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Heat-clarified milk fat (ghee) is one of the costlier fat-rich dairy products, and palm oil adulteration is a common practice. Limited studies compared traditional physicochemical techniques with advanced chromatographic techniques and chromogenic tests (rapid tests) to ascertain palm oil’s presence in ghee. It is a very hard task to ascertain the presence of palm oil in clarified milk fat (ghee) and select the right analytical technique for routine quality control analysis. The present study was designed to validate and compare the physicochemical methods, triglyceride content, phytosterol levels, and rapid chromogenic tests including 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) or ferric-based assay methods to check the presence of palm oil in clarified milk fat. Physicochemical methods like Reichert–Meissl (RM) value, iodine value (IV), and Butyro refractometer (BR) reading can be used to detect palm oil adulteration below 10%. However, the Kirschner value analysis was able to confirm the presence of palm oil admixture at 5% in clarified milk fat. In chromatographic analytical approaches, triglyceride analysis (S-value) was carried out using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID), and plant sterol detection was done by HPLC, which proved to be the robust method for ascertaining the presence of palm oil in milk fat (ghee) at 5%. Chromogenic tests (DPPH and ferric-based assays) provided quick and qualitative assays to detect the presence of palm oil in ghee at a 5% level.

This study aimed to investigate the nutritional and structural properties of kodo (Paspalum scrobiculatum) and little (Panicum sumatrense) millets on administering ultrasonication and germination treatments. Significant changes in the treated samples were recorded, including lower levels of antinutrients such as tannin and phytates, and higher antioxidant activity, improving their nutritional value. The treated kodo and little millets showed significantly improved nutritional bio-accessibility, with an impressive in vitro protein digestibility of >82%. The modified structure of the starch granules in the treated millets showed pseudoplastic flow characteristics and a polyhedron/spherical morphology which was a novel finding. DSC thermogram revealed that the treated millets may be processed at higher temperatures while exhibiting a lower enthalpy, which could expand their uses in a range of food products. FTIR spectra indicated the presence of phenolic groups in both millet samples studied, at approximately 2817 cm⁻1 frequency. The results obtained offer insightful information about the benefits of ultrasonication and germination for processing kodo and little millets in terms of altered starch characteristics, enhanced bio-accessibility of nutrients, and better nutritional profiles, which qualify millets for the development of functional food products.

Mushrooms are traditionally packaged in single-use retail packaging made of commercially available polyethylene terephthalate. It is now necessary to replace these plastics, which, after use, significantly pollute the environment, with biodegradable alternatives. After the jute fibre is extracted from the jute plant, the jute stick is left behind and can be used to make packing paper. Jute stick was used as a raw material for the development of packaging paper following three pulping methods: (i) alkaline sulfite anthraquinone methanol (ASAM); (ii) kraft; and (iii) peracetic acid (acid) methods. An analysis was conducted on the pulps’ yield, chemical composition, crystallinity, whiteness, and cost-effectiveness. From each pulp, three gram per square metre (GSM) of paper (100, 200, and 300) were produced and their rates of water vapour transfer, swelling, and physical and mechanical absorption were assessed. The acid approach was the most expensive, whereas the ASAM method produced the highest yield (50.2%). The acid pulp paper had the longest folding endurance with three to five hundred double folds. Although kraft paper’s water absorption time was just 0.5–1 min, it had a higher tensile index than ASAM paper. For this reason, ASAM200 paper was chosen for making the packing tray. After ten days, there was no discernible difference between the mushrooms packed in the ASAM200 packing paper tray and those in commercially available PET containers kept at 5°C and 65% relative humidity in terms of weight loss, colour, texture, and general acceptability. Therefore, it was discovered that ASAM200 paper might be a sustainable option for packing highly respiring fruits and vegetables.

The present study investigates the characteristics of freeze-dried bovine colostrum powder prepared from the first three milkings of Karan fries cattle at different intervals. Bioactive components of bovine colostrum are heat sensitive, and therefore, in order to retain the biological activity of different components, it should be subjected to minimal nonthermal treatment. In this study, the optimum temperature/time combination of 60°C/45 min was used for the processing of cow colostrum. At this temperature, the microbial count significantly decreased as compared to raw colostrum. In freeze-dried bovine skimmed colostrum powder (BSCP) and bovine colostrum whey powder (BCWP), IgG emerged as the highest fraction among immune factors, whereas in growth factors, insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF1) and transforming growth factor β2 (TGFβ2) were found in large proportion as compared to insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1). The IgG content (per 100 g) of BSCP prepared from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd milking was found to be 36.62, 27.87, and 20.51 g, respectively, whereas IgG content (per 100 g) of BCWP prepared from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd milking was found to be 33.32, 24.53, and 16.81 g, respectively. The IGF1 content (per 100 g) of BSCP prepared from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd milking was found to be 921.6, 741.2, and 617.2 μg, respectively, whereas IGF1 content (per 100 g) of BCWP prepared from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd milking was found to be 869.8, 688, and 454.4 μg, respectively. The TGFβ2 content (per 100 g) of BSCP prepared from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd milking was found to be 1278, 1076, and 856.8 μg, respectively, whereas TGFβ2 content (per 100 g) of BCWP prepared from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd milking was found to be 1167, 950.2, and 769.2 μg, respectively. The microstructure of freeze-dried cow colostrum whey powder revealed that its pore size was more than that of skimmed colostrum powder. BCWP exhibited lower phagocytic activity as well as lymphocyte proliferation index as compared to BSCP which was carried out in vitro. The observations of the study provide an insight about the components present in BCWP and BSCP apart from the physical characteristics of the products which might pave the way for its utilization in various food formats.

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) in conjugation with genetic algorithms (GAs) have been demonstrated to be an effective tool for system modelling and optimization in a variety of applications. The current communique is about assessing the capacity of ANN to predict investment on cattle till age at first calving (AFC) and milk production based on the data of 340 Vrindavani crossbreed cattle developed at the ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Izatnagar, India. Three distinct artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms, namely, Levenberg–Marquardt (LM), Bayesian regularization (BR), and gradient descent momentum with adaptive learning rate backpropagation (GDX) were used to train the ANN infrastructure for determining milk production and investment based on body weight and AFC as input variables. The results showed that BR with 2 hidden layer neurons showed excellent prediction ability (R2 = 0.999, MSE

Sattu is a traditional Indian food product made of chickpea with tremendous nutritional benefits. However, the processing of sattu has not been thoroughly explored which is an impediment to industrial applications involving the development of sattu-based products. These products carry immense benefits for consumers and for widespread popularity; it is essential that the roasting of sattu for further processing be investigated for improving the properties of sattu while reducing its antinutritional factors. In this study, the impact of sand roasting on the physicochemical, sensory, antinutritional, thermal, functional, and antioxidant properties on sattu was investigated. Chickpea grains were roasted in sand for different time periods (3–17 min) and temperature combinations (171–228°C). Results revealed that samples treated at 180°C for 15 min had maximum sensory score (3.99) followed by the samples treated at 200°C for 10 min and at 228°C for 10 min. Overall sattu roasted at 180°C for 15 min was found suitable for further application.

The present study was aimed to model the hydration characteristics of green chickpea (GC) using mathematical modelling and examine predictive ability of artificial neural network (ANN) modelling. Hydration of GC was performed at different temperatures 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65 °C. Different mathematical models were tested for the hydration at different temperatures. In ANN modelling, the hydration time and hydration temperature were used as input variables and moisture ratio, moisture content and hydration ratio were taken as output variables. Peleg model best described the hydration behavior at 25 °C; while hydration at high-temperature was better described by Page model and Ibarz et al. model. The optimum temperature obtained for hydration was 35 °C. Effective mass diffusion coefficient (De) increased from 1.55 × 10-11-1.79 × 10-9 m2/s with the increase in the hydration temperature. The low activation energy (39.66 kJ/moL) shows the low-temperature sensitiveness of GC. Low temperature hydration (25 °C) required higher time (>200 min) to achieve the equilibrium moisture content (EMC), however high temperature hydration (35–65 °C) reduced the EMC time (150 min). ANN was used to predict the hydration behavior and K fold cross validation was performed to check the over fitting of ANN model. Results show that the LOGSIGMOID transfer function showed better performance when used at the hidden layer input node in conjunction to both PURELIN and TANSIGMOID. TANSIGMOID was found suitable for moisture ratio (MR) and hydration ratio (HR) prediction, as opposed to PURELIN for moisture content (MC) data. Satisfactory model prediction was obtained when the number of neurons in the hidden layer for MC, MR and HR was 12, 8 and 15, respectively. Mathematical and ANN modelling results are useful to improve/predict the MC, MR and HR during hydration process of GC at different temperature and other similar process.

Conventional treatment of sapodilla pulp yields very viscous, turbid, and low juice recovery. Sapodilla processing for juice requires liquefying enzyme that leads to rectifying flow of juice. This study was conducted to optimize the enzymatic pectolytic conditions of sapodilla fruit processing to extract maximum juice using a central composite design (CCD). The effect of processing variables on recovery of juice, total soluble solids (TSS), viscosity, clarity, and L-value along with physicochemical analysis was investigated. The optimized processing conditions were pectinase concentration (0.120%) at 42.02°C for 167.83 min resulting in juice recovery (62.08 ± 0.38%), viscosity (4.81 ± 0.02cP), TSS (21.48 ± 0.19 °Brix), clarity (0.72 ± 0.05%T), and L-value (28.79 ± 0.96). Optimized sapodilla juice showed higher filterability (24.16 ± 1.04 min−1), conductivity (69.46 ± 0.30 S/m), total phenolic content (35.86 ± 0.60 mg/100 mL), ascorbic acid (6.38 ± 0.58 mg/100 mL), moisture content (84.85 ± 0.21% WB), and titratable acidity (0.143 ± 0.0% citric acid) as compared to control sample (60.5 ± 1.80 min−1, 30.43 ± 0.35 S/m, 30.68 ± 0.85 mg/100 mL, 4.64 ± 0.0 mg/100 mL, 83.69 ± 0.18%, and 0.130 ± 0.0%). Optimized sapodilla juice was lower in sedimentation index (0.73 ± 0.11%), turbidity (13.73 ± 1.10 NTU), ash (0.57 ± 0.031%), and β-carotene (0.173 ± 0.008 μg/100 mL) as compared to control sample (1.07 ± 0.02%, 79 ± 0.75 NTU, 0.65 ± 0.031%, and 0.306 ± 0.007 μg/100 mL). The flow behavior index (n) was closer to 1 in both juice samples, which indicated Newtonian-like flow behavior. Conclusively, sapodilla juice extraction at optimal condition (0.120% of pectinase concentration) and 42.02°C/167.83 min would be potentiated to the beverage industry. The use of pectinase might reduce membrane fouling and facilitates processing operation efficiently.

High-pressure processing (HPP) is a mild technology alternative to thermal pasteurization and sterilization of different food products. HPP has emerged to provide enormous benefits to consumers, i.e., mildly processed food and additive-free food. It effectively retains bioactive compounds and extends the shelf life of food commodities by inactivating bacteria, yeast, mold, and virus. The limitation of HPP in inactivating spores can be overcome by using other thermal and nonthermal processing sequentially or simultaneously with HPP. This review summarizes the applications of HPP in the fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat, fish, and poultry sector. It also emphasizes microbial food safety and the effectiveness of HPP in the load reduction of microorganisms. Comprehensive information about the synergistic effect of HPP with different techniques and their effectiveness in ensuring food safety is reported. The summarized data would be handy to interested researchers and industry personnel.

Kodo and little millet (Kutki) have a variety of phytochemical constituents including derivatives of hydroxybenzoic acid and hydroxycinnamic acids, myricetin, catechin, luteolin, apigenin, daidzein, naringenin, kaempferol, and quercetin with vast health benefits and thus can be utilized as functional food ingredients. Millet-based foods and their food products have physiological and health-promoting impacts, notably antidiabetic, anti-obesity, and cardiovascular disease, and based on the actions of phytochemicals, it plays a major role in the body’s immune system. However, antinutrients (tannins, oxalate, trypsin inhibitor, and phytates) present in these millets restrict their utilization since these factors bind the essential nutrients and make them unavailable. Therefore, this review suggested overcoming the effects of antinutrients in these millets, thereby opening up important applications in food industries that may promote the development of novel functional foods. Various methods were discussed to eliminate the antinutrient factors in these millets, and hence, the review holds immense significance to the food industry for effectively utilizing these millets to develop value-added RTE/RTC products/functional food/beverages.

This work aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial capacities of pineapple peel extract-incorporated chitosan films to establish its utility as an active food packaging film. Total phenol and total flavonoids in ethanolic pineapple peel extract (11.1 ± 0.82 mg GAE/g sample, 3.86 ± 0.4 mg Quercetin/g sample) were determined to be higher than those in methanolic pineapple peel extract (7.98 ± 0.55 mg GAE/g sample, 2.37 ± 0.13 mg quercetin/g sample) and higher antioxidant activity was observed for pineapple peel ethanolic extract (PEE). Similarly, PEE-enriched chitosan film also reported greater antioxidant activity compared to pineapple peel methanolic extract (PME)-incorporated chitosan film. The total phenols, flavonoids, and significant antioxidant activity were accounted due to the contents of ferulic acids, quercetin, and kaempferol in both PEE and PME quantified via triple quadrupole LC/MS/MS system. These alcoholic extracts exhibited significant inhibitory zones against both Gram-positive (Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium) food-borne bacterial strains. PME exhibited the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration (0.625 mg/ml) against B. cereus. Pure chitosan films at ≥7 log CFU/ml after 24 h showed lower log reduction for all the bacterial organisms, whereas the chitosan-PEE (at ≤5 logs CFU/ml) and chitosan-PME (at ≤6 log CFU/ml) films expressed higher log reduction for all the four bacterial isolates. Thus, this work led to the utilization of the pineapple peel waste as well as provided an alternative to nonbiodegradable packaging films.

In this study, the 3D printing of a traditional South Indian snack, “sweet pidikollukattai” has been attempted. The mixing properties of the rice flour used and thermal characteristics of the paste (rice flour, jaggery, and water) have been reported. The traditional form of the product (control) was compared with the 3D printed product, which has been postprocessed by steaming at different time durations (S1-5, S2-10, S3-15 min). A comparative evaluation of the proximate analysis, colour, weight, dimensional measurement, texture profile analysis, and sensory characteristics was done for all samples. No significant difference was observed in colour, proximate composition, weight, and dimensional variation between the 3D printed samples and the control sample. Texture profile analysis revealed that the S2 score is comparable to the control sample. S2 also scored higher on the sensory scale compared to other samples. It was concluded that the 3D printed sample of the recipe, steamed for 10 min, has better acceptability compared to other samples.

The present study was undertaken to identify the best estimator(s) of body weight based on various linear morphometric measures in Landlly pigs using artificial neural network (ANN) and non-linear regression models at three life stages (4th, 6th and 8th week). Twenty-four different linear morphometric measurements were taken on 279 piglets individually at all the stages and their correlations with body weight were elucidated. The traits with high correlation (≥0.8) with body weight were selected at different stages. The selected traits were categorized into 31 different combinations (single, two, three, four and five) and subjected to ANN modelling for determining the best combination of body weight predictors at each stage. The model with highest R2 and lowest MSE was selected as best fit for a particular trait. Results revealed that the combination of heart girth (HG), body length (BL) and paunch girth (PG) was most efficient for predicting body weight of piglets at the 4th week (R2 = 0.8697, MSE = 0.4419). The combination of neck circumference (NCR), height at back (HB), BL and HG effectively predicted body weight at 6 (R2 = 0.8528, MSE = 0.8719) and 8 (R2 = 0.9139, MSE = 1.2713) weeks. The two-trait combination of BL and HG exhibited notably high correlation with body weight at all stages and hence was used to develop a separate ANN model which resulted into better body weight prediction ability (R2 = 0.9131, MSE = 1.004) as compared to age-dependent models. The results of ANN models were comparable to non-linear regression models at all the stages.

This work evaluated the effect of microfluidization at different pressure (50, 100, 150, and 200 MPa)-cycle (1, 3, 5, 7) combinations on the physicochemical (total soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, and electrical conductivity), sensory, and metal/mineral composition of sugarcane juice which was previously unexplored. Juice extracted from blanched sugarcane stems (var Co 0238) was microfluidized, and the analysis for different parameters was conducted using standard protocols. The mineral/metal composition was determined using ICP-OES following a wet digestion method. Results showed that TSS decreased from 18.88 °Brix to a range of 10.15–15.7 °Brix with the former (lower value) being due to the release of insoluble matter after microfluidization which was further solubilised at higher processing cycles (as in the latter). The pH did not vary significantly as compared to control and was in the range of 5.2–5.7. However, a decrease in titratable acidity (0.1–0.26%) was found as compared to control (0.26%). The electrical conductivity of microfluidized sugarcane juice varied from 4.45 to 5.12 mS as compared to 4.95 mS for control. Metal/mineral analysis showed rich reserves of magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium in sugarcane juice which degraded after microfluidization perhaps due to filtration effect caused by the micropore in the interaction chamber of the microfluidizer. The sensory score showed acceptability of the juice after microfluidization (overall acceptability ∼7).

Pumpkin seeds were dried in a vibro-fluidized bed dryer (VFBD) at different temperatures at optimized vibration intensity of 4.26 and 4 m/s air velocity. The drying characteristics were mapped employing semiempirical models and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Prediction of drying behavior of pumpkin seeds was done using semiempirical models, of which, one was preferred as it indicated the best statistical indicators. Two-term model showed the best fit of data with R2 − 0.999, and lowest χ2 − 1.03 × 10−4 and MSE 7.55 × 10−5. A feedforward backpropagation ANN model was trained by the Levenberg–Marquardt training algorithm using a TANSIGMOID activation function with 2-10-2 topology. Performance assessment of ANN showed better prediction of drying behavior with R2 = 0.9967 and MSE = 5.21 × 10−5 for moisture content, and R2 = 0.9963 and MSE = 2.42 × 10−5 for moisture ratio than mathematical models. In general, the prediction of drying kinetics and other drying parameters was more precise in the ANN technique as compared to semiempirical models. The diffusion coefficient, Biot number, and hm increased from 1.12 × 10−9 ± 3.62 × 10−10 to 1.98 × 10−9 ± 4.61 × 10−10 m2/s, 0.51 ± 0.01 to 0.60 ± 0.01, and 1.49 × 10−7 ± 4.89 × 10−8 to 3.10 × 10−7 ± 7.13 × 10−8 m/s, respectively, as temperature elevated from 40 to 60°C. Arrhenius’s equation was used to the obtain the activation energy of 32.71 ± 1.05 kJ/mol.

Seaweed is a valuable source of bioactive compounds, polysaccharides, antioxidants, minerals, and essential nutrients such as fatty acids, amino acids, and vitamins that could be used as a functional ingredient. The variation in the composition of biologically active compounds in seaweeds depends on the environmental growth factors that make seaweed of the same species compositionally different across the globe. Nevertheless, all seaweeds exhibit extraordinary antioxidant potential which can be harnessed for a broad variety of food applications such as in preparation of soups, pasta, salads, noodles, and other country specific dishes. This review highlights the nutritional and bioactive compounds occurring in different classes of seaweeds while focusing on their therapeutic activities including but not limited to blood cell aggregation, antiviral, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. The review also explores the existing and potential application of seaweeds as a source of natural antioxidant in food products. Seaweed-derived compounds have great potential for being used as a supplement in functional foods due to their high stability as well as consumer demand for antioxidant-rich foods.

Whole spent hen meat of Indian commercial layer bird (BV-300 breed) was enzymatically hydrolyzed using Flavourzyme® derived from Aspergillus oryzae. Different time, temperature, and pH combinations generated through response surface methodology (RSM) were tested to find the optimal hydrolysis condition at which maximum antioxidant potential and degree of hydrolysis can be achieved. Hydrolysis for 30 min at a temperature of 53.9°C and pH of 6.56 was found suitable for achieving high degree of hydrolysis and antioxidant activity. Antioxidant potential at optimized conditions was estimated at 93.26% by DPPH radical scavenging assay and 2.32 mM TEAC by FRAP assay. Amino acid profiling of the hydrolysate correlated very well with SDS-PAGE profiling. SDS-PAGE results confirmed that 30 min hydrolysis time was enough to produce low molecular weight peptides (2–5 kDa) with high antioxidant potential. Antioxidant rich Indian spent hen meat hydrolysate powder was economically produced using spray drying. Sensory analysis revealed that 10% hydrolysate powder had satisfactory overall acceptability and has potential to be used in health/functional foods at this concentration. This is the first study wherein optimum hydrolysis conditions for Indian spent hen meat have been reported.

Usage of seaweeds as a functional food/food ingredient is very limited due to paucity of scientific information about variations in the nutritional composition of seaweeds under diverse climatic conditions. Sargassum wightii and Ulva rigida seaweeds are found abundantly on the Southern Indian coastline and were thoroughly evaluated in this work. Crude fiber and lipid of S. wightii were higher (24.93 ± 0.23% and 3.09 ± 0.41%, respectively) as compared to U. rigida; however, U. rigida had higher crude protein content (27.11 ± 0.62%). Evaluation of mineral and CHNS content indicated that the concentration of potassium, magnesium, and calcium was 1.36 ± 0.08 mg/g, 8.39 ± 0.80 mg/g, and 14.03 ± 3.46 mg/g, respectively, that was higher in the S. wightii, whereas U. rigida contained higher value of iron, carbon, and sulphur (0.70 ± 0.13 mg/g, 37.72 ± 4.63%, and 2.61 ± 0.16%, respectively). Swelling capacity (19.42 ± 0.00 mL/g DW to 22.66 ± 00 mL/g DW), water-holding capacity (6.15 ± 0.08 g/g DW to 6.38 ± 0.14 g/g DW), and oil-holding capacity (2.96 ± 0.13 g/g DW) of U. rigida were significantly (p

Every year tons of onion waste is produced worldwide. The dried outer onion skin contributed up to 70% of this waste. Outer-dried skins of fifteen prominent onion cultivars from India were selected for the study. A comparative study was done for proximate profiling, thermal characteristics, functional grouping, and mineral contents. Skin of cv. “NHRDF Red” contained the highest amount of crude protein (5.97 ± 0.15 g/100 g), ash (12.24 ± 0.59 g/100 g), and fiber (8.28 ± 0.20 g/100 g), whereas cv. “Pusa Red” possessed the highest amount of total fat (0.47 ± 0.02 g/100 g) and the maximum carbohydrates (76.66 ± 0.56 g/100 g) were found in “Pusa Riddhi.” Mineral analysis showed that cv. “NHRDF Red” had the maximum concentration of all 9 minerals along with sulphur content. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis explored the various metabolites present in each cultivar. The thermal analysis explored cv. “Agrifound Dark Red” as highly thermally stable having 70.98% residual mass. The lowest Tg temperature range was found between 64.4°C and 90.6°C for “Agrifound Dark Red.” Skin of cv. “NHRDF Red” was reported as the best source of protein, fiber, and minerals, which may be utilized for developing a food product.

Macroalgae are a rich source of polyphenols, and their ingestion promotes various health benefits. However, information on factors contributing to health benefits such as antioxidants, antimicrobial properties, bioaccessibility, and cytotoxicity is less explored and often unavailable. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the above-mentioned parameters for the brown and green macroalgae Sargassum wightii and Ulva rigida, respectively, collected from the southeast coast of India. S. wightii exhibited higher antioxidant activity and moderate antimicrobial activity against major food pathogens in an agar well diffusion assay and in the broth microdilution method (MIC50 being S. wightii apart from other phenolics, like gallic acid, quercetin, vanillin, and ferulic acid. The results signify the tremendous scope for the value addition of S. wightii through extraction and purification of polyphenols for its potential exploitation in functional foods and nutraceuticals or as an antimicrobial ingredient in active or smart packaging.

Putrescine, spermine, and spermidine are the important polyamines (PAs), found in all living organisms. PAs are formed by the decarboxylation of amino acids, and they facilitate cell growth and development via different cellular responses. PAs are the integrated part of the cellular and genetic metabolism and help in transcription, translation, signaling, and post-translational modifications. At the cellular level, PA concentration may influence the condition of various diseases in the body. For instance, a high PA level is detrimental to patients suffering from aging, cognitive impairment, and cancer. The levels of PAs decline with age in humans, which is associated with different health disorders. On the other hand, PAs reduce the risk of many cardiovascular diseases and increase longevity, when taken in an optimum quantity. Therefore, a controlled diet is an easy way to maintain the level of PAs in the body. Based on the nutritional intake of PAs, healthy cell functioning can be maintained. Moreover, several diseases can also be controlled to a higher extend via maintaining the metabolism of PAs. The present review discusses the types, important functions, and metabolism of PAs in humans. It also highlights the nutritional role of PAs in the prevention of various diseases.

Button mushroom cubes of constant cross-sectional area (0.75 cm × 1.5 cm) and varying thickness (2 mm, 5 mm, and 8 mm) were freeze-dried. Pressure (0.04, 0.07, and 0.10 mbar), primary drying temperature (−2°C, −5°C, and −8°C), and secondary drying temperature (25°C, 28°C, and 31°C) were taken as drying parameters. The protein, ascorbic acid, and antioxidant contents were taken as quality estimates for freeze-dried mushrooms. It was observed that the secondary drying temperature affected the protein (p