Aflatoxins and fumonisins contaminate cereals during pre- and post-harvest periods. In this study, household or market maize, sorghum, millet, cow or goat milk, and animal feed samples collected from two counties (Makueni and Nandi) of Kenya and were analyzed for aflatoxins and fumonisins using competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmation with high performance liquid chromatography. There was a significant difference (P < 0.005) in the levels of aflatoxins between the home grown and market-sourced maize, sorghum, and millet samples. In Makueni, 24.8% of home maize and 44.6% of the market maize samples exceeded the 10 ppb limit for aflatoxins. In all, 93% and 90% of the maize samples were contaminated with fumonisins and 34% and 6% exceeded the 2 ppm limit in Makueni and Nandi, respectively; 30% and 37% of homegrown sorghum and millet samples exceeded the 10 ppb limit for aflatoxin in Makueni and Nandi, respectively; and 89% and 81% of homegrown millet samples in Makueni and Nandi, respectively, were positive for fumonisins and 22% and 7% in Makueni and Nandi, respectively, exceeded the 2 ppm fumonisins limit. In total, 52% and 87% of the milk samples in Nandi and Makueni, respectively, were contaminated with aflatoxin M1 and 8% of the samples from Makueni exceeded the 50 ppt limit. There is an urgent need to build capacity among the households on cheap, practical, and effective technologies that would reduce the proportions of food samples contaminated with aflatoxins and fumonisins.

MATERIALS AND METHOD: A large body of peer-reviewed articles, most of them indexed in PubMed, were consulted for the purpose of the present review.

CONCLUSION: The overarching conclusion from the reviewed publications is the validation of most of the ethnomedical uses of these spices. The authors hope that this concise presentation on these spices will guide subsequent research in this field.

The demand for processed foods and the awareness about food quality and safety are increasing rapidly. The consumers’ demand for minimally processed foods and growing competition in the market have made the processors to adopt newer non-thermal technologies that preserve nutrients and sensory properties of the products. Conventionally, heat processing of foods is carried out to convert raw material into value-added product, reduce or eliminate microbial load to improve safety, and extend shelf life. Some of the limitations of thermal processing techniques can be overcome by employing non-thermal processes. High hydrostatic pressure, pulsed electric field, ultrasound, cold plasma, dense phase carbon dioxide, ozone, and pulsed light (PL) processing are gaining popularity in food processing. PL technology is a non-thermal technology, where sterilization and decontamination are achieved by impinging high-intensity light pulses of short durations on surfaces of foods and high-transmission liquids. Although a few reports on the PL technology are available, in-depth studies on this are needed to adopt at a commercial level. The present review provides an overview of light-based processing of foods and covers important aspects such as different PL systems used for processing of foods, mode of action of PL on microbes, the effect of PL on liquid foods, surface decontamination of foods and parameters that affect PL efficacy, combination processing with PL. With the growing demand in non-thermal processing for the technological advancement in the area of generation of light, light-based processing will be a promising technology for microbial load reduction.

OBJECTIVES: The days and weeks following childbirth, the postpartum period, is a critical phase in the lives of mothers and newborn babies due to risk of postpartum complications associated with mother. Ethnomedicinal plants have been used judiciously during pregnancy to assist childbirth and for postpartum care in various ethnic communities around the world. They are extensively used for prophylaxis and management of postpartum complications in the Jodhpur District of Rajasthan, India. The aim of this study was to document use of such ethnomedicinal plants.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Survey was conducted to document the use of ethnomedicinal plants. The selected plants were searched for reports on their pharmacological activities on Scopus and Google scholar.

RESULTS: Use of eighteen ethnomedicinal plants was documented for the prophylaxis and management of postpartum complications from local community.

CONCLUSIONS: Zingiber officinale, Asparagus racemosus, Trapa natans, Acacia senegal, Trachyspermum ammi, Piper longum, and Symplocos racemosa possessing galactagogue, uterine tonic, diuretic, antiemetic, and wound healing activity were found to be most commonly used ethnomedicinal plants.

The study revealed the safety of Dennettia tripetala seed on man and the environment. Adult male rats weighing 0.158–0.168 kg housed in standard cages with free access to food and water were used for the experiments. The median lethal dose (LD₅₀) was estimated using revised up and down procedure. The LD₅₀ for D. tripetala seed extract was 5785 mg/kg and this evoked paralysis in rats for 4 days coupled with discharge from the eyes and eventual death. The least weight gain by the animals administered 75% seed powder of D. tripetala (4338.75 mg/kg) was an index of high powder concentration, whereas the weight loss experienced by group V animals is strongly attributed to chemical assault by permethrin designated as a standard insecticide. The high values of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and urea in the groups administered 75% permethrin powder (4338.75 mg/kg) and 75% D. tripetala seed powder is an index of liver and kidney injury and dysfunction. The presence of normal serum levels of ALT, AST, alkaline phosphatase, and creatinine; normal liver and kidney structures; and normal weight gains in the animal groups fed basal diet (control) and basal diet plus 25% D. tripetala is a strong indication that 25% D. tripetala seed powder (1446.25 mg/kg) supplementation is not toxic to the liver and kidney and therefore supports normal organ functions. The LD₅₀ recorded strongly indicates that D. tripetala has a moderately high safety margin. Supplementation of less than 50% (2892.5 mg/kg) is recommended in the safe use of the plant material as grain protectant, food, and medicine. The botanical insecticide, D. tripetala, is safer than the conventional synthetic insecticide, permethrin, on account of the latter showing evidence of kidney damage.

This study analyses the effect of browning through image analysis based on colour and textural features in fresh-cut apple slices. A computer vision system (CVS) was developed for image acquisition, which consisted of a digital camera and a florescent lamp source for illumination with a contrasting background. The CVS was calibrated using standard colour values and a model was developed by artificial neural network technique. Three varieties of apples such as Honey crisp, Granny Smith, and Golden Delicious were used for the analysis. The apples were freshly cut and subjected to image acquisition. Normalized colour features (L*, browning index, hue, and colour change) and textural features (entropy, contrast, and homogeneity) were analysed from the acquired images. The varieties Honey Crisp and Granny Smith did undergo browning within 120 min, whereas Golden delicious did not brown significantly. The study concluded that colour and textural features were important decision features for detecting browning in apples through image analysis.