Fucoxanthin is an algae-specific xanthophyll of aquatic carotenoid. It is prevalent in brown seaweed because it functions as a light-harvesting complex for algal photosynthesis and photoprotection. Its exceptional chemical structure exhibits numerous biological activities that benefit human health. Due to these valuable properties, fucoxanthin’s potential as a potent source for functional food, feed, and medicine is being explored extensively today. This article has thoroughly reviewed the availability and biosynthesis of fucoxanthin in the brown seaweed, as well as the mechanism behind it. We included the literature findings concerning the beneficial bioactivities of fucoxanthin such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, antidiabetic, anticancer, and other potential activities. Last, an additional view on its potential as a functional food ingredient has been discussed to facilitate a broader application of fucoxanthin as a promising bioactive compound.
White pepper is the dried seeds obtained from pepper berries (Piper nigrum L.) after the removal of the pericarp. It has been widely used as seasoning and condiments in food preparation. Globally, white pepper fetches a higher price compared to black pepper due to its lighter colour, preferable milder flavour and pungency. Increasing global demand of the spice outpaced the supply as the conventional production method used is laborious, lengthy and also not very hygienic. The most common conventional method is water retting but can also include pit soil, chemical, boiling, steaming and mechanical methods. The introduction of a biotechnological approach has gained a lot of interest, as it is a more rapid, convenient and hygienic method of producing white pepper. This technique involves the application of microorganisms and/or enzymes. This review highlights both conventional and latest biotechnological processes of white pepper production. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry
This work investigated the effects of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) gum addition, as a fat replacer in ice cream. Water-extracted okra gum was used to replace the fat in ice cream at 0, 22, 44, 55, 88 and 100% to produce Super Premium (18% fat), Premium (14% fat), Regular (10% fat), Economy (8% fat), Low-fat (2% fat) and Zero-fat (0% fat) ice cream. The addition of okra gum was found to be comparable with full fat ice cream in term of melting rate and texture analysis. Droplet size data for the Super Premium ice cream displayed a bimodal distribution, whilst Zero-fat ice cream exhibited a monomodal droplet distribution. Rheological test, demonstrated that, Economy ice cream was the most elastic (G'). The substitution of fat content in ice cream with okra gum increased the viscous modulus (G''). Sensory results indicated that, up to 55% replacement of fat with okra gum was feasible to achieve satisfactory ice cream properties.
Costus plant is considered as a medicinal plant especially in therapeutic intervention. The current study reports the composition, phytochemical, and antioxidant properties of red button ginger (Costus woodsonii) using sequential extraction. Solvents of different polarities (hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water) were used to sequentially extract the C. woodsonii bract, at increasing polarities. Phytochemical screening showed positive presence of flavonoids (all types of extracts), terpenoids (only in methanolic extract), and tannins (except aqueous extract). Overall, methanolic extracts showed the significantly (p ≤ .05) highest ascorbic acid content (75.76 ± 1.47 mg/100 ml), total phenolic content (249.64 ± 2.83 mg GAE/100 g), DPPH free radical-scavenging activity (78.76 ± 0.97%), ferric reducing antioxidant power (22.55 ± 0.96 mg TEAC/g), superoxide anion scavenging activity (46.60 ± 1.57%) and hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity (50.35 ± 0.96%). In short, sequential extraction provides understanding of polarity specificity of C. woodsonii plant and result indicated high polarity solvent (methanol and water) recovered higher bioactive compounds. Practical applications Sequential extraction procedures have shown a rapid increase in applications, in a wide range of sample types. This study proposed the use of sequential extraction with solvents of different polarities to elute maximum amount of compounds present in Costus woodsonii plant. Many studies indicated that Costus genus plant exhibited high bioactivities such as anticancer, apoptotic effect, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetics, antifungal, and antibacterial properties which revealed the potential values of these plants for nutraceutical application. However, the study on C. woodsonii is very limited. This report would reveal the assessment of sequential extraction performance and its relationship with the properties of C. woodsonii. This would generate considerable interest to the research community to improve the understanding of this plant. Overall, this report is very beneficial to impart a new information to the food industry as well as the pharmaceutical field, which may broaden the application of this plant as a potential functional crop and bioactive ingredient.
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