The herb belonging to Lamiaceae family and genus is known by numerous names in different parts of the world and several language specific vernacular names. The herb has been extensively studied as well as reported in several fields of science. The multiple potential of the herb includes allelopathic potential, antibacterial property, antimicrobial activity, insecticidal property; free radical scavenging and radio-protective components from herb extracts and most recently the appetizing potential of the herb have been reported. The herb has carvacrol and thymol as the major components responsible for the flavour; while chlorogenic acid, rosmarinic acid etc. as the phenolic components. The herb has been used in therapeutic and medicinal applications as well as in culinary preparations.

Rice bean () is grown in South and Southeast Asia, and the bean has gained importance due to its nutritional strength in terms of dietary fiber, quality protein and minerals. In current study, the nutritional and functional components, cooking and thermo-gravimetric properties of eleven rice bean varieties from NE India were investigated. Results revealed that the major nutrients among the varieties ranged as follows: 54.21-60.49% carbohydrates, 15.64-21.60% protein, 1.22-2.3% fat, 5.53-6.56% crude fibre, 3.34-3.8% ash; while the functional, anti-nutritional factors and mineral were present as 1189.32-1645.8 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 g polyphenols, 205.38-432.14 mg/100 g phytic acid, 23.14-34.12 mg/100 g oxalate, 690.7-1589.5 mg/100 g saponins, 49.90-158.17 μg/100 g hydrocyanide, 111.51-168 calcium, 5.50-10.44 zinc, 3.72-8.37 iron. Principal component analysis revealed that varieties with higher calcium, iron and ash content had lower cooking time, swelling ratio, and cooked grain hardness. It is also revealed that varieties with higher weight loss at sixth stage in thermogravimetric graph had lower carbohydrate and higher protein content. variety had higher fat, potassium, magnesium, calcium, sodium, iron, copper and chromium content and better cooking quality as compared to the other varieties. The study revealed that variety was superior to other varieties with respect to mineral content, cooking and thermal properties and hence have better potential in the development of value added products.

Studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of microwave (900 W, 2450 MHz) heating of wheat grains conditioned to different moisture levels on the activity of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and subsequent colour changes during storage of wheat dough. The results showed that microwave heating of wheat grains for 80 s decreased the PPO activity significantly (P £ 0.05) with an increase in moisture level from 12 to 18%. Whole wheat flour milled from microwave treated wheat grains (80 s, 18% MC) had 93.39% less activity of PPO. The dough balls (40 g), pressed and rolled into circular form (150.00 mm diameter and 2.00 mm thickness) and stored at 5-6°C for 72 h. The colour of flattened circular dough was measured using Hunter Colour Meter and it was found that L-value (lightness) decreased from 64.21 to 60.23 in treated and from 64.79 to 47.93 in control samples after 72 h of storage. The results showed that the microwave heating effectively controlled the enzymatic browning in dough and improved the consumer acceptability of chapattis prepared from the same during refrigerated (5-6°C) storage for 72 h.

No abstract

The wheat grains were conditioned at 18% moisture level for 1 h followed by heating for 80 s in a microwave oven to reduce the activity of polyphenol oxidase as well as other lipolytic and oxidative enzymes. The dough samples were prepared from whole wheat flour (milled from microwave treated wheat grains) using 68% water and 2% salt on flour weight basis as common ingredients. The additives like glycerol monostearate and glycerol (5% and 1% respectively on flour weight basis) were also used in order to study their effects on the quality of ready to bake frozen chapaties (R-BFC) during freeze-thaw cycles. Alveographic properties of R-BFC as well as textural profile and sensory quality of chapaties prepared from R-BFC samples were evaluated during repeated freeze-thaw (FT) cycles. Results showed that the alveographic properties (P, L, and W) decreased significantly (P £ 0.05) in all the samples after each FT cycle, while glycerol added samples showed the least changes. Chapati hardness increased in all the samples up to fourth FT cycle, thereafter sharply decreased. However, chapaties with 1% glycerol were rated better in terms of mouth feel and texture during FT cycles.