Opuntia monacantha is known in Brazil and is commonly marketed in some regions, as in the ecological fairs of Porto Alegre. This study aims to investigate the physical and mineral characteristics as well as antioxidant activity, antibacterial activity, and chemical profile of the main metabolites of the fruit extracts. The fruits are a source of fiber (pulp and peel: 7.01 mg, 9.01 mg/100 g), respectively, selenium pulp and peel (0.04 mg/100 g and 0.05 mg/100 g), copper pulp (1.05 mg/100 g) and manganese peel (67,83 mg/100 g). The pulp showed phenolic content related to an antioxidant potential attributed to quercetin and rutin constitution in the extracts. The antibacterial activity was observed against S. aureus ATCC 33591 (methicillin-resistant, MRSA) and ATCC 29213 (methicillin-sensitive, MSSA) at 512 µg.mL−1 in the apolar extracts of the fruits constituted by saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, as well as phytosterols. The fruits presented a rich nutritional composition correlated with antioxidant and antibacterial action, being potential for health improvement and it can be explored by the food industry as well as in nature consumption by the population.

This study investigated the impact of proportion of pasture in the cow diet on the concentration of selected fat-soluble compounds in milk including β-carotene, lutein, retinol (vitamin A), α-tocopherol (vitamin E) and zeaxanthin. Bulk tank milk samples (n = 102) were collected weekly (n = 34) across an entire lactation from three herds operating either a high (GRS), medium (PMR) or no pasture allowance (TMR) feeding system. Concentrations of β-carotene and lutein increased significantly with increasing pasture allowance, with a > 2 fold increase of β-carotene in milk, between high and no pasture allowance treatments. GRS feeding system resulted in milks with higher concentrations of retinol, α-tocopherol, and zeaxanthin, compared to both PMR and TMR systems. A biomarker model based on the fat-soluble compounds concentration in milk, demonstrated excellent differentiation of high pasture allowance derived milks from that of medium and no pasture milks, with area under the curve scores of 0.955 and 0.971 respectively. Strong correlations were observed between the concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin in milk and the milks corresponding yellow colour, while a significant correlation was exhibited between β-carotene and b*-value. Such correlations with milk colour may have a significant impact on the consumer preference of milk and dairy products produced therefrom.

Polyphenols were extracted from red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) plants following conventional extraction. The combined factors of ethanol concentration (60–80%), extraction time (15–45 min) and extraction temperature (40–80°C) were evaluated. Central composite design software was used to conduct Response Surface Methodology (RSM) modelling and optimize the polyphenol yield from the red clover. Total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and ultra-performance liquid chromatography mass-spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) analysis were used to quantify polyphenols. The RSM model identified ethanolic composition having greatest influence (p < 0.05) on the polyphenol yield with extraction yields increasing with percentage ethanol. The optimal extraction conditions were identified as 80% ethanol for 45 minutes at 40°C. When compared with an exhaustive polyphenol extraction method (70% ethanol for 21 h at room temperature), the optimal extraction resulted in a 25.6% increase in TPC yield. UPLC-MS/MS was performed to quantify the individual polyphenols present within the sample, in which biochanin A and formononetin were present in abundance. The outcomes of this modelling and optimization study demonstrate that polyphenols from red clover can be extracted efficiently with minimal environmental and energy cost and thus had the capability to serve as a source of valuable nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products.

High Fischer ratio oligopeptides mixture is a mixed peptide system which possess many beneficial effects to the human body. Casein, a milk protein, was used as feedstock to prepare high Fischer ratio oligopeptides via enzymatic hydrolysis, adsorption and purification. Gel electrophoresis, densitometric analysis, amino acid assay and molecular weight measurement were used to visualize and quantify the prepared peptides. Casein, with Fischer ratio of 2.17, was subjected to hydrolysis by alcalase® (2.4 AU/g, pH 8.5, temperature 55 °C, enzymolysis time 2 h) and flavorzyme® (3.4 AU/g, temperature 50 °C, enzyme amount 120 μL, enzymolysis time 3 h), followed via AK-220 activated carbon adsorption (carbon-hydrolysate ratio: 1:10, adsorption time 3 h, pH 8.0, temperature 55 °C) and 3 KDa membrane ultrafiltration. In conclusion, the processing parameters for alcalase® / flavorzyme® and AK-220 activated carbon helped to obtain oligopeptides with Fischer ratio 9.87 which is significantly higher than feedstock casein F value (p < 0.05) and could potentially be used as food supplement to enhance product nutritional property.

The present study focused on the use of trehalose (TRE), whey protein concentrate (WPC), pullulan (PUL), and calcium lactate gluconate (CAL) as a protectant in the formulation of synbiotic buttermilk powder by application of spray drying. The spray drying of the solution mixture was carried out at an inlet temperature of 150 °C, a feed flow rate of 15mL/min, and compressed air at 3 kg/cm2 while keeping the outlet temperature constant at 70 ± 5 °C. TRE4 + CAL0.5 showed good results with the viability of Bifidobacterium bifidum as 6.04 ± 0.13 after 16 weeks followed by TRE2 + CAL0.5, TRE4, CAL0.5, WPC6, PUL4, and Control. The addition of protectants and Fructooligosaccharide (FOS) as a prebiotic did not affect the powder properties. The moisture content, water activity, bulk density, hygroscopicity, solubility, particle size, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of SBMP were better than the control sample for 17 weeks. SEM results showed spherical shapes without any cracks for SBMP containing TRE4 + CAL0.5. The present work demonstrated that the formulation containing TRE4 + CAL0.5 showed excellent results in terms of the viability of probiotic cells and also physicochemical properties of powder during storage for 16 weeks at 4 ± 1 °C.

The use of plant extracts or nondairy milk alternatives as a substitute for Cow's milk in the formulation of foods that function as vehicles for the consumption of probiotics has become popular. This substitution aims to formulate food products without lactose, low in fat, and, therefore, low in calories. Additionally, they can enter vegan or vegetarian markets. The use of these vegetable extracts has been explored for the development of probiotic foods that confer health benefits without cow milk allergy. However, few studies support that replacing Cow's milk in these foods allows probiotics to remain viable during storage, survive the digestive tract sufficiently, and reach their colonization site. Additionally, even fewer clinical studies in human or animal model assays have analyzed the impact of probiotic foods formulated with plant extracts.

The improper use of antibiotics in animal production in Africa may result in antibiotic residues (AR's) in food, and it represents a risk to public health. However, there is scarce information on the rate of AR's in dairy products. This systematic review was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The information was collected from databases Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar, PAMJ One Health, ResearchGate, and selected African journals. A total of 359 articles were identified and only 22 studies were included. In total, 6246 dairy samples were analyzed, with raw milk as the main sample (90.7 %). Among the 39 antibiotics recorded, the most detected were penicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, and chlortetracycline. The highest residue rates (90.38 %) were found for dicloxacillin, cefazolin, cefoperazone, cefaclor, and spiramycin. The most used techniques for antibiotic detection were Delvotest, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to ultra-violet, and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry in tandem. AR's are high in raw milk and above the Maximum Residues Level representing a big challenge for Africa. Establishing AR's control plans in Africa could be a good strategy to improve the monitoring of their occurrence in food.

The banana inflorescence, often disregarded as a by-product of banana cultivation, holds significant untapped potential as a sustainable source of nutrition and medicinal compounds. Its overlooked status contributes to food waste, posing challenges to both food security and economic sustainability worldwide. Recent research indicates that banana inflorescence contains a rich array of bioactive phytochemicals with proven health benefits, including the potential to combat prevalent non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and high cholesterol levels. Moreover, it has a unique composition, including phenolic compounds, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, and essential microelements, makes it valuable for enhancing women's health during pregnancy and lactation. Despite these promising attributes, the utilization of banana inflorescence as a functional food and nutraceutical resource remains underexplored and currently, there is no comprehensive review paper to investigate this potential. This review aims to address this gap by systematically examining the diverse array of functional bioactive compounds present in different banana cultivars and varieties, their pharmacological activities, and their potential applications in the food industry. Furthermore, it highlights current efforts in harnessing the health-promoting properties of banana inflorescence and outlines future directions for research and development in functional food and nutraceutical formulations. By shedding light on the multifaceted benefits of banana inflorescence, this review seeks to catalyze greater attention and investment in leveraging this valuable resource for sustainable food production.

Plectranthus edulis is one of the most important tuberous plants, is an indigenous plant, and grows in middle- and high-altitude areas. This study investigated the proximate, antinutritional, antioxidant, and mineral compositions of P. edulis (Agew potato) grown in the Dangila, Ankesha, and Banja districts in the Awi zone of the Amhara region, Ethiopia. The proximate composition was determined via the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) protocol. The moisture, ash, crude fat, crude protein, crude fiber, carbohydrate, phytate, tannin, TPC, TFC, and DPPH assay results ranged from 70.87 to 74.92 g/100 g, 3.92–4.58 g/10 g, 0.36–0.61 g/100 g, 6.86–9.29 g/100 g, 3.18–3.56 g/100 g, 71.79–78.81 g/100 g, 61.48–108.04 mg/100 g, 8.46–44.15 mg/100 g, 17.53–28.42 mg/g, 2.75–5.71 mg/g, and 52.94–71.49%, respectively. The concentrations of Na, P, Fe, Cu, and Zn ranged from 261.85 to 603.90 mg/kg, 82.02–251.82 mg/100 g, 23.74–65.36 mg/kg, 9.98–16.27 mg/kg, and 17.68–30.20 mg/kg, respectively. The Agew potato from Dangila had a better nutritional content than Banja and Ankesha. Agew potatoes are nutritious and medically important tuber plants used to secure food, especially in undernourished societies.