Current Nutrition & Food Science - Volume 18, Issue 4, 2022

Various research showed that antioxidants can effectively overcome the damage caused by free radicals to human health. Therefore, antioxidants are identified as one of the main directions in the development of health care and cosmetics products due to high demand in the market. This review mainly focuses on the phycocyanin, a type of natural antioxidant mainly found in cyanobacteria. This mini review summarizes the phycocyanin sources and numerous extraction methods of phycocyanin along with the analytical methods and determine its ability to suppress free radicals. Phycocyanin has been proven to play an important role in scavenging free radicals and enhancing the body’s antioxidant capacity. However, there is a lack of long-term randomized clinical trial results that can be used as evidence in showing the benefits of phycocyanin. The existing phycocyanin extraction methods using solvents, ultrasonic-assisted, freeze-thaw, etc. can extract high-quality phycocyanin efficiently and quickly. Scientists are also trying to incorporate advanced technologies, such as "Industry 4.0" to optimize and enhance the industrial production of phycocyanin. Lastly, this review also describes the difficulties faced during the phycocyanin production or extraction process and financial obstacles in order to achieve the popularization of phycocyanin.

By-products from the food sector now have a wide range of applications. Low-cost raw materials, followed by low-cost goods, are regarded as one of the sectors’ top goals. Because of its economic relevance, reduced price, and nutrients such as protein, fiber, carbs, and antioxidants, oilseed cakes (OCs) have found a desirable place in livestock and poultry feed. Furthermore, because the cake has the same desirable nutrients, its usage in the food business is unavoidable. However, its use in this sector is not simply for nutritious purposes and has it has different impacts on flavor, texture, color, and antioxidant qualities. Therefore, as a result of its desirable qualities, the cake can be more useful in extensive applications in the food business, as well as in the manufacture of supplements and novel foods. The current review looks at the reapplications of byproducts obtained from oilseeds (soybean, sunflower, sesame, canola, palm kernel, peanut, mustard, and almond) in the food sector in the future. Furthermore, allergenicity, toxicity, antinutritional compounds, and techniques of extracting cakes from oilseeds have been discussed.

Aim: The purpose of the present study is to map and address renowned authors, scientific annual production, collaboration indices, impact factors, and keyword and count objects towards organic food products. Methods: The current analysis examined 140 research articles published in Science Citation Index (SCI) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) databases from 2002 to 2021. Additionally, the study conducted a bibliometric review on small but promising literature from the Web of Science database and included only highly cited articles. Results and Discussion: This study investigated that India has secured a position in the world for single country production and multiple country production. Besides this, the publication trend of organic food products showed enormous growth in recent times. This study also identified that “H” indexed authors such as Gracia D.E.A. Magistrist, and Albrecht SE. showed their interest in organic food products and published many articles in this domain. Conclusion: For further research in relation to different aspects of organic food products, such as proper knowledge and communication of organic food, it defines a preposition for future insight into the topic. Similarly, it focuses upon the choice experiment of the consumers towards this domain and also uncovers the preposition in relation to organic food products for future research. The result also highlights the level of publication and scientific production of organic food products, which has increased from 2002- 2021.

Background: Olive (Oleo europaea L.) cultivars are widely cultivated all over the world. However, they are often attacked by pests and pathogens. This deteriorates the quality of the crop, leading to less yield of olive oil. The different infections that cause comparable disease symptoms on olive leaves can be classified using image processing techniques. Objective: The olive has established itself as a superfood and a possible source of medicine, owing to the rapid increase in the availability of data in the field of nutrigenomics. The goal of this review is to underline the importance of applying image processing techniques to detect and classify diseases early. Method: PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar were used to conduct a systematic literature search using the keywords olive oil, pest and pathogen of olives, and metabolic profiling. Results: Infections caused by infectious diseases frequently result in significant losses and lowquality olive oil yields. Early detection of disease infestations can safeguard the olive plant and its yield. Conclusion: This strategy can help protect the crop from disease spread, and early detection and classification of the disease can aid in prompt prophylaxis of diseased olive plants before the disease worsens. Protecting olive plants from pests and pathogens can help keep the yield and quality of olive oil consistent.

Background: Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages worldwide and is popular for its characteristic flavor and rich organoleptic properties. Aim: Based on published articles, the aims of this review are i) study the association between coffee consumption and benefits to human health; ii) the effects of coffee consumption on some pathologies; and iii) provide a description of coffee’s bioactive compounds. Discussion: Coffee presents bioactive compounds, which include phenolic compounds, especially chlorogenic acid (caffeoylquinic acid), trigonelline, and diterpenes, such as cafestol and kahweol. These compounds are related to the beneficial effects for human health, including high antioxidant activity, antimutagenic activity, hepatoprotective action, reduced incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, decreased incidence of inflammatory diseases, reduced menopausal symptoms, and others. Coffee’s bioactive compounds are caffeine, chlorogenic acid, trigonelline, cafestol and kahweol, which are closely related to coffee’s beneficial effects. Conclusion: The present review clarified that the benefits of moderate coffee consumption outweigh the associated risks.

Background: This article discloses information related to a recent patent filed by the author on extracts of freshly cut farm birds and animals. Objective: The objective was to evaluate “Liquid-Protein” extracts obtained from live cells of protein-rich meat of farm birds or animals as well as from baby plants of pulses. Methods: Freshly cut meat pieces or sprouts of pulses were put in water and pulse-heated for 30 minutes. The nutritious water extract of these was taken that contained amino-acids/proteins and some signaling chemicals emitting from the stressed live cells. Results: The heat-stressed animal cells (of Chicken) released creatine and many other nutrients in the extract along with Guanosine triphosphate/Guanosine diphosphate/ Guanosine monophosphate/ Inosine Mono Phosphate (GTP/GDP/ GMP/IMP), showing a UV absorption peak at 249 nm. This paper analyses the UV-Visual Absorption spectra and proton NMR data for the extracts. It is disclosed that the vegetarian baby plant cells of pulse seeds released (ATP) Adenosine Tri Phosphate (264 nm peak) along with Resveratrol (306 nm peak) but did not produce creatine, and such an extract exhibited side effects. Conclusion: Cells of birds/animals are similar to those of humans, and the signaling chemicals in the non-vegetarian extract are non-toxic and 100% compatible with humans as compared to plant cell extracts with incompatible chemicals. Since meat cells manage to “live” for longer than 10 hours without blood/oxygen supply, in anaerobic cell respiration involving creatine and GTP/GDP/GMP/IMP, the extract of these meat cells plays a key role in metabolic cell repair, inducing anti-aging effects in humans.

Background: Protein supplements have become a widespread practice amongst athletes and gym users worldwide. However, studies on the use of protein supplements among female gym users in Saudi Arabia are lacking. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of protein supplement usage among female gym users and their attitudes towards protein supplementation in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 502 female gym users aged ≥18 years completed a structured, self-administered online questionnaire on the usage of protein supplementation. Socio- demographic information, anthropometry, health status, exercise frequency, attitudes and knowledge regarding protein supplements were obtained. Results: The overall prevalence rate of protein supplement use among the study respondents was 36.3%. There were significant associations between the use of protein supplements and educational level (p< 0.05), the duration of being a gym member (p< 0.05) and frequency of gym visits per week (p< 0.05). Whey protein was the predominantly used supplement (57.8%), and the reason attributed to the use of protein supplement was muscle building (53.9%). The main sources of information regarding protein supplement use included the internet (30.2%) followed by gym coaches (25.3%). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that a considerable number of females exercising in gyms use protein supplements, and most rely on unreliable sources for decision-making of protein supplements use. Nutritional education and consultations regarding protein supplement use are warranted.

Background: During the initial outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic, there were few effective evidence-based vaccines or treatments available, which led to many attempts to find alternative options. Objective: This study aimed to compare the general dietary and lifestyle habits among the Saudi adult population in Riyadh before and during COVID-19. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study targeting the Riyadh population from 16 May 2020 to 16 June 2020. The study was composed of a structured questionnaire that collected demographic information (such as age, gender, place of residence, and health status), dietary habit information (such as daily intake of certain foods, food frequency, number of meals/day, and number of times drinking tea and coffee), lifestyle habit information (such as physical activity; sleep quality; and time spent using the internet, social media, and electronic devices for fun or stress relief) using Google forms. A total of 1193 participants aged over 18 years were included in the study. Results: During the COVID-19 period, a significant increase was observed in the number of meals eaten daily, fruit and vegetable intake, the intake of sweets and cakes/biscuits, the number of hours of sleep per day, and time spent on the internet and social media compared with the pre- COVID-19 pandemic period. However, the amount of running exercise or physical activity was found to be significantly reduced. Conclusion: In this study, we found that the dietary and lifestyle habits changed among Saudi adults during the COVID-19 period. Similar large-scale studies should be undertaken in the future to confirm the results of the study.