The impact of addition of pearl millet starch-germ complex in white bread on nutritional, textural, structural, and glycaemic response: Single blinded randomized controlled trial in healthy and pre-diabetic participants

The rise of pre-diabetes at the global level has created a significant interest in developing low glycaemic index food products. The pearl millet is a cheaper source of starch and its germ contains significant amount of protein and fat. The complexing of pearl millet starch and germ by dry heat treatment (PMSGH) resulted an increase in the resistant starch content upto 45.09 % due to formation of amylose-glutelin-linoleic acid complex. The resulting pearl millet starch germ complex was incorporated into wheat bread at 20, 25, and 30 %. The PMSGH incorporated into bread at 30 % reduced the glycaemic index to 52.31. The PMSGH incorporated bread had significantly (p < 0.05)increased in the hardness with a reduction in springiness and cohesiveness. The structural attributes of the 30 % PMSGH incorporated bread revealed a significant (p < 0.05)increase in 1040/1020 cm-1 ratio and relative crystallinity. The consumption of functional bread incorporated with pearl millet starch germ complex reduced blood glucose levels and in vivo glycaemic index in healthy and pre-diabetic participants when compared to white bread. Hence, the study showed that the incorporation of pearl millet starch-germ complex into food products could be a potential new and healthier approach for improving dietary options in pre-diabetes care.

Modification of sorghum starch as a function of pullulanase hydrolysis and infrared treatment

Papain-pretreated sorghum grains were modified by using pullulanase and infrared (IR) irradiation to decrease starch digestibility. An optimum synergistic effect was found under conditions of pullulanase (1 U/ml/5h) and IR (220 ^oC/3 min) treatment, which produced modified corneous endosperm starch with 0.022 hydrolysis rate, 42.58 hydrolysis index, and 0.468 potential digestibility. The modification increased amylose content and crystallinity up to 31.31 % and 62.66 %, respectively. However, the starch modification decreased its swelling power, solubility index, and pasting properties. FTIR revealed an increase in the ratio of 1047/1022 and a decrease in 1022/995, indicating the formation of a more orderly structure. The debranching effect of pullulanase was stabilized by the IR radiation amplifying its effect on starch digestibility. Therefore, the combination of debranching and infrared treatment could be an efficient method to produce 'tailor-made' starch, that can be further utilized in food industries to manufacture food for target population.

Influences of Partial Destruction of Ti-MOFs on Photo(electro)catalytic H2 Evolution by Dominating Role of Charge Carrier Trapping over Surface Area

The design of water-stable photo and electrocatalysts of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for its promising catalytic applications at long-term irradiations or persisted current loads is extremely necessary but still remains as challenging. A limited number of reports on Ti-MOF-based catalysts for water splitting are only available to explain and understand the correlation between the nature of materials and MOFs array. Herein, spherical Ti-MOFs and corresponding partially annealed hollow core-shell Ti-MOFs (Ti-MOF/D) are designed and the correlation with their photo(electro)catalytic water splitting performance is evaluated. The switchable valence state of Ti for the Ti-MOF as a function of molecular bonding is the possible reason behind the observed photocatalytic hydrogen generation and light-harvesting ability of the system. Besides, the defect state, solid core-shell mesoporous structure, and active sites of Ti-MOF help to trap the charge carriers and the reduction of the recombination process. This phenomenon is absent for hollow core-shells Ti-MOF/D spheres due to the rigid TiO₂ outer surface although there is a contradiction in surface area with Ti-MOF. Considering the diversity of Ti-MOF and Ti-MOF/D, further novel research can be designed using this way to manipulate their properties as per the requirements.

Lymphovascular Invasion and Ductal In-situ Components in Operable Infiltrating Duct Carcinoma of BreastA Single Centre Experience

Introduction: Lymphovascular Invasion (LVI) in carcinoma breast is a significant prognostic factor in invasive breast cancer, with respect to local and distant recurrence and poor survival. Infiltrating duct carcinoma with accompanying ductal carcinoma in-situ has shown significantly different expression patterns of Her2/neu, progesterone receptors and Ki67 than infiltrating duct carcinoma. Aim: To associate the significance of LVI and concomitant insitu component with the receptor status and clinicopathological characteristics of infiltrative duct carcinoma. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in a single unit in the Department Of General Surgery, Government Medical College, Thrissur, Kerala, India, for two months between June 2021 and July 2021 and data was analysed in August 2021. This study was conducted in a systematic manner to review all the operated infiltrative duct carcinoma patients from a single cohort in 100 patients based on surgical intervention. The collected data were entered in Microsoft Excel worksheet and the results were analyzed statistically using Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS)-16. Chi-square test was used, considering p-value ≤0.05 as a significant. Results: The mean age of the study population was 55.6±15 years with maximum number of patients above 60 years. In total 64% of the patients had tumour size of 2-5 cm (pT2) and 59% of the cases had no lymph nodal metastasis (pN0). 28 cases (28%) showed concomitant in-situ component and 37 cases showed lymphovascular invasion (37%). The presence of lymphovascular invasion, was found to be significantly associated with Her2 positivity (p=0.045). Concomitant in-situ component also seemed to increase the likelihood of lymphovascular invasion (p=0.0320). There was significant positive correlation observed between LVI and Her2 (r=0.238,p=0.045) and in-situ component (0.214; p=0.032). However, no significant association was observed between LVI and other clinicopathological variables. Conclusion: Th LVI is a significant prognostic factor in invasive breast cancer associated with poor survival and definitely carries a significant association with Her2 Status and also reflected on the concomitant in-situ carcinoma.

Assessment of black gram milling by-product as a potential source of nutrients

The present study was carried out to classify and explore the nutrient distribution of black gram milling by-product, with an intention to find value-added applications. The by-product was classified into two fractions, i.e., fraction BRGA (By-product Rich in Germ and Aleurone) and husk and their nutritional profiles were compared to cotyledon and whole seed (naive and germinated). BRGA found to be the richest source of protein (31.38%), minerals (Mg, Na, Fe, Zn and Mn) with appreciable amount of soluble dietary fiber (3.13%). Husk was the richest source of total dietary fiber (79.62%). Furthermore, both by-products were endowed with valuable essential amino acid and fatty acid profiles when compared to cotyledon and whole seeds. Overall, the present study revealed that the black gram by-product is a promising food ingredient that can be processed to obtain fractions rich in protein, fiber, essential fatty acids and minerals, for developing specialty foods for target population.

Partial and total replacement of meat by plant-based proteins in chicken sausage: evaluation of mechanical, physico-chemical and sensory characteristics

The processed meats are classified in the first category of carcinogenic compounds due to its numerous health issues. For this reason, there is a growing interest to utilize healthy ingredients for formulation of meat-based products. The objective of this study was to replace completely and partially meat by plant proteins in sausage formulation and compare the characteristics of these novel formulae with full meat sample. The results showed that the plant proteins minimized the cooking loss and shrinkage and improved emulsion stability by creating a strong structural network in cooked emulsion. In contrast, the full meat samples had better strength/elasticity in terms of folding score (4.67 out of 5) and gel strength (2553.68 g mm) when compared to meat-reduced and meat-free samples. The sensory assessment showed that replacement of chicken meat by plant proteins was highly acceptable in terms of texture, odor, color and overall acceptance. Overall, it is concluded that plant proteins can be regarded as promising ingredients to replace 80-100% meat in sausage.

Cereal by-products as an important functional ingredient: effect of processing

Cereal is a staple food and major nutrition source throughout the world. The cereal bran obtained from milling as by-product contains multiple benefits and health-promoting components such as dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, polyphenols, and phytosterols. However, these by-products are usually undervalued and used in animal feed. To increase the functional and food value, processing techniques linked to improving nutritional characteristics, sensory properties and reducing the inhibitory factors have been developed. These processing techniques include mechanical, enzymatic and thermal processing. It aims to improve the functional properties, enhance the extractability of beneficial food ingredients, reduce the complex structure of the bran and improve solubility, decrease the content of inhibitory factors and improve the bio-accessibility of micronutrients. This review highlights the various technological interventions and application of appropriate processing techniques to process cereal bran for the isolation of functional food ingredient and thus utilizing the nutritious by-product of cereal processing industry.

Assessment of inhibitory factors on bioaccessibility of iron and zinc in pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) cultivars

The variations in iron and zinc bioaccessibility as influenced by inhibitory factors in 13 pearl millet cultivars were evaluated. The results indicated that iron and zinc contents ranged between 5.59-13.41 and 2.11-5.19 mg/100 g. Polyphenols, flavonoids and phytic acid were highest in GHB744 (781 mg/100 g), HHB223 (116 mg/100 g) and HHB226 (1.080 g/100 g) respectively. Insoluble fiber content range from 9.36 to 12.89 g/100 g. Iron and zinc bioaccessibility was the highest in local Anantapur (17.95%) and GHB744 (15.19%) cultivar with low phytic acid. HHB226 exhibited high β-carotene and phytase activity. In this study, the cultivars with high iron and zinc content also possessed high inhibitory factors which affected bioaccessibility. However, the bioaccessibility of iron did not seem to depend on the phytic acid: iron ratio alone. Further, a trend was observed in cultivars with low iron: zinc ratio had increased iron bioaccessibility. On the contrary, phytic acid: zinc ratio appears to play a significant role in zinc bioaccessibility. Certain cultivars with high iron content also had high phytase activity and β-carotene content which could be exploited for further technological treatments to enhance the bioaccessibility of iron and zinc.

Influence of hydrothermal processing on functional properties and grain morphology of finger millet

Finger millet was hydrothermally processed followed by decortication. Changes in color, diameter, density, sphericity, thermal and textural characteristics and also some of the functional properties of the millet along with the grain morphology of the kernels after hydrothermal processing and decortication were studied. It was observed that, the millet turned dark after hydrothermal processing and color improved over native millet after decortication. A slight decrease in grain diameter was observed but sphericity of the grains increased on decortication. The soft and fragile endosperm turned into a hard texture and grain hardness increased by about 6 fold. Hydrothermal processing increased solubility and swelling power of the millet at ambient temperature. Pasting profile indicated that, peak viscosity decreased significantly on hydrothermal processing and both hydrothermally processed and decorticated millet exhibited zero breakdown viscosity. Enthalpy was negative for hydrothermally processed millet and positive for decorticated grains. Microscopic studies revealed that the orderly structure of endosperm changed to a coherent mass after hydrothermal processing and the different layers of seed coat get fused with the endosperm.