Chapters authored
Health Benefits and Functional and Medicinal Properties of Some Common Indian Spices
India is the largest producer and consumer of some important common spices. Major Indian spices include pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric and chilies. Commercial cultivation in India is undertaken on 27 spices besides the herbal spices. Spices and herbs are mostly used as seasonings to impart flavors, pungency, aroma and color in the food. In addition, spices enhances shelf life of the food by preventing and delaying the spoilage and by preserving the sensory attributes of food products. Spices contain several important phytochemicals like aromatic compounds, essential oils, phenolics and pigments which imparts characteristic flavor and aroma and gives a herbal appeal to the food and beverages and enhances their consumer acceptability. In addition the active components of these herbs and spices are endowed with tremendous functional properties and medicinal values providing several health benefits and immunity. The era of Covid-19 has seen spiked consumption of spices and herbs based health drinks and concoctions for providing these health benefits and immunity. The present chapter deals with the characteristics of some important Indian spices, their usages, active components present in them along with exploring their health benefits, functional and immunomodulant properties.
Part of the book: Herbs and Spices
Herbs and Spices Fortified Functional Dairy Products
Recently, an increased interest in exploiting the functional and medicinal health attributes of herbs and spices has been observed worldwide among the health conscious consumers to preserve and promote the health and nutrition and immunity particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic era. Fortification of dairy products with these herbs and spices so as to exploit the functional and medicinal attributes have also gained momentum. Herbs and spices are rich source of bioactive compounds such as anti-oxidants, vitamins, micro- and macro-minerals, phytochemicals like flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, essential oils, coumarin, organic acids, phenols and saponins. Milk and other dairy products have been popular compatible vehicles for delivering functional, nutritional and other health benefits of phytochemicals of herbs and spices among the consumers. This chapter explores the quality and functional attributes of herbs and spices fortified dairy products such as herbal spiked milk, curd and yoghurts, paneer, cheese and ice creams and other dairy products.
Part of the book: Herbs and Spices
Utilization of Agro-Industrial Wastes as Edible Coating and Films for Food Packaging Materials
Mostly, food packaging employs synthetic materials obtained from nonrenewable sources. These packaging materials are based on petrochemicals and cause substantial environmental problems by producing massive amounts of non-biodegradable solid wastes. Edible coatings and films are considered as the potential solution to these problems of non-biodegradable packaging solid wastes for maintaining food-environment interactions, retaining food quality, and extending shelf life. In addition, edible coatings and films offer prevention from microbial spoilage of packed foods by controlling moisture and gas barrier characteristics. Increasing environmental concerns and consumer demands for high-quality eco-friendly packaging have fueled the advancement of innovative packaging technologies, for instance, the development of biodegradable films from renewable agricultural and food processing industry wastes. Therefore, the current chapter presents the application of edible coatings and films as an alternative to conventional packaging, emphasizing the fundamental characterization that these biodegradable packaging should hold for specific applications such as food preservation and shelf life enhancement. The primary employed components (e.g., biopolymers, bioactive, and additives components), manufacturing processes (for edible films or coatings), and their application to specific foods have all been given special consideration in this chapter. Besides, a future vision for the use of edible films and coatings as quality indicators for perishable foods is presented.
Part of the book: A Glance at Food Processing Applications