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Herbal drugs play an imperative role in healthcare programs in developing countries. Curry leaves have wide medicinal importance and are used to treat various diseases traditionally. The current study was carried out to estimate the extent of mercury toxicity and the potential effect of curry leaves against defined toxicity. The study group comprised 24 rats weighing between 130 and150 g. Group 1 was kept normal, and group 2 was exposed to mercury at 0.4 mg/kg of body weight in the form of mercuric chloride (HgCl2). The group 3 animals were treated with curry leaves with a dosage of 300 mg/kg of body weight. Group 4 was treated with curry leaves along with mercury with a dosage of 300 and 0.4 mg/kg consecutively. After 28 days, the rats were killed. Blood sample of all groups were evaluated separately to determine the results of different parameters. The results show that ALP, AST, ALT, urea, bilirubin, and creatinine increased with mercury application and decreased with curry leaf exposure. SOD, CAT, GPx, and GR of the liver as well as the kidney depleted on mercury exposure whereas they increased with curry leaf application. HDL increased with curry leaf application and decreased with mercury treatment, while LDL, triglyceride, and cholesterol decreased with curry leaves and increased with mercury exposure. Organ index in mercury along with curry leaf application got close to normal.

This article describes the consensus control issue of networked multi-agent system with controller area network bus–induced delay in the frequency domain. Initially, causes of the controller area network bus–induced delay in distributed networked control systems and features of controller area network buses are analyzed. Then, networked multi-agent systems composed of distributed networked control systems are modeled in the frequency domain. An analytical controller based on the parameterization technique is proposed to improve the H2 performance criterion of distributed networked control systems. The performance tracking and robustness of the controller is analyzed by its sensitivity functions. After the performance and robustness analysis, the delay margin criteria and consensus conditions of networked multi-agent systems are derived in the existence of controller area network bus–induced delay. We verify the efficiency of the proposed method by simulating examples.

The current research was carried out to observe the effect of different thermal treatments on soluble and insoluble dietary fiber ratio to improve functional properties of barley. Two varieties of barley labeled as Haider‐93 and Jau‐87 were milled and then wet and dry heat‐treated. Soaking and then cooking of soaked and nonsoaked barley was performed. Untreated barley contained more insoluble dietary fiber (12.00–12.40 g/100g dm) than soluble dietary fiber (4.73–5.70 g/100g dm). Additionally, the modification of soluble (13.32%) and insoluble dietary fiber (8.79%) ratio through pressure cooking was nonsignificant while roasting showed significant results, that is, 53.91% increase in soluble dietary fiber and 8.79% decrease in insoluble dietary fiber. In phase II, cooking without soaking gave highest results, that is, 68.08% increase in soluble dietary fiber and 15.48% decrease in insoluble dietary fiber. Conclusively, among all treatments of phase I and II, the better results were shown by cooking without soaking.

Peptides usually have many bioactive functions. The variety of peptide binding and the modularity of the components allow for their application to additional tissues and materials; hence broadening the range of possible coatings and films. β-lactoglobulin (b-LG) forms spherical microgels or can be used in the formation of coated particles, with the core formed by aggregated b-LG and the coat by polysaccharides. The enzymatic proteolysis of b-LG assisted by high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment was studied. Pretreatment of HHP enhanced the hydrolysis degree (DH) of b-LG. The highest value of DH without pretreatment was 24.81% at 400 MPa, which increased to 27.53% at 200 MPa with pretreatment, suggesting a difference in the DH of b-LG caused by the processing strategy of HHP. Molecular simulation suggested that the flexible regions of b-LG, e.g., Leu140-Ala142 and Asp33-Arg40, might contribute to enzymatic proteolysis. The b-LG hydrolysate exhibited the highest capacity of scavenging free DPPH and OH radicals at 200 MPa. In addition, the 1–2 kDa and 500–1000 Da peptides fractions significantly increased from 10.53% and 9.78% (under 0.1 MPa) to 12.37% and 14.95% under 200 MPa, respectively. The higher yield of short peptides under HHP contributed to the antioxidant capacity of b-LG hydrolysates. Enzymatic hydrolysis also largely reduced the immunoreactivity of b-LG, which is of high importance in the practical application of b-LG in the field of coatings and films in regard to biocompatibility. Hydrolysis of b-LG assisted by high-pressure treatment showed promising potential in the preparation of bioactive peptides for further development of polysaccharide-peptide-based coatings and films.

Curd is the most widespread traditional fermented milk product used by a large population and is a good source of vitamin B, protein, and calcium. In this study, the isolation of exopolysaccharide (EPS)‐producing strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus from curd samples was carried out. Identification of EPS‐producing strains was done by Gram staining, catalase activity, sugar fermentation test, API 50 CHL, and PCR analysis. These EPS‐producing strains were subjected for the estimation of technological properties such as titratable acidity, curdling time, acidification rate, and texture. The strains best in their technological properties were selected for the production of yogurt in combination with EPS‐ or non‐EPS‐producing strains of Streptococcus thermophilus. The EPS concentration range was from 41 to 268 mg/L in the yogurt. The highest value of EPS concentration was detected in S. thermophilus and non‐EPS‐producing Lb. bulgaricus after 14 days of storage.

The present research was carried out to observe the comparative effectiveness of different chemical treatments in combination with simultaneous thermal treatment on soluble (SDF) and insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) ratio to improve functional properties of barley. For this purpose, two varieties of barley, i.e., Haider-93 and Jau-87 were assessed for chemical composition, mineral, non-starch polysaccharides, and dietary fiber contents through respective methods. Two varieties were chemically treated through acid, alkaline, and consecutive acid–alkaline treatments in combination with thermal treatment. Results of chemical composition revealed that Jau-87 was higher in moisture (11.4%), crude fat (2.67%), and crude fiber (4.70%), whereas Haider-93 exhibited higher ash (2.56%) and crude protein content (12.7%). Moreover, barley is a rich source of potassium ranging from 4.77 to 5.07 g/kg. Likewise, main non-starch polysaccharides in barley were arabinoxylan (3.60–3.77%) and beta-glucan (3.65–3.67%). Furthermore, barley contains more IDF (12.00–12.40 g/100 g dm) than SDF (4.73–5.70 g/100 g dm). Additionally, modification of SDF (23.68%) and IDF (11.69%) ratio through acid treatment was nonsignificant, while acid–alkaline treatment showed highly significant results, i.e., 771.46% increased in SDF and 53.39% decreased in IDF. It is concluded that chemical treatments alone or in combination with pressure cooking increased SDF. However, simultaneous effect of acid and alkaline treatment most effectively increased the solubility of barley.

Curd is the most widespread traditional fermented milk product used by a large population and is a good source of vitamin B, protein, and calcium. In this study, the isolation of exopolysaccharide (EPS)‐producing strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus from curd samples was carried out. Identification of EPS‐producing strains was done by Gram staining, catalase activity, sugar fermentation test, API 50 CHL, and PCR analysis. These EPS‐producing strains were subjected for the estimation of technological properties such as titratable acidity, curdling time, acidification rate, and texture. The strains best in their technological properties were selected for the production of yogurt in combination with EPS‐ or non‐EPS‐producing strains of Streptococcus thermophilus. The EPS concentration range was from 41 to 268 mg/L in the yogurt. The highest value of EPS concentration was detected in S. thermophilus and non‐EPS‐producing Lb. bulgaricus after 14 days of storage.

Functional and nutraceutical foods have captured the global market owing to trends and perceptions of consumers on the natural products and diet-health linkages. Health promoting potential of such foods has been attributed to the presence of essential bioactive moieties. Wheat, being staple food in many parts of the world, gained substantial attention of researchers particularly for the extraction of various functional components. Among these, fructan oligosaccharides in nature bestow quality of baked products and provide protection against various physiological disorders. Addition of fructan in various baked products enhances softness and color, especially in bread, and also imparts textural improvement. Moreover, fructans boost mineral absorption, hypocholesterolemic, and hypoglycemic perspectives, bifidogenic nature and controlling cancer insurgence. The benefits allied with fructan are mainly dose and time dependent. In this context, its industrial applications for vulnerable groups are increasing wor...

Carica papaya is an economically vivacious plant of tropical and subtropical regions, cultivated in over 50 countries across the world with 6.8 million tons production. Papaya holds a broad spectrum of phytochemicals, including polysaccharides, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, proteins, glycosides, saponins, flavonoids, and phytosterols. These bioactive components are responsible for the pharmacological properties of this auspicious plant and demonstrate its importance in daily intake and alimentation. Additionally, it is an excellent aid to digestion and also hydrolyzing gluten, which is an important aspect for dyspeptic and celiac disease patients. Papaya acts as an antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticarminative, anticancer, and has hepato-protective, immunological, and other therapeutic attributes. The seed and pulp of papaya have bacteriostatic effects against several enteropathogens, such as Bacillus subtilus and E. coli. In the current review, pharmacological attributes, nutritional value of papaya, and me...