No abstract

The current study aimed to assess broccoli's phytochemical profile and determine its antioxidant activity. Fresh broccoli was procured from a local farm and divided into two major treatment groups (cooked and dried). There were five sub-treatments in the cooking group (conventional, microwave, boiling, blanching, and steaming) and three treatments in the drying group (sun drying, freeze drying, and hot air drying). Ascorbic acid content, total carotenoids, TPC, TFC, and antioxidant activity were evaluated for every sub-treatment. The results depicted that the antioxidant constituent of cooked broccoli was complementary to dried broccoli samples. The maximum amount of ascorbic acid content (10.80 mg/100 g), total carotenoids (3.976 mg/g), total phenolic contents (225.80 mg/g), and the total flavonoid contents (42.92 mg/g) were found in freeze-dried broccoli. Freeze-dried broccoli also showed the highest antioxidant activity for DPPH free radical scavenging assay (62.45%), hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging assay (53.67%), and ABTS radical scavenging assay (65.84%).

Banana peel powder is considered one of the most nutritive and effective waste product to be utilized as a functional additive in the food industry. This study aimed to determine the impact of banana peel powder at concentrations of 2%, 4%, and 6% on the nutritional composition, physicochemical parameters, antioxidant potential, cooking properties, microbial count, and organoleptic properties of functional nuggets during storage at refrigeration temperature for 21 days. Results showed a significant increase in nutritional content including ash and crude fiber ranging from 2.52 ± 0.017% to 6.45 ± 0.01% and 0.51 ± 0.01% to 2.13 ± 0.01%, respectively, whereas a significant decrease was observed in crude protein and crude fat ranging from 13.71 ± 0.02% to 8.92 ± 0.02% and 9.25 ± 0.02% to 4.51 ± 0.01%, respectively. The incorporation of banana peel powder significantly improved the Water Holding Capacity from 5.17% to 8.37%, cooking yield from 83.20 ± 0.20% to 87.73 ± 0.16% and cooking loss from 20.19 ± 0.290% to 13.98 ± 0.15%. Antioxidant potential was significantly improved as TPC of functional nuggets increased ranging from 3.73 ± 0.02 mg GAE/g to 8.53 ± 0.02 mg GAE/g while a decrease in TBARS (0.18 ± 0.02 mg malonaldehyde/kg to 0.14 ± 0.02 mg malonaldehyde/kg) was observed. Furthermore, functional broiler nuggets depicted a significantly reduced total plate count (3.06–4.20 × 105 CFU/g) than control, which is likely due to high amounts of phenolic compounds in BPP. Broiler nuggets supplemented with 2% BPP (T1) received the greatest sensory scores in terms of flavour, tenderness, and juiciness. Results of current study revealed the potential of BPP to be utilized as an effective natural source of fibre supplementation in food products along with enhanced antioxidant and anti-microbial properties.

The current research attempted to evaluate the impact of various thawing techniques (R 0 : control group, R 1 : water immersion thawing, R 2 : low-temperature thawing, R 3 : combined thawing, water thawing then low-temperature thawing, R 4 : combination thawing, low temperature thawing then water thawing, and R 5 : oven thawing) on the quality, microbiota, and organoleptic characteristics of chicken meat fillets.

Pomegranate peel powder (PPP) is a rich source of many bioactive components particularly polyphenols that are interlinked to various technological and functional properties. In the present study, chicken tender pops were developed with incorporation of PPP, and its effect on quality attributes and storage stability of the product were evaluated. The treatments were formulated using 0%, 3%, 6%, and 9% PPP in replacement of chicken. The physicochemical properties, texture profile, instrumental color, sensory attributes, and storage stability were assessed for 21 days at refrigeration temperature, at a regular interval of 7 days. The results indicated that the inclusion of PPP significantly (p < .05