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The study investigated the water quality of groundwater for consumption of human beings and irrigation of taluka Qamber district Qamber-Shahdadkot, Sindh, Pakistan. A total of 21 representative groundwater samples were collected mostly used for human consumption. According to the research work, 81% samples were not suitable for drinking purpose with TDS above the maximum permissible limit of WHO (1000 mg/L). The pH, total phosphate-P, orth ophosphate-P, nitrate-N, nitrite-N, and arsenic were within WHO limits. The concentrations of essential metals more than half samples were higher than WHO guideline. The concentrations of trace metals like Mn, Fe, Co, and Cu of all samples were within WHO limits, but the values of Cr and Ni 52.38%, Cd 57.14%, and Pb 28.57% were above the WHO limits. The concentrations of fluoride in 81% were higher than permissible limits of WHO. The high consumption of water with concentration of salts and fluoride above the permissible limits may be a leading factor of a number of diseases in the area. The water quality determined for irrigation based on Kelly index (KI), sodium percentage (Na%), chloride–sulfate ratio, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), permeability index (PI), chloro alkaline indices1 (CAI-1), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), and chloride bicarbonate ratio indicated that 25–90% samples were suitable for irrigation purposes.

The development of efficient emulsion is essential and requires a good understanding of the parameters that govern the formation and stability of the emulsion. The droplet size significantly affects the stability of the emulsion. In this study, the stability of pomegranate oil-in-water emulsions (0.5 to 7.0% v/v) was investigated using various emulsifiers in terms of droplet size and instability index during 16 days of storage. The Mastersizer and Lumisizer were used to measure the droplet size and instability index. It was observed that the minimum droplet size was achieved by using 0.3% carboxy methyl cellulose (5.37 μm) and maximum with 1.0/2.5% whey protein/maltodextrin (24.26 μm). The Lumisizer results during storage revealed the higher emulsion stability of carboxy methyl cellulose due to smaller droplet size and high thickness as compared to other emulsions studied. The findings of the present study would be useful for food applications to obtain fine and stable microcapsules. El desarrollo de una emulsión eficiente es esencial y requiere una buena comprensión de los parámetros que rigen la formación y la estabilidad de la emulsión. El tamaño de la gota afecta significativamente a la estabilidad de la emulsión. En este estudio, se investigó la estabilidad de las emulsiones de aceite de granada en agua (0,5 a 7,0% v/v) usando varios emulsionantes, en términos de tamaño de gota e índice de inestabilidad, durante 16 días de almacenamiento. El Mastersizer y el Lumisizer se usaron para medir el tamaño de gota y el índice de inestabilidad. Se observó que, el tamaño mínimo de gota se logró utilizando 0,3% de carboximetilcelulosa (5,37 μm) y el máximo (24,26 μm), con 1,0/2,5% de proteína de suero/maltodextrina Los resultados del Lumisizer, durante el almacenamiento, revelaron una mayor estabilidad de la emulsión de carboximetilcelulosa debido al tamaño de gota más pequeño y al alto espesor en comparación con otras emulsiones estudiadas. Los resultados del presente estudio se utilizarían en aplicaciones alimentarias para obtener microcápsulas finas y estables.

In this study, groundwater of 10 union councils of Larkana city was assessed by using atomic absorption spectrometry following microwave-assisted digestion. A total of 110 groundwater samples were collected by using a Global Positioning System. The results revealed that iron, zinc, nickel, copper, and lead present in the groundwater of Larkana city were within the level of 0.002–0.6 mg/L, 0.02–0.42 mg/L, 1–14.0 mg/L, 0.01–0.87 mg/L, and 0.01–12.0 mg/L, respectively. A total of 38% and 16% of samples showed a higher concentration of iron and lead, respectively. While other elements in the analyzed samples were within the safe limits set by WHO guidelines.

Water is an essential component for the survival of humans and animals. Due to industrialization, water is being contaminated with varying polluting agents, arsenic (As) contamination is one of them. An exclusive study was carried out for the determination of As in groundwater of Larkana city using microwave-assisted digestion followed by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). For that purpose, a total of 110 groundwater samples were collected from 10 union councils (UCs) of the city based on global position system (GPS) method. Results revealed that maximum concentration of As was found 17.0 μg/L in UC-6, while in UC-1, UC-2 and UC-10 the concentration of As was found within the permissible limits of WHO. The minimum and maximum mean concentration of As was found 3.59 μg/L and 6.78 μg/L, respectively. Out of 110 ground water samples of Larkana city, 13 samples were found above the permissible limits (~12% of total samples). Hence, water can be used for drinking purpose with caution.

Pomegranate is an earliest and holy fruit affectionately known as the “jewel of winter” belongs to the Punicaceae family. Throughout the world, ~500 known pomegranate varieties available which reveal different quality characteristics of fruit such as size, shape, color, flavor and taste and seed hardness. The pomegranate seeds contain approximately 3% of total fruit weight, which contains typically oil in the range of 12–20%. Conjugated fatty acids are present in many plant oils with varying concentrations including pomegranate seed oil. Conjugated fatty acids are the geometric and positional isomers of polyunsaturated fatty acids with alternate double bonds. These fatty acids received remarkable interest due to valuable physiological effects on various diseases. The pomegranate seed oil contains higher concentration (>70%) of conjugated fatty acids in the form of punicic acid (9cis, 11trans, 13cis-conjugated linolenic acid). In the present chapter, chemistry and functionality of pomegranate fruit and seed oil especially conjugated fatty acids are reviewed.

The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of industrial processing (neutralization/degumming, bleaching, and deodorization) on physicochemical characteristics of soybean oil and soybean oil deodorizer distillate (SBO-DD) collected from two different industries. The substantial impact of processing was observed on all physicochemical parameters except the iodine value (IV) and saponification value (SV). Gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analytical techniques were used for the quantification of individual fatty acids, sterols, and 3-monochloropropane diol (3-MCPD) ester. Among the fatty acids, palmitic and linoleic acids were present at higher concentrations in all processing stages. Among sterols, β-sitosterol was found to be higher (25.65 and#181;g/g) in crude soybean oil and reduced to 16.44 and#181;g/g after processing till the final deodorization stage. 3-MCPD ester was developed during the neutralization/degumming process and further increased during bleaching and deodorization up to 315 and#181;g/kg, respectively. SBO-DD was found to be a rich source of total and individual sterols as compared to crude or processed soybean oil. High free fatty acid (FFA) level in deodorizer distillate indicated that SBO-DD is a potential source of biodiesel production.