Nutraceutical potential of tree flowers: A comprehensive review on biochemical profile, health benefits, and utilization.

A numerous types of tree flowers are present in nature and few of them such as Rhdodendron, Bauhinia, Mahua, Gulmohar, Palash, Sesbania, Woodfordia, Simbal, etc. are being utilized traditionally as food and medicine by the localities of India. These flowers are rich in phytochemical (flavonoids, anthocyanins, phenolic acids, carotenoids, tannins, saponins) and possessing numerous health benefits (antioxidant activity, anti-inflammation, anti-cancer activity, anti-diabetic activity, hepatoprotective activity). However, because of the low availability (i.e. short blooming period and at limited places) and poor post-harvest life, these flowers are commonly utilized by the local people as food and medicines during their respective flowering times only. A few attempts have been made toward the utilization of some tree flowers (Mahduca longifolia, Rhododendron arboretum), but others are still unexplored and need to be exploited to achieve food and nutritional security as well increase the opportunity of employment and improvement in the socio-economic status of the local tribes. Therefore, to achieve this, the present review was aimed to review and document the status of common edible tree flowers, their phytochemicals potential and, health benefits as well as their utilization as food and medicines.

DASH Dietary Pattern: A Treatment for Non-communicable Diseases.

Non-communicable diseases are the major inducer of mortality and morbidity in the Western world. In terms of nutrition, a diet high in fat (particularly saturated fat), salt and sugars have shown to be associated with innumerable incidence of diet- associated health diseases. Dietary modification is a central part of any treatment strategy. The Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is one among such healthy dietary patterns, which emphasizes on the consumption of fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy foods, including whole grains, poultry, fish, and small quantities of red meat, sweets and drinks containing sugar. This study provides certain practical evidence that prolonged adoption of DASH diet which can be a useful treatment for numerous non-communicable diseases with a sustained effect on the health that involves both accessibility and proximity to healthy eating choices. Long-term studies are required to assess whether these effects are maintained over time.

Nutraceutical Potential of Diet Drinks: A Critical Review on Components, Health Effects, and Consumer Safety.

Background: The purpose of this review paper was to explore the components and their respective health effects and safety aspects regarding the consumption of diet drinks (DDs).Methods: A wide variety of the relevant publications (published before 2018) were identified through searching electronic databases (ScienceDirect, PubMed, SciELO, Google Scholar, Springer Link, and ResearchGate) on the basis of different keywords such as diet drink, market status, consumption pattern, composition, health effects, and regulations related to DDs. After the search of suitable literature, 139 papers were screened and reviewed.Results: Numerous brands of DDs have been introduced in the market along with a wide variety of modifications in order to attract the consumers of all age groups along with their respective professions. The major components of DDs are caffeine, taurine, ginseng, guarana, sodium, potassium, and sweeteners that contribute to the good taste, stimulating effect, increased performance and cognitive function, and reduced stress. However, ingestion of DDs over a prolonged course of time can pose multiple deleterious effects, i.e., intoxication, affective disorder, hypertension, reproductive toxicity, and neurological disorders. Consequently, different regulatory bodies of respective countries have formulated and enforced rules and regulations regarding the composition, consumption, labeling, distribution, and sales of DDs.Conclusions: An awareness regarding the components, consumption, and health effects is greatly required in the present era, and authors have tried to fill this gap.Key teaching pointsRise in socio-economic status, health awareness and change in dietary lifestyle are the major factors that fuel the demand of diet drinks; which has been witnessed by a drastic increase in the consumption pattern of the diet drinks among young to middle-age adults since last decade.A wide variety of the ingredients are used in the preparation of diet drinks including caffeine, ginseng (Panax ginseng), guarana (Paullinia cupana), taurine, artificial sweeteners, B Vitamins, sodium, potassium etc.Diet drinks are generally served cold and contain high levels of caffeine and other artificial sweeteners; which based on dosage, have been known to be beneficial as well as harmful.These ingredients possess numerous health benefits including anti-hypertensive, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer properties, improved metabolic functions, stress reduction and enhanced endurance, exercise and performance and increased cognitive function.A wide range of the adverse health effects such as nervousness, sleeplessness, behavioral changes, decreased appetite, heart palpitations, nausea, vomiting, dehydration etc. is being possessed by diet drinks upon the ingestion of these drinks over a prolonged course of time.Regulatory bodies should determine the safe limits of all ingredients for different age groups to get maximum health benefits.

Effect of soaking and germination on physicochemical and functional attributes of horsegram flour.

Horsegram is an underutilized pulse, traditionally used for treating various disorders like kidney stones, diabetes and joint pain. The present study was undertaken to optimize the soaking and germination conditions, to decrease the anti-nutritional factors and at the same time maintaining the nutritional properties of horsegram. Horsegram seeds were soaked for 6, 12 and 18 h followed by germination for 0, 24 and 48 h under different illumination conditions i.e., light and dark respectively. The soaked and germinated samples were dried in laboratory drier at 55 °C until constant moisture was achieved and was further analyzed for various quality attributes. Almost all the physicochemical and functional characteristics were significantly affected by both soaking and germination, whereas, germination done in light and dark conditions, exerted significant effect on the ascorbic acid content, total protein, total phenols, antioxidant activity and tannin content only. Based on the quality attributes, it was found that treatment having 18 h soaking and 48 h germination in the presence of light was the best where maximum decrease in the anti-nutritional factors was observed. Moreover, there was an increase in ascorbic acid, total protein content and a decrease in the anti-nutritional factors such as oxalate and tannin content. Thus, it is concluded that 18 h soaking and 48 h germination in the presence of light can be considered as the optimum conditions to increase the nutritional content of horsegram flour, which can further be utilized for the preparation of different value-added food products.