Emerging Challenges in Agriculture and Food Science Vol. 2

Weeds and trees usually produce sufficient quantities of lightweight pollen for their pollination. A single plant can produce 1 million to several million pollen grains in a day, exposure to them may lead to pollen allergy or seasonal rhinitis/ rhinosinusitis, asthma and dermatitis etc. Allergenic response is mainly dependent on the correlation between the onset of symptoms and plant pollination time. According to many studies approximately 60-75% of seasonal rhinitis is attributed to weed pollens, 40% to grass weed pollens, and 10% to tree pollens. The pollinating season of the various plants depends on the individual species and their geographical location. In this paper flowering/pollination periods, pollen morphology and management measures of common allergenic weeds are reviewed. Based on their pollination period, weeds can be removed before flowering and can be utilized as biomass in agriculture/industry.

Foods fermented by probiotic lactic acid bacteria are beneficial to the gut and have the potential to be therapeutic. Although the demand for vegan probiotic food is growing, most probiotic products in the market are dairy-based. Fermentation of plant foods has been practiced since time immemorial, yet probiotic plant foods are scarce in the market. This chapter shows a glimpse of history through fermented foods of the past to recent research in the field of functional plant-based probiotic foods. The challenges to overcome in processing plant probiotic food are highlighted while also providing a futuristic view for its popularization and enhancements in research. 

This study focuses on food security planning in Nigeria using roots and tubers as functional foods, as the global food crisis poses a severe threat to world peace and security. An important agronomic advantage of root and tuber crops as staple foods is their ability to adapt to diverse soil and environmental conditions and they can all be propagated by vegetative propagation process.  This review is necessary because the potential utility of these roots and tubers is being investigated. Roots and tubers are key components of the human diet, and they are widely farmed and consumed in Nigeria as staple foods. Cassava (Manihot esculentus Crantz), yam (Dioscorea spp), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Poir), potato (Solanum spp), and edible aroids (Colocasia spp and Xanthosoma sagittifolium Schott) are the most important roots and tubers in Nigeria.  These crops have a lot of potential since they have a lot of biodiversity and add variety to the human diet. They also have numerous medicinal properties. The plants considered in this paper are cassava (Manihot esculentus Crantz), yam (Dioscorea rotundata Poir, D. bulbifera L., D. Cayenensis Lam, D. alata Linn, D. Dumentorium Pax and D. esculenta (Lour.) Burk) sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Poir), potato (Solanum tuberosome Linn) and edible aroids (Colocasia esculenta (L) Schott and Xanthosoma sagittifolium Schott). Due to population increase, urbanisation, and changing food tastes, these plants that provide several advantages to humans are under jeopardy. They haven't been used to their full nutritional and health potential. It is discovered that these plants are of high nutritional values and are also used traditionally for various medicinal benefits. These beneficial plants should be given more attention in terms of production, preservation, and consumption, since this will help Nigerians improve their food security.

The Vedas declare that curds are vigour and ghee is life. This may sound outlandish, but on deeper study it sounds reasonable. There are immense benefits of using ghee as a cooking medium, and also as a vehicle to carry bioactive phytochemicals. Since all body cells have cell membranes made up primarily of lipids, it is logical to state that bodily health depends to a large extent upon the type of fats we eat. The brain, being composed almost entirely of fats, is even more affected by the lipids we ingest. Hence, proper choice of the correct cooking medium is vital to ensure a long and healthy life.

Water (Jala) was regarded as life (Jeevanashrayan) for everyone in ancient medicine. The historical text also believed that the civilizations started around water sources.  Water is thought to have the power to treat a variety of diseases, and water treatment has become a significant non-invasive therapy in the medical field. The importance of water and property was discussed in ancient Ayurvedic literature. Ayurveda classed water in a variety of ways, indicating the importance of each type of water to humans. Because of its unique ability to dissolve every Rasa individually, Jala persisted Guna of all six Rasa. Water is not only vital for physiological reasons but is also required for daily tasks. Water plays a function in a variety of diseases, including acute toxicity, gastric burn, and constipation, according to several researchers. This article explains the traditional view of the water from the standpoint of ancient medicine.

The production of food crop in Banten Province, Indonesia consists of paddy, maize, soybeans, peanuts, green beans, cassava and sweet potatoes. These food crops production is assumed to be closely related to temperature and rainfall. The aim of research was to know the temperature and rainfall as well as the potential for food crop production. To achieve this goal, the researcher used projection of temperature and rainfall using the Gumbel method. The results of the analysis show that every year the temperature increases by 0.13⁰C while the rainfall is 39.14 mm. Based on the increase in temperature and rainfall in the next 25 years, Banten Province still has potential for the development of paddy, maize and cassava production. Referring to the area and productivity of each of these types of plants, Lebak Regency is more potential for paddy production and Pandeglang Regency is more potential for the development of maize production.

Rasogolla is known as the king of the sweets and highly popular throughout India. Rasogolla contains high amount of protein, fat, minerals and vitamins. It is snow white in colour, possesses a spongy, chewy body and smooth texture having ping-pong ball size and shape. On all festive occasions it is widely accepted as most popular sweet and all ages of people like it. Its quality varies from place to place and depends on the method used to prepare chhana, quality of chhana and other process parameters. Although manufacturing of rasogolla is confined to the cottage industry, its mechanized production is needed for higher production rate and better quality control on account of its increasing popularity. The objective of present review paper is finding different methods of rasogolla preparation and the effect of different parameters on quality of rasogolla and the research work done on rasogolla for better process development and mechanization of rasogolla. Effects of type of milk, type and amount of acid used for making chhana, initial moisture content of chhana, kneading of chhana ball, concentration of sugar syrup during cooking as well as soaking and repeated use of same sugar syrup have been studied on rasogolla quality, cooking time of chhana ball, soaking time for cooked chhana ball and its microstructure. Literature available on pressure cooking method of rasogolla preparation and mechanization of rasogolla making has also been reported.

In India, karonda fruits are still underutilized , but they are effective at meeting nutritional needs. Fruits are one of the most important components of foods that humans have consumed since the beginning of human race. Several underutilized fruits are unfamiliar, unknown, and less eaten. Underutilized fruits or neglected crops are not cultivated commercially, not grown and very rarely found in the market. However, when compared to commercial fruits, underutilized fruits have received little attention as antioxidant sources. These fruits are neglected due to a combination of ignorance, a lack of information, a lack of promotional campaigns, and storage and harvesting difficulties. These fruits may now be included in health-promoting campaigns. This review article discusses the significance of morphological and microscopical studies, as well as preliminary phytochemical investigations, in karonda fruit, as well as its nutritional value.

A study was undertaken to evaluate the semen characteristics and egg quality of three strains of indigenous Nigerian turkeys fed different levels of nutritional energy and protein at the Teaching and Research farm of the Federal Polytechnic Bali, Taraba State. The experiment included a total of 120 day-old poults from all of the indigenous turkey strains. Poults were brooded on commercial diet for 8 weeks during the 11-month study (July 2018–August 2019). The birds were randomly assigned to four treatment dietary levels for growers at the age of 64 days; T1-control (Commercial feeds), T2-low energy high protein(LEHP), T3-high energy low protein(HELP), and T4-high energy high protein (HEHP). Eggs were laid from T₁ of all three strains of turkey at the age of 196 days. Eggs were collected in batches after every 8 days for 5 sets only. At day 7 of laying, eggs were candled for fertility and hatchability. Among the strains and treatments, egg quality, semen characteristics, and testicular morphology were all taken into account. The egg quality egg quality studied showed Signiant(P<0.05) differences among the treatment groups. The results on the gonadal sperm reserves (trestles), extra gonadal sperm reserve (epididymis) and vas deferens showed significant (P<0.05) differences among the treatment groups except for treatments T1, T3, and T4. Finally, the varying dietary levels on different strains of indigenous turkeys used in this study, account for differences in growth rate, egg production and reproductive parameters. The preliminary findings presented in this work are only the beginning; additional in-depth research is needed in this area.

Chinese chestnuts native to countries like Taiwan, China, Korea shows a great tool as to deal with several body ails. The main objective of this experimental study was to standardize and develop the value product from Chinese chestnut to alleviate ails in all age groups.

Not only to add value to the product but also to introduce the nut to the people residing in different parts of but also to people all over the world. As there are limited number of studies focusing on the presence of vitamins in Castanea crenata, C. dentata and C. mollissima.

The study was carried out to use Chinese chestnut with three different chocolates and flaxseeds for production of the confection- chocolate coated chestnut and flaxseed mix.

The raw material was obtained from Uttarakhand and was processed later using methods like roasting, sun drying etc.

For the packaging of the products, colorful foils were used as primary packaging material and then attractive cardboard boxes as the secondary packaging, which protects the confection against biological, chemical, physical factors. These confections were prepared from Chinese chestnut and are evaluated for their sensory properties. In sensory evaluation all three confection samples T1, T2, T3 were accepted. Several microbiological tests like- TPC, E. coli etc and nutritional analysis was also conducted on the developed chocolates.

Dark chocolate is rich in flavonoids that can have effects on body composition and cognitive performance. Some commercial preparations have modified the composition of dark chocolate to increase the flavonoid content and decrease the caloric intake. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of acute and subchronic chocolate intake on electrical brain oscillations. A study with 20 healthy subjects (mean age of 24.15 years) and a control group with five subjects (mean age of 23.2 years) was carried out. In the acute effect study, the subjects’ intake was dark chocolate (103.72 mg/kg of body weight) rich in flavonoids and low in calories as in fasting. In the control group, the subjects intake was only low-calorie milk. For the subchronic effect, a daily dose of dark chocolate was given for eight days. The baseline electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded before dark chocolate intake; at 30 min, the second EEG was carried out; on the eighth day, the third and fourth EEGs were performed before and after the last intake. In acute and subchronic intake, Delta Absolute Power (AP) decrease was observed in most brain regions (p < 0.05), except in the right fronto-centro-temporal regions. In the Theta band, there was a generalized decrease of the AP of predominance in the left fronto-centro-temporal regions. In contrast, an increase in AP was observed in the temporo-occipital regions in the Alpha band, and in the right temporal and parieto-occipital regions in the Beta band. The control group did not have significant changes in brain oscillations (p > 0.05). We concluded that acute and subchronic chocolate intake decreased the Delta and Theta AP and increased Alpha and Beta AP in most brain regions.

Moringa oleifera is one of the traditionally useful trees for health recovery, water purification and source of food for enhancing poultry production in Sudan. A 6-week observational study was conducted to determine the performance and evaluate carcass characteristics of broilers (Ross 308) using Moringa oleifera seeds powder (MOSP). A total of 160 (one hundred sixty) day old unsexed broiler chicks were assigned into 16 pens of ten chicks each in a completely randomized design. Four experimental iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous diets were supplied ad-libitum. Three experimental diets containing 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0% MOSP and a control MOSP-free diet were used. Feed consumption, weight gain, feed conversion ratio and carcass quality characteristics were recorded for the individual replicate of each dietary treatment. Addition of MOSP up to 1.5% to broiler chicks diet significantly (P<0.05) showed low weight gain, feed efficiency and body weight during starter period. However, during finisher and the whole period supplying broiler chicks’ diet with 0.5% MOSP resulted in significant increase (P<0.05) in feed consumption, but addition of different levels of MOSP showed no significant effects(P>0.05) on weight gain, feed efficiency, final live body weight, dressing percentage, liver weight and heart weight. Reduction in weight gain, feed efficiency and body weight due to addition of 2.0% MOSP to broilers’ diet during starter period may be due to the presence of phytate which acts as an anti-nutritional factor. Hence, the use of MOSP in the broiler diets has enhanced the performance during finisher and the whole period.