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The present study investigates the moisture dependence of the physical, mechanical and aerodynamic properties of Simarouba seeds within the moisture range of 9.24‐22.46% d.b. The length, width and thickness significantly increased from 19.43 to 22.71 mm, 11.52 to 13.88 mm and 9.79 to 11.34 mm respectively. Our findings showed significant effect of moisture content on the one thousand unit mass, bulk density, true density, and porosity which varied in the range of 1050.41g and 1204.7g, 638.88 to 503.88 kg∙m−3, 999.57 to 970.26 kg∙m−3 and 36.08% to 48.06%. Moisture content was found to have positive effect on the angle of repose terminal velocity and static coefficient of friction for all surfaces studied. A decreasing trend in rupture force and increasing trend in deformation with moisture content was also observed. The understanding of these properties as per the present study would be useful for designing post‐harvest processing equipment and storage of Simarouba seeds. Practical applications: Simarouba glauca, D.C. is an evergreen potential tree born oilseed tree with high scope for biodiesel and edible oil production. The oilseed is presently underutilized due to lack of availability of suitable processing equipment. The findings of the study provide a comprehensive design database related to engineering properties of Simarouba seeds. The predictive models developed in this study can be used to assess the seed properties at any given moisture content range. The enrichment of database would serve as a guide for agricultural engineers, and food processors in the design and development of relevant post‐harvest handling, and processing equipment for Simarouba seeds. This may further lead to promotion of Simarouba processing as a promising enterprise in rural India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A volatile alkaloid quinoline-4-carbonitrile (QCN) was isolated from the floral extract of Quisqualis indica. Major compounds were trans-linalool oxide (1.0, 4.5%), methyl benzoate (1.0, 4.0%), 2,2,6-trimethyl-6-vinyl-tetrahydropyran-3-one (7.4, 17.8%), 2,2,6-trimethyl-6-vinyl-tetrahydropyran-3-ol (1.0, 1.2%), (E,E)-α-farnesene (29.1, 16.1%), QCN (5.7, 1.3%) in live and picked flowers, respectively. Flower compositions were altered due to change in enzymatic reaction at the time of picking. Some rearrangements of oxygenated terpenoids occurred in the process of hydrodistillation to obtain essential oil. Chemical synthesis of QCN and its selectively reduced products derived from QCN were prepared through green reaction process. The catalytic modification of QCN has produced quinoline-4-methylamine; the later compound has shown enhanced bio-activities. QCN and floral extract (absolute) have shown potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Besides, floral absolute has shown significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities due to improved QCN (19.7%) content to synergize amongst terpenoids and benzenoids as compared to the essential oil with 1.1% of QCN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is globally acknowledged as a major public health concern and future threat which is associated with its co-morbidities in particular diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, osteoarthritis, stroke and inflammatory diseases. It was suggested that a high-fat diet promotes the development of obesity and that there is a direct relationship between the amount of dietary fat and the degree of obesity. Fats and oils, particularly higher molecular weight and saturated fats, lead to a positive fat balance, and consequent adipose mass accumulation; therefore, for good health, the type of fats/oils people eat is far more important that the amount, and there is some evidence that the same may be true for weight control. Advancements in food processing sector and modernisation of the societies lead to changes in lifestyle which attracts the consumers to modify their diet accordingly. Therefore, there is great scope of designer foods that could help in prevention or management of obesity. Lipid components, including medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), diacylglycerides (DAGs), conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) and omega-3 fatty acids (ω-3 FAs) are extensively studied for their anti-obesity effects. The same may give a way in the area of research on weight management by incorporating them in the regular diet or in food formulation as functional components because of their beneficial effects on energy intake and expenditure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seabuckthorn is a highly perishable fruit found in trans-Himalayan region and North-Eastern part of India. It has enormous nutritional and medicinal properties. Physical attributes of fruits play an important role in the design of machines to meet various harvest and post harvest operations. In the present study properties like dimensions, true density, bulk density, sphericity, porosity and angle of repose were measured and correlated with the mass of the fruit. In addition linear, polynomial, quadratic, logarithmic and exponential models were used for mass and surface area. The length, diameter, thousand berry weight, geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, surface area, aspect ratio, angle of repose, sphericity, porosity, true density, bulk density, moisture content were found in the range of 6.5-7.5, 4.74-6.28, 362.67-910.14, 5.49-6.99, 6.17- 6.24, 76.87-154.76, 72.81-83.73, 3.59-6.82, 65.84-90.47, 17.05-60.07, 647.19- 1399.24, 453.81-725.88, 84.53-87.34 respectively.Polynomial model was suited to be best for mass with length and diameter. Polynomial model between surface area and geometric mean diameter gave highest R2 of 0.981. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]