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Plums are the ubiquitous fruit belonging to genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus, consumed as food and have many health benefits and medicinal effect in the treatment of many diseases. Pulp from plums is also used in different beverages. Plums are the potential source of polyphenolic compounds and bioactive compounds such as phenolic, anthocyanins, and carotenoids and many organic acids such as citric acid and malic acid. Plums are also the abundant sources of many minerals such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and vitamins A, B, K, and C. Plums are the abundant sources of predominant antioxidants and phenolic compounds such as caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, crypto-chlorogenic acid, and neo-chlorogenic acid. These antioxidants and bioactive compounds are effective in the treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal diseases, bone heath, and cardiovascular diseases and in maintaining the blood glucose level. Plums helps in the heart diseases prevention, as it is low in fat content and high in dietary fiber. It is also effective in the treatment of lung and oral cancer. The consumption of plums boosts human health and prevents many diseases. The review discusses the importance, production, different varieties of plums along with its nutritional profile, availability of bioactive compounds, phytochemical composition, and antioxidants mainly phenolic and flavonoid compounds. It also introduces the beneficial effect of the bioactive compounds in heart, lungs, and cardiovascular diseases, followed by its in vivo human and animal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer demand for higher-quality fruit juices has resulted in the development of non-thermal processing to extend the shelf life of fruit juices. Ozonation is a novel technique, involving the production of volatile oxygen atoms capable of destroying an extensive range of microorganisms and lengthening the shelf stability of fruit juices. The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of ozonation on the physicochemical, bioactive components, and microbial properties of kinnow juice. Kinnow juice was exposed to ozone gas with fixed concentration 150 mg/h for 5, 10, and 15 minutes. Then, kinnow juice was filled in a plastic bottle and kept at 4 ± 2°C for 3 months. The mentioned parameters were examined after 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days. It was found that ozonation had shown a significant influence on nutritional characteristics of kinnow juice as it increased (p ≤.05) the acidity, total soluble content, total phenolics content, flavonoids content, and antioxidant potential of kinnow juice and diminished the microbial activity, increasing ozone time from 5 to 15 minutes. OZ-15 (15 minutes of ozonation) showed the maximum value of total soluble content (14.70 ± 0.10 °Brix), titrable acidity (0.179 ± 0.10%), total flavonoid content (244.44 ± 3.70 mg equivalent of catechin/100 mL), and total antioxidant activity (305.95 ± 2.70 µg/g equivalent of ascorbic acid of juice), but it presented the least total mold counts (1.49 ± 0.02 colony forming unit/mL) and plate counts (1.53 ± 0.03 colony forming unit/mL). It was suggested that the ozonation could be used as an alternative to the traditional pasteurization and chemical preservatives on kinnow juice to retain quality characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-thermal processing techniques not only prevent the nutritional losses but also improve the food quality and security. In recent years, consumers demand healthy, safe, and nutritious food. Ultrasound is one of the emerging techniques, which is being studied extensively on various food products. On the other hand, in microwave treatment heat transfer is rapid, so sensory characteristics, nutrients, vitamin content, flavor and color of food are well preserved. A study was conducted on combined effect of sonication and microwave processing on phalsa drink and stored for 120 days. The juice was filled in plastic bottles, sealed and after microwave treatment immediately chilled in ice cold water at 4 ± 1°C. It was observed that synergistic approach of sonication and microwave had shown positive impact on nutritional quality of phalsa drink as it increased (p ≤ 0.05) the total phenolic, flavonoids, reducing power and antioxidant properties of phalsa drink and reduced the microbial load with increase in sonication time from 2 to 8 min. It was concluded that combination of sonication and microwave can be employed without chemical preservatives for treatment of phalsa drink with better retention of nutritional attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extraction is a separation technique for bioactive compounds from food samples that are used as an active ingredient in pharmaceutical, and food manufacturing industries. There is now an ever-increase demand for these bioactive compounds in different food products that encourage the development of new extraction techniques. Various novel thermal and non-thermal extraction techniques, i.e. microwave-assisted-extraction, ultrasound-assisted-extraction, pressurized liquid extraction, pulsed electric field assisted-extraction, and supercritical fluid extraction that have been intensively investigated. These advanced extraction techniques are more efficient in comparison to conventional methods in terms of solvent consumption, extraction time and energy cost. The efficiency of these extraction methods depends upon the input parameters and target bioactive compounds. This review discusses the application of these different extraction techniques, basic mechanisms and limiting factors for the extraction of bioactive compounds through different food matrix. This review also emphasises on cost-effectiveness, energy consumption, sustainability, advantages and disadvantages of these extraction techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nano-encapsulation in terms of nanotechnology is one of the wide ranged and rapid adopted technologies in food industry. Nanotechnology has modernized the whole food system from production to stored products for the improvement in quality and preservation of nutritional status. Nano-encapsulation is also known as promising technology to protect bioactive components and could be suitable for delivering such protected compounds to target biological systems. In this review, the recent literature highlights the formulation and fabrication of nano-encapsulation using the appropriate wall materials. Moreover, literature also focuses on different methods, which have been used for encapsulation purposes such as coacervation, inclusion complexation, nano-precipitation, emulsification, supercritical fluid technique, ultra-sonification and spray and freeze-drying. Furthermore, this review also discusses the advances in the applications of nano-encapsulation for phenolic compounds, antioxidants, natural food colorants, antimicrobial agents, essential oils, minerals, flavors and vitamins as nano-carriers in food systems. As reviewed in this study, nanotechnology have ability to improve the food properties either in sensory attributes, storage, target delivery, along with to enhance its nutrition and make it healthier. Nano-encapsulation has played a vital role in approaching the way of advancement of bioactive compounds including their therapeutic potential especially in allied fields, food, and pharmaceutical industry during last decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]