The effects of particle size, fermentation, roasting time and roasting temperature of cocoa nibs on cocoa butter extraction using supercritical fluid technology were studied. The effect of particle size was studied using cocoa liquor (D = 0.074 mm), ground cocoa nib (D = 0.25-0.50 mm and 1.0-1.2 mm) and whole cocoa nibs at 35 MPa, 60°C and flow rate of 2 ml/min using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO 2 ). The effect of degree of fermentation was studied using unfermented, partly fermented and fermented cocoa, whereas the effect of roasting using roasted and unroasted cocoa nibs. Fermentation and roasting studies were conducted under the same operation conditions as particle size study using SC-CO 2 but with ethanol (25% w/w) as cosolvent. Cocoa butter extracted from the three studies was analyzed for total fat content (%), triglycerides and fatty acid methyl ester. The results showed that the extraction yield was significantly increased by a reduction in particle size. The highest yield was also obtained using unfermented cocoa, roasted for 35 min and at 150°C. Generally, cocoa butter had similar triglycerides and fatty acid methyl ester composition at 5, 10 and 15 h extraction time. Glycerol-1,3-dipalmitate-2-oleate (POP), glycerol-1-palmitate-2-oleate-3-stearate (POS), and glycerol-1,3-distearate-2-oleate (SOS) account for most of the triglycerides, with POS (42.52-46.44%) being the major component. Palmitic, stearic and oleic were the main fatty acids in the extracted cocoa butter, with stearic acid being the highest component (33.70-40.22%).

Background: Biofortification has been proposed as an intervention towards alleviation of micronutrient deficiency in population of developing countries. However, the presence of anti-nutritional factor phytic acid in staple cereals chelates divalent cations and decreases their bioavailabilityfor monogastric animals. Thus, use of phytase enzyme for hydrolysing phytate-P and enhancing the amount of free divalent cations is of great importance. Methods : In this study, two phytases i.e. APF1 phytase from fungal source and commercial wheat phytase were supplemented with flours of biofortified wheat genotypes and their impact on food quality parameters was accessed. Since commercial wheat phytase is costly, it was used as known phytase to compare the application of APF1 phytase. The phytic acid content was reduced in the range of 70 to 84% with APF1 phytase and 79 to 89% with the wheat phytase as compared to untreated samples, respectively. In contrast to phytate, the dialyzability of important micronutrients Fe and Zn enhanced in the range of 21.9 to 48% and 39.5 to 96% with APF1 phytase and, 6.10 to 30% and 23.2 to 81% with wheat phytase, over untreated samples, respectively. Results and Discussion: A decrease in tannin content was observed in the range of 8 to 23% and 7 to 23% after treatment with APF1 and wheat phytase, respectively. The phytase treatment has resulted in increased soluble protein content and inorganic phosphate content to different level over untreated samples. Conclusion: The study revealed that APF1 phytase was comparatively more effective for enhanced nutritional quality of wheat flour through phytase supplementation for its food based applications.

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Background: Shilajit is a natural herbomineral ethnomedicinal substance used in Indian traditional systems of medicine since centuries as a rejuvenator, anti-aging and for several health conditions/ailments. Shilajit composition has exhibited considerable variability from different geographical sites and hence there is a need to determine its composition and concentration of bioactive compounds to correlate it with pharmacological activities. Objective: To determine the chemical and mineral constitution of Shilajit obtained from Himachal Pradesh, India. Methods: In the present study, Shilajit was chemically characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), UV-Vis spectroscopy and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Results: Chemical elucidation of crude Shilajit from three geographical sites revealed the presence of humic acid, fulvic acid, dibenzo-α-pyrones and several other organic constituents in crude Shilajit. The presence of metals/trace elements was evident in Shilajit samples with potassium being predominant followed by magnesium, calcium, sodium, iron and aluminium. Conclusion: Characterization of Shilajit from Himachal Pradesh supported the structural details of Shilajit already known and also revealed variations in key chemical parameters which might be due to geographical variations and ecological conditions which determine its natural synthesis.