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The study was aimed to explore the potential impact of microwave heating (450 W for 2, 4, 6 and 8 min) on antioxidant activity, anti-nutritional factors, volatile and phenolic compounds of the plum kernels.

Plum kernels are rich in proteins, lipids and bioactive compounds that are mostly underused and undervalued.

The results showed that microwave heating at 450 W for 6 min significantly (p < 0.05) increased the antioxidant activity, total phenolic and flavonoid content, while the longer treatment time (450 W for 8 min) adversely affected the phenolic compounds. Most importantly, the anti-nutritional factors like amygdalin, hydrocyanic acid, phytic acid and tannin content were reduced up to 87.1, 84.7, 20.9 and 46.2%, respectively at 450 W for 6 min treatment conditions, which was confirmed from the larger shifts observed in FT-IR spectra near 1,157 cm⁻¹. Microwave heating at 450 W for 6 min also proved beneficial in improving the bioavailability of volatile and phenolic compounds including chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, syringic acid, (+)-catechin, caffeic acid, ß-carotene, trans-ferulic acid, rutin trihydrate, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, tannic acid and quercetin by liberating them from the plant matrix.

The results thus indicate that controlled microwave heating could be an effective approach for the reduction of anti-nutritional factors besides leading to an overall improvement in antioxidant potential and volatile and phenolic compounds. This novel technological approach can proliferate the use of plum kernels in different diversified food formulations.

In the matter of food purity and control Hospital Catering Services have been outside the law, a privileged position where the general law of food and drugs have never applied and the modern regulatory control in food hygiene has similarly not applied. In the eyes of the general public hospital catering standards have always been high above the general run of food preparation. As the NHS continued, complaints began gradually to seep out of the closed community, of dirt in the kitchens and prevalent hygiene malpractices. The general standard for most hospitals remained high but there were no means of dealing with the small minority of complaints which disgusted patients and non‐cater‐ing staff, such as insect and rodent infestations, and an increase in the frequency of food poisoning outbreaks.

The health-promoting phytochemicals such as phenolic compounds and flavonoids present in nonfatty portion of pecan nut remain overlooked. The present study aimed to evaluate the nutritional and antinutritional/phytochemical constituents of pecan nut and its effect (as a whole nut flour) on the blood lipid profile in the rat model.

The nutritional composition as well as phytochemicals were evaluated by using standard chemical methods. A controlled randomized study was conducted to assess the hypocholesterolemic effect of nut supplementation in male Wistar albino rats.

Phytochemicals/antinutrients analysis exhibited remarkable amount of phenolic compounds (47.05 ± 9.85–302.67 ± 7.72 mg GAE/100 g) and flavonoids (44.95 ± 0.23 mg/100 g) with low trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) (1.18 ± 0.03 TIU/mg), saponins (0.49 ± 0.04 g/100 g), alkaloids (0.26 ± 0.03 mg/100 g), phytic acid (854.75 ± 15.47) and oxalates (8.15 ± 0.58 mg/100 g) content. Kernel oil showed 2.87 ± 0.75 meq O₂/kg oil peroxide value (PV), well below the maximum permissible limit, demonstrating good oxidative stability of pecan oil. Pecan nut-supplemented diet exhibited a favorable alteration in the blood lipid profile by decreasing total cholesterol (TC) (from 85.42 ± 1.62–229.23 ± 3.43 to 72.24 ± 1.39–106.10 ± 1.69 mg/dl) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (from 64.02 ± 1.96–199.07 ± 4.40 to 38.73 ± 0.79–55.48 ± 1.69 mg/dl) and increasing high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (from 8.70 ± 0.85–9.64 ± 1.10 to 20.25 ± 0.65–24.96 ± 0.56 mg/dl) when compared with control (CC).

This information would be further useful for assessing the biological quality of pecan nut as well as developing value-added food products by exploiting deoiled pecan protein concentrates.

Pecan nut is a rich source of traditional nutrients and phytochemicals and can be recommended to patients with hypercholesterolemia and related cardiovascular diseases.

In a general paper on the internal corrosion of tinplate cans by the fruit and vegetables packed in them, the author has already explained the chemical, physical and biochemical principles that may be involved. Since that paper was written there have been a number of developments which make it desirable to modify or expand some of the explanations given.

The war against tuberculosis, which has been commenced under the auspices of HIS MAJESTY THE KING, if energetically prosecuted, must in the end result in placing that dread disease under a control similar to that which, among the more enlightened nations, is being gradually but surely established over many of the preventible diseases which have been the scourges of the human race. The establishment of Sanatoria, and the great extension of the more rational and scientific methods of treatment which the existence of such institutions will of necessity bring about, should lead to the saving of the lives of great numbers of sufferers who, under the old conditions, would have drifted inevitably to death. Cure is good, but prevention is better than cure, and it must not be thought that the war can be successfully carried on upon curative lines alone. It is now well known that there is a special predilection or idiosyncrasy in those who are attacked by tuberculosis; and, while relaxing no efforts to find and apply curative measures, attention to such enormously important factors as the nature and quality of the food supply and general hygienic conditions, must be fully maintained. A far more effective control than that which at present exists must be established over the milk and meat supplies of the people, so that the ingestion of the poison by those who are specially susceptible may as far as possible be prevented. Particularly will it be necessary to ensure that the supplies of milk and other food to the Sanatoria which are to be established shall be uninfected, and that they shall also be pure and of good quality. At the present time those terms are certainly not generally applicable to the supplies of most of our hospitals and large institutions, and it should be one of the first duties of those who will be concerned in the management of the new Sanatoria to see that no exception can be taken to the food supplied to the inmates.

At the commencement of this decade, leaving behind the “striking seventies”, we christened it the “anxious eighties”, for there was a profound disquiet and uncertainty among most of the population, a fear that things were going to get worse, but they could have hardly expected the catastrophic events of the year 1981. The criteria of quality of life are its richness, grace, elegance; by the promise it contains; inspiration and purpose, hope, determination (to survive, to make certain that the evildoer is not permitted to succeed), love of one's country — pro patria, of other days.

The demand for functional foods has been increasing tremendously throughout the globe and keeping in view the health beneficial properties of apricot fruit. The purpose of this study is to develop wheat flour based cookies enriched with apricot pulp powder in order to improve nutraceutical properties of cookies and dilution of gluten at the same time.

Cookies were prepared from wheat flour blended with apricot pulp powder at 0, 10, 15, 20 and 25% level and evaluated for proximate, functional, rheological, nutraceutical and sensory properties.

Fibre content of apricot powder-incorporated cookies (3.23%) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher at 25% level than control (1.64%). The water absorption and oil absorption capacities decreased significantly (p < 0.05) upon increasing level of apricot pulp powder. The ß-carotene content, antioxidant activity and total phenolic content increased significantly (p < 0.05) upon incorporation of apricot pulp powder. The thickness of cookies increased, however, diameter and spread ratio decreased with increase in the levels of apricot pulp powder. Lightness (L*) value decreased, while redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) increased when incorporated with apricot pulp powder. Cookies having 25% apricot pulp powder showed maximum hardness and overall acceptability.

To the best of our knowledge, the scientific literature on incorporation of apricot pulp powder in bakery products is scanty. As such the present research has a tremendous scope for the food industries to produce functional bakery products with antioxidant properties and diluted the gluten content at the same time.