The present work reveals variation in the nutritional and antioxidant profiles of Moringaoleifera leaves with regard to four maturity stages (early, mid, penultimate and late). The corresponding yield of 80% methanolic extract (14.21 and 9.69%) and total phenolic contents (TPC) of the extract (95.26 and 38.22 mg GAE/g) from M. oleifera leaves were found to be maximum at early stage and minimum at the later stage. Total flavonoids, ash, protein, vitamin C and β-carotene contents were found to be minimum at the early stage and maximum at later stage (12.26 ± 0.47 to 30.07 ± 1.09 mg/g, 10.36–15.92%,50.3 ± 0.15 to 56 ± 0.77 mg/100 g, 143.14 ± 0.74 to 164.81 ± 0.44 mg/100g, and 89 ± 0.28 to 112.8 ± 1.40 mg/100 g). Amino acids including valine, alanine, leucine and phenylalanine were identified with their least contents at early stages (90.87, 53.07, 55.21, and 48.65 µg/g) and maximum at later stages (197.66, 114.3, 114.2, and 104.5 µg/g, respectively). The levels of different minerals such as Cu, Fe, Mn in M. oleifera leaves at different maturity stages varied from 0.59 to 2.08, 21.96 to 58.68, and 5.56 to 13.84 mg/100 g, respectively. RP-HPLC analysis of the nutritionally rich later-stage leave samples revealed the presence of quercetin as a major component (21.64 mg/kg), followed by benzoic acid, ferulic acid, sinapic acid, gallic acid, and p-coumaric acid with contributions of 13.03, 8.85, 3.39, 2.88, and 1.59 mg/kg, respectively. Overall, a considerable variation in the profile of different nutrients and antioxidants was noted in M. oleifera leaves as maturity progressed. These results support the harvesting of M. oleifera leaves at an appropriate maturity stage to maximize the functional food and nutraceutical benefits of this valuable food commodity.

The current study intends to appraise the effect of enzyme complexes on the recovery of phenolics from Capparis spinosa fruit extract using the response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural networking (ANN). Enzymatic treatment of C. spinosa fruit extract was optimized under a set of conditions (enzyme concentration, pH, temperature, and time) against each enzyme formulation such as Kemzyme Plus Dry, Natuzyme, and Zympex-014. The extract yield observed for Kemzyme Plus Dry (42.00%) was noted to be higher than those for Zympex-014 (39.80%) and Natuzyme (38.50%). Based on the higher results, the values of Kemzyme Plus Dry-based extract were further employed in different parameters of RSM. The F -value (16.03) and p -values (<0.05) implied that the selected model is significant. Similarly, the higher values for the coefficient of determination ( R 2 ) at 0.9740 and adjusted R 2 (adj. R 2 ) at 0.9132 indicated that the model is significant in relation to given experimental parameters. ANN-predicted values were very close to the experimental values, which demonstrated the applicability of the ANN model. Antioxidant activities also exhibited profound results in terms of total phenolic content values (24.76 mg GAE/g), total flavonoid content values (24.56 mg CE/g), and the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay (IC 50 ) (5.12 mg/mL). Scanning electron microscopy revealed that after enzymatic hydrolysis, the cell walls were broken as compared with nonhydrolyzed materials. Five phenolics, namely, quercetin, m -coumaric acid, sinapic acid, kaempferol, and p -coumaric acid, were identified from C. spinosa extract by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The results of this study reveal that the proposed optimization techniques, using Kemzyme Plus Dry among others, had a positive effect on the recovery of phenolic bioactive compounds and thus increased the antioxidant potential of C. spinosa fruit extract.

In several countries, organic or municipal solid wastes, such as cattle and buffalo manure, have become a serious political and environmental issue owing to organic waste incineration and garbage disposal. To overcome this problem, biogas production from manure, a green treatment that both contributes to the availability of sustainable energy and assists in reducing global warming, was considered. The current study was conducted on the generation of green electricity using cattle and buffalo manure in Pakistan. In 2021, Pakistan has generated 102.742-terawatt hour (TWh) of electricity collectively; biogas share in total production accounted for only 0.98%, which is approximately 1 TWh. Unfortunately, most of the electricity was generated from nonrenewable energy sources. One large animal produces 9–10 kg of manure per day. A system for manure collection can be developed; 30% of total manure produced every day by cattle and buffalo can be collected. Such a type of system is already used for the collection of poultry manure. Pakistan has been blessed with almost 42.4 million buffaloes and 51.5 million cattle. The annual collection of manure from cattle and buffalo at the rate of 30% will be 92.53 million tons. From this manure, approximately 4.63 billion m3 of biogas can be produced and 70% can be collected, which will be 3.24 billion m3. Thus, Pakistan has the potential of generating 19.79 TWh of electricity per day from cattle and buffalo manure. Biogas has the potential to generate over 20% of Pakistan’s total electricity. At the farm level, 100 cattle ranches with 60% collected manure can create roughly 57% of their total consumed electricity. Slurry, a byproduct of anaerobic digestion, can be used as a biofertilizer in fields. It is possible to use cattle manure to make biogas, which is “made by fermentation of organic waste in the absence of oxygen.” It aids in the reduction of fossil fuel dependency, solid waste management, and air pollution control by lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Biogas contributes to the three pillars of sustainable development: economic, environmental, and social development. Biogas contributes significantly to the SDGs and other aspects of sustainable development.