Dark chocolate: delivery medium for probiotic Bifidobacterium breve NCIM 5671.

Bifidobacteria are widely acclaimed probiotic bacteria, however, the fragile nature of the bacteria has rendered its delivery through food products a challenge. The aim of the present study was to develop probiotic dark chocolate by incorporating Bifidobacterium breve NCIM5671. The probiotic chocolate was prepared by adding B. breve to dark chocolate at the final tempering stage. The chocolate was evaluated for the viability of B. breve upon preparation and during storage period of 90 days. The effect of addition of B. breve on physiological parameters of chocolate such as color, texture, rheology, melting profile, and sensory profile was also determined. The probiotic chocolate developed retained viability of B. breve (9 log CFU/g) for a period of 90 days. No significant differences were observed in physiological parameters of probiotic chocolate compared to control chocolate. Overall the probiotic dark chocolate was found to be a suitable matrix for delivery of B. breve NCIM5671. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-024-05958-6.

Characterization of volatile components from ginger plant at maturity and its value addition to ice cream.

Ginger is widely consumed spice across the globe and especially in Asian countries routinely employed in various culinary preparations. Ginger possesses many distinct bioactive molecules, have shown marked therapeutic benefits. The ginger aroma is mainly due to the volatile compounds present in the rhizome. The current paper focuses on comparison of volatile constituents present in different plant parts of ginger concerning maturity and effect of incorporation of freeze-dried ginger extract into ice cream. Fresh ginger was collected for 5 months (every 30 days) and analysed for their differences in volatile composition with respect to maturity. Later ginger juice was extracted from fresh ginger and freeze-dried. Freeze-dried ginger powder was incorporated into icecream at various concentrations and studied the microbiological and sensory quality. Results from GC-MS profiles revealed the dominance of sesquiterpenes. Zingiberene a major volatile compound, increased from 2.52 to 18.15% with an increase in maturity days, whereas ar-curcumin decreased from 12.58 to 3.84%. The freeze-dried ginger powder yielded 10.2 ± 0.1% of oleoresin, which consists of 3.6 ± 0.2% of 6-gingerol. The value added ice cream with gingerols had the desirable sensory attributes with the novelty of natural ginger flavour. Icecream was pleasant, with attractive visual appeal, which is an essential determinant for consumer acceptance. The microbial quality of the ice cream was compared with the FSSAI standards, and the study was found to be within acceptable limits.

De novo expression of human polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 6 (GalNAc-T6) in colon adenocarcinoma inhibits the differentiation of colonic epithelium.

Aberrant expression of O-glycans is a hallmark of epithelial cancers. Mucin-type O-glycosylation is initiated by a large family of UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases (GalNAc-Ts) that target different proteins and are differentially expressed in cells and organs. Here, we investigated the expression patterns of all of the GalNAc-Ts in colon cancer by analyzing transcriptomic data. We found that GalNAc-T6 was highly up-regulated in colon adenocarcinomas but absent in normal-appearing adjacent colon tissue. These results were verified by immunohistochemistry, suggesting that GalNAc-T6 plays a role in colon carcinogenesis. To investigate the function of GalNAc-T6 in colon cancer, we used precise gene targeting to produce isogenic colon cancer cell lines with a knockout/rescue system for GALNT6 GalNAc-T6 expression was associated with a cancer-like, dysplastic growth pattern, whereas GALNT6 knockout cells showed a more normal differentiation pattern, reduced proliferation, normalized cell-cell adhesion, and formation of crypts in tissue cultures. O-Glycoproteomic analysis of the engineered cell lines identified a small set of GalNAc-T6-specific targets, suggesting that this isoform has unique cellular functions. In support of this notion, the genetically and functionally closely related GalNAc-T3 homolog did not show compensatory functionality for effects observed for GalNAc-T6. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that aberrant GalNAc-T6 expression and site-specific glycosylation is involved in oncogenic transformation.

Betalains rich Rivina humilis L. berry extract as natural colorant in product (fruit spread and RTS beverage) development.

Rivina humilis L. (Phytolaccaceae) or pigeon berry accumulates betalains in its berries. It is reported that the berries are safe to consume, rich in nutrient content and exhibit efficient biological activity. In this report, Rivina berry extract was used as natural colorant in fruit spread and beverage to evaluate its effect on physicochemical properties and acceptability of the product. Results showed that 68 % color retained in Rivina banana spread after 6 months of storage at 5 °C, though there was reduction in L, a and chroma values. Rivina banana beverage lost redness completely during processing. Microbial analysis of the products indicated that they were safe for consumption. The spread had good overall sensorial quality and was liked by consumers indicating that addition of Rivina berry extract did not alter product quality.

Modified method for preparation of Halubai-an Indian traditional sweet.

Halubai, a traditional Indian sweet is conventionally prepared by soaking and grinding whole cereals/millets to a fine paste, straining it through a cloth and cooking the resultant dispersion until it starts gelatinizing. Cooking is continued further with the addition of jaggery water, stirring constantly with intermittent addition of ghee. This process involves many unit operations, which are energy and time consuming. Hence a modified method was developed which is energy efficient and time saving without compromising the quality of the product. One fine fraction (200 mesh, BS) of cereal/millet flours were used in modified method instead of whole cereals. Sensory and instrumental analysis of the samples showed that quality of Halubai prepared using modified method was comparable to that of samples from conventional method. Correlation studies on sensory data of Halubai showed positive relation for the set (r = 0.94) and smoothness (r = 0.84); and negative relation for stickiness (r = -0.94) with the overall quality. Modified method of Halubai preparation which was simple and energy efficient, resulted in products with good sensory quality.

Studies on chemical and sensory parameters of coconut oil and its olein blends with sesame oil and palmolein during wheat flour-based product frying.

Blends of coconut oil-coconut oil with sesame oil (blend 1); coconut olein with sesame oil (blend 2); coconut olein with palmolein (blend 3) in 1:1 (v/v) ratio-were used in this study for frying Poori, a traditional Indian fast food prepared from wheat flour. Changes in oil quality were determined by chemical and sensory methods. Free fatty acid content did not change whereas peroxide value increased. Anisidine value increased from 5.5, 0.9 and 4.2 to 34.3, 42.8 and 23.6 for blends 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Iodine value showed marginal decrease in blends 1 and 2. Diene value showed no change in all three blends. Sesamol content in blends 1 and 2, total tocopherols in all the three blends, and ß-carotene content in blend 3 decreased after frying. The blends showed a significant decrease (P ≤ 0.05) in the characteristic coconut oil odour after frying. Blend 3 showed comparatively better frying stability and also overall sensory quality of poori fried in this blend was the highest.

Relationship between consanguinity and depression in a south Indian population.

A Pilot study was Carried out to study the association of consanguinity marriage with depression. It was observed that the consanguinity of marriage was associated with depression. The odds ratio was 5.66 (CI: 2.42-13.54). The age and sex had an association with depression. The age and sex adjusted odds ratio of consanguinity marriage was 7.66 (CI: 3.93-19.45) indicating that it is independently associated with depression.