted with 2 M sodium hydroxide, consisted of amorphous graphene-like granular structures of irregular shape and variable size. The date fruit melanin mainly comprises carbon (64.6%) and oxygen (30.6) but no nitrogen, and was thermally stable. It has radical scavenging (63.6–75.1 IC50, µg/mL), antimicrobial (250–1000 µg/mL), hypoglycemic (51.8–58.2%), and angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitory (65.8%) effects. The high level of melanin in date fruits highlights the importance of investigating its dietary intake and its impact on nutrition. This study also suggests that date fruit melanin can be a functional ingredient in foods, food packages, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.

There are compelling evidences that oxidative stress plays important role in age‐related neurodegenerative diseases and natural food‐derived dietary antioxidants appear to be the first line of defence to take care of the oxidative stress. The analysis results of this study showed that Cili Burung of the hot pepper landraces contained the highest amount of TPC (1.00 mg/g DW), TFC (0.17 mg/g DW), capsaicinoids (0.05 mg/g), and the highest FRAP activity (439 mg/g DW). However, DPPH assay revealed the highest DPPH scavenging activity (IC50 = 250 μg/ml) in Halia Bara rhizome. Rhizomes of both landraces of ginger showed a significant amount of capsaicinoids. Hot pepper Cili Ungu (5.50 g/kg) and sweet pepper Cili Kulai had the highest P contents (~5.5 g/kg). Halia Bentong ginger rhizome had the highest content of K (33.84 g/kg); however, Halia Bentong ginger roots had remarkably greater contents of Ca (10.96 g/kg). Ginger rhizomes and roots had greater contents of micro minerals compared to hot and sweet chili peppers. Ginger roots contained good amounts of bioactive compounds and mineral nutrients indicating its commercial value. Practical applications The findings of the research are truly very informative and potential for a greater health benefits of all types of health conscious generation of all ages. Depending on the greater contents of the measured bioactive compounds (total phenolics, flavonoids, capsaicinoids, and mineral nutrients) in Chili Burung from among the hot peppers and Cili Solok from among the sweet peppers and both ginger landraces may thus be suitable for commercial production and can serve as potential parents in breeding programs for enhanced phytonutrients constituents, or for use in related research. The presence of high phenolic and flavonoid contents in Chili Burung and gingers indicated their potentiality in pharmaceutical and ethnomedicinal uses. A good amount of bioactive compounds in ginger roots indicated its commercial value. And this is the first research reported on capsaicin in ginger; however, our findings do not preclude chemo‐profiling of capsaicinoids in ginger rhizomes for its inevitability.