Purpose – The purpose of this study is to produce spent hen tikka of improved quality attributes using lemon juice and ginger extract marination. Design/methodology/approach – Three experimental groups were made: control group, 20 per cent lemon juice marinated group (LM) and 50 per cent ginger extract marinated group (GM). Boneless spent hen breast meat was cut into small cubes of one inch with the help of knife and kept in marinade solution in ratio of 2:1 w/v at 4 ± 1°C for 16 hours in a refrigerator. Chicken tikka was prepared using an electric oven at the temperature of 240°C for 20 minutes. Findings – There was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in moisture content and water holding capacity of LM and GM marinated chicken tikka, whereas protein, fat, ash, cholesterol content and shear force values were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased. pH was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in GM and significantly (p < 0.05) lower in LM compared to control for chicken tikka. Research limitations/implications – Future research may be carried out to assess the effect of lemon juice and ginger extract marination on mineral content and lipid profile. Originality/value – Marination of meat with LM and GM improved the sensory scores and textural properties, whereas fat and cholesterol content of chicken tikka decreased. Therefore, marination of chicken tikka with LM and GM may be used as processing technology to improve quality attributes of spent hen tikka.

The present study highlights the seroprevalence of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) in goats using slide agglutination test. A total of 1427 serum samples from goats belonging to Jabalpur district of Mahakaushal region of Madhya Pradesh were screened over a period of one year (i.e. April 2014 to March 2015). All the samples were screened for CCPP antibodies by slide agglutination test (SAT) using colored CCPP antigen. The overall seroprevalence of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia in goats was 10.65 per cent (152 out of 1427 goats). Seroprevalence of CCPP in organised goatry was higher (i.e. 13.54 %) than the unorganised sector of goatry (i.e. 9.01 %). Sex wise seroprevalence was marginally higher in female (10.67 %) than the male (10.61 %). SAT for CCPP detection using colored antigen was found to be quick, simple and low cost with ease of application in fi eld condition without the need of any specialized training and equipments.

Aims: To determine the bioactive components and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in selected underutilized crops of the Himalayan region viz. Barnyard millet, Grain amaranth, Rice bean, Black soybean and Horsegram. Study Design: Experimental design (Lab experiment). Place and Duration of Study: Department of Foods and Nutrition, College of Home Science, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, in the year 2016-18. Methodology: We applied different processing techniques (covered pan cooking and pressure cooking) in the underutilized crops and analyzed the total phenol, total flavonoids and total antioxidant capacity (Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay and (2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) (DPPH) by using standard methods. Results: It was found that black soybean had highest phenolic content after both thermal treatments (3233.76 mg GAE/100 g for pan cooked and 1883.11 mg GAE/100 g for pressure cooked samples) and TAC by both FRAP (6423.76 mg TE/100 g for pan-cooked and 4415.58 mg TE/100 g for pressure cooked) and DPPH (536.41 and 453.98 mg TE/100g for pan and pressure cooked samples, respectively) method. Among raw samples, rice bean contained the highest flavonoid content and TAC by FRAP assay. In contrast, raw grain Amaranth showed the lowest phenolic content. Further, pressure cooking was found to be better for barnyard millet, while in pulses, pan cooking yielded the best results (in terms of increased value/lower losses). Conclusion: It can be concluded that among pulses pan cooked black soybean was found to have a good store of bioactive compounds as compared to rice bean and horse gram. The pressure cooking method was found to be suitable for millet like a barnyard.

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Wide range of nanomaterial applications is helpful to promote sustainable agriculture to the point of nanolevel. With regard to this, biocompatible silica nanoparticles have been used as a nanopriming agent for enhancing seed germination in rabi crops like wheat, pea and mustard. The current study was carried out in a completely randomized block design with four replications. One part of nanosilica (8 g/L) and three parts of Gibberellic acid (GA3) loaded nano-silica (100 ppm, 125 ppm and 150 ppm) were used for the experimental purpose. The result showed positive significant effect of nanopriming with nano-silica and GA3 loaded nano-silica on seed germination percentage, shoot and root length, seedling length, fresh weight, dry weight and vigour index-I and II at P ≤ 0.05. A comparative study on germination percentage for three of the cereal crops was done and calculated further. It was found to be higher as 91% in wheat, 91% in pea and 75% in mustard. This effect of nanopriming directly help in elevating the activity of α-amylase enzyme, resulting in higher concentration of soluble sugar content needed for supporting seed germination and growth of seedling. In this paper, the nanopriming-induced seed germination is proposed, including the creation of nanopores for enhanced water uptake, rebooting ROS/antioxidant systems in seeds, generation of hydroxyl radicals for cell wall loosening, and nano-catalyst to fasten starch hydrolysis.