An overview of the management of osteoporosis in the aging female population.

Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease that is a cause of morbidity and mortality. It can affect all ages but most frequently postmenopausal women. It is a silent condition, however, osteoporotic fractures can lead to significant pain and disability. In this review article, we aim to review the clinical approach to the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis. We include risk assessment, investigations, and the various pharmacological and non-pharmacological options used in the treatment of osteoporosis. We have discussed the pharmacological options individually including their mechanism of action, safety profile, effects on bone mineral density and fracture risks, and duration of use. Potential new treatments are also discussed. The importance of sequence in the use of osteoporotic medicine is also highlighted in the article. An understanding of the different treatment options will hopefully help in the management of this very common and debilitating condition.

Role of fruits in aging and age-related disorders.

Aging is a collection of changes that contribute to decline in maximum function and ultimately death of an organism. This process is controlled and initiated by several mechanisms including telomere shortening, oxidative stress, AMP-activated protein kinase and sirt-1. Several therapies have been reported to relieve the process of aging. Among these, diet therapy seems to be the most appropriate approach. Fruits are an important part of regular diet. They contain several compounds which have potential to handle the problem of aging and its related disorders. The present paper provides a comprehensive review on different factors present in various fruits related to the process of aging together with their antiaging mechanisms.

Improvement of the Performance of Chitosan-Aloe vera Coatings by Adding Beeswax on Postharvest Quality of Mango Fruit.

The effect of the application of chitosan-Aloe vera coatings emulsified with beeswax (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2%) during storage of Mangifera indica L. (cv Anwar Ratol) was investigated. Particle size of emulsions was reduced significantly with an increase in beeswax concentration. Water vapor permeability of the coatings was reduced by 43.7% with an increase in concentration of beeswax to 2%. The coated mangoes (at all concentrations of beeswax) exhibited reduced weight loss, delayed firmness loss, minimized pH change, maintained the total soluble solid contents, and retained free radical scavenging activity and total phenolic contents when stored at 18 °C and 75 ± 5% R.H. The best results were produced with a formulation containing 2.0% beeswax. Antimicrobial properties of chitosan and Aloe vera coatings were also improved with an increase in beeswax concentration and remarkably reduced the disease incidence in mangoes. In conclusion, beeswax-emulsified chitosan-Aloe vera coatings can be effectively used to increase the shelf life and marketable period of mangoes.

Heterologous expression and biophysical characterization of a mesophilic tannase following manganese nanoparticle immobilization.

In the current study, we analyzed the efficacy of manganese oxide nanoparticle (MnNP)-water dispersion as an immobilization matrix for bacterial tannase. The tannase-secreting Bacillus subtilis strain NJKL.tan.2 obtained from tannery effluent soil was subsequently purified and cloned in pET20b vector. The activity of MnNP-tan (tannase activated by manganese nanoparticles) was 1.51- and 3.5-fold higher at 20 °C and 80 °C, respectively, compared with the free enzyme. MnNP-tan decreased Km by 41.66 % and 3-fold, whereas free tannase showed two-fold and six-fold improvement in Kcat at 37 °C and 80 °C, respectively. MnNP-tan showed an increase in (half-life)t1/2and Ed by 13-fold and 50.05 units, respectively, at 80 °C, in contrast to the native enzyme. MnNP-tan retained its residual activity by 78.2 % at 37 °C and 34.24 % at 80 °C after 180 min of incubation when compared with untreated set. MnNP-tan retained 51 % of its activity after 120 days with the native enzyme losing ∼50 % functionality following 40 days of incubation. The MnNP-mediated tannase immobilization technique is being reported for the first time. The technique has numerous advantages due to the use of MnNP as a potential matrix for biomolecule immobilization, which can be further extended to immobilize other biocatalysts used in agro-industrial and lab-based applications.

Potentials of polysaccharides, lipids and proteins in biodegradable food packaging applications.

Bio-based packaging materials are gaining importance due to their biodegradability, sustainability and environmental friendliness. To control the food quality and improve the food safety standards, proteins polysaccharide and lipid-based packaging films are enriched with bioactive and functional substances. However, poor permeability and mechanical characteristics are the challenging areas in their commercialization. Scientists and researchers are using a combination of techniques i.e. hydrogels, crosslinking, etc. to improve the intermolecular forces between different components of the film formulation to counter these challenges More recently, biodegradable packaging materials, sometimes edible, are also used for the delivery of functional ingredients which reveals their potential for drug delivery to counter the nutrient deficiency problems. This study highlights the potentials of bio-based materials i.e. proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, etc. to develop biodegradable packaging materials. It also explores the additives used to improve the physicochemical and mechanical properties of biodegradable packaging materials. Furthermore, it highlights the novel trends in biodegradable packaging from a food safety and quality point of view.