Summary The major sources of dietary lipids are edible oils, which include both vegetable and fish oils. Crude oil extracted from vegetable and fish sources contain mono‐, di‐, triacylglycerols along with impurities, which necessitates refining. The main objective of refining is to remove the contaminants that adversely affect the quality of oil, thereby reducing the shelf life and consumer acceptance. However, this refining process needs to be tailored as the composition of crude oil is highly variable, depending upon the plant/fish species, geographical location of the source and method of oil extraction. Recently, extensive efforts have been made to develop refining technology, using either conventional physical/chemical processes or several unconventional processes including biological and membrane processes. The first section of this review gives a brief description of general composition of some commonly used vegetable and fish oils, followed by the review of various refining methods and their effects on the oil constituents. Finally, an effort is made to understand the technological gaps in the existing methods and possible directions of research to overcome the said gaps.

No abstract

No abstract

l-Asparaginase is one of the main drugs used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a commonly diagnosed pediatric cancer. Although several microorganisms are found to produce l-asparaginase, only the purified enzymes from E. coli and Erwinia chrysanthemi are employed in the clinical and therapeutic applications in humans. However, their therapeutic response seldom occurs without some evidence of hypersensitivity and other toxic side effects. l-Asparaginase is also of prospective use in food industry to reduce the formation of acrylamide in fried, roasted or baked food products. This review is an attempt to compile information on the properties of l-asparaginases obtained from different microorganisms. The complications involved with the therapeutic use of the currently available l-asparaginases, and the enzyme's potential application as a food processing aid to mitigate acrylamide formation have also been reviewed. Further, avenues for searching alternate sources of l-asparaginase have been discussed, highlighting the prospects of endophytic microorganisms as a possible source of l-asparaginases with varied biochemical and pharmacological properties.

Edible oils industry is using synthetic and natural antioxidants to enhance the oxidative stability of bulk edible oils. Due to safety concerns of BHA, BHT and TBHQ, there is an ongoing effort to find an effective and safe replacement. Finding a safe antioxidant or its synergistic mixture, which delays, retard or prevent the oxidation of bulk oil without changing the colour or flavour upon addition is a challenge. In this review, a brief account of chemical basis of oxidative deterioration of the stored oil is given. The effectiveness of most widely experimented antioxidants such as tocopherols, carotenoids, ascorbic acid and its derivatives, lignan compounds, flavonoids, polyphenols and phenolic acids in various edible oils have been reviewed. Further, the synergistic and antagonistic combination of these antioxidants in controlling oxidative degradation of edible oils has been discussed.