Although the seeds of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) are widely used as a spice for their distinctive aroma, they are also commonly used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of diseases. The literature presents ample evidence for the biomedical activities of cumin, which have generally been ascribed to its bioactive constituents such as terpenes, phenols, and flavonoids. Those health effects of cumin seeds that are experimentally validated are discussed in this review. Black seeds (Nigella sativa), which are totally unrelated to C. cyminum, have nevertheless taken the name ‘Black cumin’ and used in traditional systems of medicine for many disorders. Numerous pre-clinical and clinical trials have investigated its efficacy using the seed oil, essential oil, and its main constituent thymoquinone (TQ). These investigations support its use either independently or as an adjunct along with conventional drugs in respiratory problems, allergic rhinitis, dyspepsia, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, inflammatory diseases, and different types of human cancer. Multiple studies made in the last decades validate its health beneficial effects particularly in diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, respiratory disorders, inflammatory diseases, and cancer. Nigella sativa seeds also possess immune stimulatory, gastroprotective, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, and neuroprotective activities. TQ is the most abundant constituent of volatile oil of N. sativa seeds, and most of the medicinal properties of N. sativa are attributed mainly to TQ. All the available evidence suggests that TQ should be developed as a novel drug in clinical trials.

Although unconventional in the USA, entomophagy, or the practice of consuming insects, can provide a nutritious relief to many malnourished people in developing countries. Edible insects are part of numerous traditional diets found in over 113 countries, including those in Asia, Africa, and South America. Currently, there are 2 billion people consuming over 2000 recorded edible insects. Many of these worldwide insects contain amounts of protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals comparable to commonly eaten livestock. With the popularity of crickets in both developing and developed countries and the nutrient density of locusts, these insects were of particular interest. Rice flour, made from a major food crop around the world, was used as an effective vehicle to deliver these insect ingredients. The use of inexpensive single-screw cold-forming extrusion technology, due to its capability of high production rate yet low capital and operating costs, was employed in making insect-fortified products. The feasibility of incorporating edible insect flours from cricket and locust in an extruded rice product has been demonstrated to be successful with acceptable shelf stability and sensory characteristics. Nutritionally, the insect rice products developed were energy dense (high fat content) and as an excellent source of protein. They also contained considerable amounts of dietary fibre and iron. Sensory evaluations involving 120 untrained panelists–suggested cricket formulations were well accepted compared with locust formulations. There is a positive outlook on the overall acceptance of entomphagy even in developed countries. As a staple food providing 20% of the world’s dietary energy and consumed by over 1 billion people, rice is an ideal vehicle to deliver nutrients carried by edible insects. The incorporation of insect flours in processed foods such as extruded rice products can greatly promote the consumer acceptance by disguising the ‘yuck’ factor associated with intact insects.

Diet and nutrition are crucial factors throughout the complete life course in the promotion and upholding of good health. It has always been accepted that our defencelessness to infection and disease was influenced by diet and environmental as well as genetic factors. Nutrition is coming to the front position as a principle modifiable determinant of chronic disease, with scientific confirmation with time more supporting the view that alterations in diet have strong effects, equally positive as well as negative, on health throughout life. For the most part notably, nutritional adjustments may not only influence present health but also determine whether or not an individual will develop chronic non-communicable diseases like cancer. Diet is a blend of protective, mutagenic, and carcinogenic agents; the majority of them are metabolized by the enzymes of biotransformation process. Genetic polymorphisms that alter protein expression or else the function of these enzymes can change the risk of developing cancer. The scientific community has identified numerous naturally occurring materials in plant food with the power to resolve possible carcinogens. A few of these nutrients and natural phytochemicals look for toxins and usher them from the body before they can cause cell damage that may lead to cancer. Others give the impression to make it easier for the body to make repairs at the cellular level. At a standstill, others may help bring to an end cancer cells from reproducing. Even after a cell begins to experience damage that can lead to cancer, what you eat and drink, and how you live can still help short-circuit the cancer process. It is thought that a diet containing defensive micronutrients as well as carcinogens and mutagens may adapt the risk of cancer development, particularly in genetically susceptible individuals.

Materials and Methods: Lettuce samples (grown in California, Arkansas, and Louisiana) were purchased from retail stores.

Conclusion: The present study reports the highest prevalence of toxigenic C. difficile in US retail lettuce. The antibiotic resistance to metronidazole, vancomycin, and erythromycin of the isolated C. difficile from retail lettuces could lead to public health concerns.

Objectives
Investigating the element profiles of Be, Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Ag, Cd, Cs, La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Pb, Th, and U of Baijiu (Chinese liquors), and setting up their classification according to geographical origin.
Materials and Methods
Twenty-eight Chinese liquors from Shandong, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with the aid of matrix matching, online internal calibration, and direct injection to determine the concentrations of the aforementioned 26 elements. Multivariate statistical analysis, based on the contents of elements in the liquors, was applied to differentiate the liquors from different origins.
Results
Both the cluster analysis based on 11 elements and the discriminant analysis based on 5 elements can separate the liquors of Shandong Province from others. A leave-one-out cross test of the discriminant analysis data resulted in 100 per cent accuracy regarding the recognition ability and prediction ability for the liquors from Shandong Province, and an overall 75.0 per cent accuracy of its prediction for all the 28 total liquors.
Limitations
The liquors of Guizhou and Sichuan provinces can not be differentiated successfully.
Conclusions
The liquors produced in Shandong Province can be differentiated in a great extent from Guizhou and Sichuan provinces based on the multivariate statistical analysis of the concentration of elements in liquors, while those of Guizhou and Sichuan provinces can not be differentiated successfully due to their geographical adjacency.

Objectives
Thermal processes, such as refining and frying, result in the formation of trans fatty acids (TFAs) in edible oils or fats. Concerning the detrimental effect of TFAs on human health, milk fat samples of cow, buffalo, and goat are collected in order to elucidate TFAs accumulation during thermal processing.
Methods
The increased amount of TFAs due to heating is analyzed by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy in conjunction with second-derivative treatment and gas chromatographic (GC) analysis.
Results
The total amount of TFAs has been increased from 7.71 to 8.25 per cent for cow milk fat, 7.12 to 7.82 per cent for buffalo milk fat, and from 6.82 to 7.61 per cent for goat milk fat on heating the samples to 125°C–175°C as predicted by GC.
Conclusions
Local food products fried in these milk fats are hence very harmful to human health. These results demonstrate that thermally induced TFAs in milk fats are closely related to the process temperature and time, which should be considered to reduce the formation of TFAs during thermal treatment.