The present study was carried out to investigate the in vivo betalain content in bract and leaf o... more The present study was carried out to investigate the in vivo betalain content in bract and leaf of some bougainvillea cultivars and to develop a reliable, rapid and efficient callus induction protocol. The maximum betacyanin content in bracts was recorded in the cv. Bhabha (2.68 mg/g FW) followed by cv. Rao (2.40 mg/g FW). The maximum betaxanthin content in bracts was recorded in the cv. Lady Mary Baring (1.27 mg/g FW). The maximum betacyanin content in leaf was recorded in the cv. Dr H B Singh (0.58 mg/g FW), while the maximum betaxanthin content in leaf was recorded in the cv. Bhabha (0.73 mg/g FW). The total betalain content in bract was estimated to be maximum in the cv. Bhabha (3.60 mg/g FW) followed by cv. Rao (3.36 mg/g FW). The total betalain content in leaf was highest in cv. Bhabha followed by cv. Dr R R Pal. Of the different treatments employed for callus induction on Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) medium using leaf explants in bougainvillea cv. Bhabha, the treatment compri...
Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC), 2010
The influence of varied concentrations of sucrose and ammonical (NH 4 ?) nitrogen on in vitro ind... more The influence of varied concentrations of sucrose and ammonical (NH 4 ?) nitrogen on in vitro induction and expression of anthocyanin pigments from Rosa hybrida cv. 'Pusa Ajay' was investigated. Of two explants (petal and leaf discs) selected and cultured under two different conditions (light and dark), leaf discs were found to be most suitable for callus initiation. Profuse and early callus induction was observed when leaf discs of rose were cultured under total dark conditions on solid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 4.0 mg l-1 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Early pigment initiation, enhancement and maximum anthocyanin production from calluses were recorded when leaf discs were cultured on Euphorbia millii (EM) medium supplemented with 7% sucrose compared with calluses cultured at 4% sucrose concentration under 16/8 h (light/dark) photoperiod regime. Reducing the concentration of NH 4 ? nitrogen in the solid MS medium led to slight improvement in anthocyanin production in rose leaf calluses. Keywords Ammonical nitrogen Á EM medium Á Sucrose concentration Á Rosa hybrida Á Anthocyanin pigments Abbreviations 2,4-D 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid ANOVA Analysis of variance EM Euphorbia millii medium FW Fresh weight MS Murashige and Skoog medium NH 4 ?
Recovery of carotenoids and its fractions from marigold flowers as influenced by genotype, grading and stage of harvest
Investigation was carried out to estimate carotenoids and its fractions in six promising genotype... more Investigation was carried out to estimate carotenoids and its fractions in six promising genotypes of African marigold (Tagetes erecta) followed by effect of grading of flowers and harvesting stage on recovery of total carotenoids and its fractions, i.e. carotene, mono-hydroxy pigment (MHP) and di-hydroxy pigment (DHP) including dry matter and moisture content. The flowers from each genotype were harvested at two different stages, i.e. half-bloom and full-bloom. Half-bloom flowers contain more amount of pigment than full-bloom in all the genotypes. However, Pusa Narangi Gainda showed maximum recovery of total carotenoids and di-hydroxy pigment, while Selection-19 and Selection-22 had the maximum carotene and mono-hydroxy pigment respectively at half bloom stage. Large flower gave maximum recovery of pigments than small flowers in all the genotypes. Maximum recovery of total carotenoids and DHP was found in Pusa Narangi Gainda.
French beans, carrots, peas, and bitter-gourd were blanc hed conventi onall y and in mi crowave r... more French beans, carrots, peas, and bitter-gourd were blanc hed conventi onall y and in mi crowave ror different dura tions. Lipoxygenase and peroxidase were taken as indicator enzymes to test the adequacy orblanc hin g. Lipoxygenase was fo un d to be more heat stable th an perox idase. Quality retention of processed vegetables was round to be hi ghest in microwave blanched products. Res ults sugges t th at th e use of peroxidase is to be co ntinued as indicator enzy me, instead or li poxygenase, as sugges ted by some recent research.
In this study, we investigated the impact of harvest maturity stages and contrasting growing clim... more In this study, we investigated the impact of harvest maturity stages and contrasting growing climates on secondary metabolites in Kinnow mandarin. Fruit samples were harvested at six harvest maturity stages (M1–M6) from two distinct growing locations falling under subtropical–arid (STA) and subtropical–humid (STH) climates. A high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) technique was employed to identify and quantify secondary metabolites in the fruit juice. A total of 31 polyphenolics and 4 limonoids, with significant differences (p < 0.05) in their concentration, were determined. With advancing maturity, phenolic acids and antioxidant activity were found to increase, whereas flavonoids and limonoids decreased in concentration. There was a transient increase in the concentration of some polyphenolics such as hesperidin, naringin, narirutin, naringenin, neoeriocitrin, rutin, nobiletin and tangeretin, and limonoid aglycones such as limonin and nomil...
Nutrient management practices play a significant role in improving the nutritional quality of tom... more Nutrient management practices play a significant role in improving the nutritional quality of tomato. The present study deals with the evaluation of compost prepared using Effective Microorganisms (EM), on antioxidant and defense enzyme activities of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). A field experiment with five treatments (control, chemical fertilizer and EM compost alone and in combination) was conducted in randomized block design. An increment of 31.83% in tomato yield was recorded with the combined use of EM compost and half recommended dose of chemical fertilizers (N 50 P 30 K 25 + EM compost at the rate of 5 t ha À1). Similarly, fruit quality was improved in terms of lycopene content (35.52%), antioxidant activity (24-63%) and defense enzymes activity (11-54%), in tomatoes in this treatment as compared to the application of recommended dose of fertilizers. Soil microbiological parameters also exhibited an increase of 7-31% in the enzyme activities in this treatment. Significant correlation among fruit quality parameters with soil microbiological activities reveals the positive impact of EM compost which may be adopted as an eco-friendly strategy for production of high quality edible products.
Indian jujube (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk), an indigenous fruit crop of India has been widely used ... more Indian jujube (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk), an indigenous fruit crop of India has been widely used in traditional medicine for treating various kinds of diseases. Chinese jujube has been studied; however systematic study on Indian jujube is lacking. In this work, 12 commercial cultivars of Z. mauritiana were evaluated for their ascorbic acid (AA), total phenolics (TPH), flavonoids (TF), and total antioxidant activity (AOX). Results indicate that Indian jujube is a good source of ascorbic acid and total phenolics ranging from 19.54 to 99.49 mg/100 g and 172 to 328.6 mg GAE/100 g, respectively. Total AOX ranged from 7.41 to 13.93 and 8.01 to 15.13 lmol Trolox/g in FRAP and CUPRAC, respectively. Principal component analysis was performed to find a linear combination of the functional attributes which would account for most of the variance
Quality and viscosity of tomato juice is strongly governed by mechanical and thermal abuse during... more Quality and viscosity of tomato juice is strongly governed by mechanical and thermal abuse during processing. The effect of processing and storage duration on the viscosity and quality parameters of tomato juice was evaluated in the present work. Tomato juice was obtained by two different methods, normal method (NM) and variable method (VM), and was heated by both conventional and microwave hot break treatments. Tomato juice was evaluated for various quality characteristics including precipitate weight ratio, degree of serum separation (DOSS), Brookfield viscosity, lycopene levels, vitamin C, phenols and antioxidant activity. Changes observed in several quality parameters during storage were statistically insignificant. The methods and processing had the greatest contribution toward viscosity, whereas storage duration had no significant effects. Viscosity parameters viz precipitate weight, DOSS and Bostwick consistency revealed that juice processed by VM was more viscous than that of NM, irrespective of the hot break processing used. Ascorbic acid and lycopene content varied significantly with mechanical methods and processing conditions. However, phenolic content and antioxidant activity remained stable. The variable process represents an improvement over the conventional by enabling tomato processors to improve the consistency of the tomato product.
A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed for the quantitative determination of... more A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed for the quantitative determination of capsaicinoids, vitamin E, and phytosterols in chili peppers using a simple extraction technique for rapid screening. These components were extracted with acetonitrile and were injected into gas chromatography attached with mass spectrometry. The mean recovery values for triplicate analysis were between 90.6-99.7%. Besides major capsaicinoids (capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin), four more minor capsaicinoids (nonivamide, nornordihydrocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin I and II) were detected in chili samples. α-Tocopherol was also detected in the same run along with three phytosterols (campesterol, γ-sitosterol, and stigmasterol). Variations were observed across the chili sample in all of the constituents except a few minor capsaicinoids. The method was suitable for simultaneous estimation of capsaicinoids, vitamin E, and phytosterols in a single run from any types of pepper. Thus, the method is effective for rapid screening of peppers for its nutraceutical composition using single solvent extraction.
Effect of different browning inhibitors like ascorbic acid (AA), 4-hexylresorcinol (HR) and banan... more Effect of different browning inhibitors like ascorbic acid (AA), 4-hexylresorcinol (HR) and banana leaf extract (BLE) either alone or in different combinations was studied on apples, mushrooms, and potatoes. The results were compared with the samples treated with sulphites which are banned because of their toxic effects. A mixture of HR. AA and BLE significantly inhibited the enzymatic browning during storage at 4"C. Similar decrease in polyphenol oxidase activity was also observed. The colour and texture of treated samples were closer to the fresh samples. Total viable microbial, yeast, and mould counts were also reduced. Overall performance of this formulation was found to be better than that of sulphites.
Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is a nutritious fruit, rich in bioactive compounds, known for their... more Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is a nutritious fruit, rich in bioactive compounds, known for their health benefits. The present study attempts to evaluate nutritional (sugars, organic acids, minerals) and nutraceutical traits (total phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids, antioxidant activity) of six commercial apricot genotypes grown in India. Antioxidant activity was determined using three in-vitro assays, namely CUPRAC (cupric reducing antioxidant capacity), FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl). Significant (p < 0.05) differences were observed in the genotypes concerning nutritional and nutraceutical traits. Sucrose accounted for more than 60% of total sugars in most genotypes, followed by glucose and fructose. Citric acid accounted for more than 50% of the total organic acids present, followed by malic and succinic acids. Apricot is a good source of potassium (1430.07 to 2202.69 mg/100 g dwb) and iron (2.69 to 6.97 mg/100 g dwb) owing ...
Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 2009
Fourteen commercial cultivars of tomato were analyzed for their antioxidant composition. There wa... more Fourteen commercial cultivars of tomato were analyzed for their antioxidant composition. There was significant difference (p<0.05) in lycopene and phenolic contents between red and yellow cultivars. Red cultivars had higher lycopene content (2.735 to 6.552 mg 100g-1) than yellow cultivars (0.769 to 1.238 mg 100g-1). Mean total polyphenolic content and total antioxidant activity in red cultivars was also higher than those in yellow cultivars. Overall cherry tomatoes had highest phenolic content and appeared to be a promising cultivar in terms of their health promoting effects. The results highlight an existing unexploited variability in yellow tomato to improve their antioxidant properties.
Ten commercial and three exotic/wild cultivars (cvs) grown under Indian conditions were analyzed ... more Ten commercial and three exotic/wild cultivars (cvs) grown under Indian conditions were analyzed for variations in lycopene, b-carotene, total phenolics, quercetin, ascorbic acid and antioxidant activity (AOX). AOX was measured using three in vitro assays namely ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays. The lycopene content in tomato cvs ranged from 4.31 to 5.97 mg/100 g fw. The wild/exotic cvs had exceptionally high total phenolic content (141.98 mg/100 g fw), quercetin (56 mg/g fw) and total AOX (5.39 mmol TE/g fw). Solanum pimpinellifolium, with nearly six times lycopene content than commercial cvs, may serve as the most desirable gene pool in breeding programmes to develop functional tomatoes. Results suggest that TEAC may be more useful than DPPH assay for detecting total AOX in tomatoes.
International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2001
Some of the most exciting research in the last decade has been the discovery of a group of nutrie... more Some of the most exciting research in the last decade has been the discovery of a group of nutrients, which have protective eects against cell oxidation. These naturally occurring compounds impart bright colour to fruits and vegetables and act as antioxidants in the body by scavenging harmful free radicals, which are implicated in most degenerative diseases. Epidemiological studies have established a positive correlation between the intake of fruits and vegetables and prevention of diseases like atheroscelerosis, cancer, diabetes, arthritis and also ageing. So pronounced has been their eect on ageing that they have been called`fountains of youth'. Fruits and vegetables have thus had conferred on them the status of`functional foods', capable of promoting good health and preventing or alleviating diseases. Phenolic¯avonoids, lycopene, carotenoids and glucosinolates are among the most thoroughly studied antioxidants. The present review highlights the potential of fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants, their health bene®ts and the eect of processing on the bioavailability of these nutrients. The paper also reviews some of the important methods used to determine the antioxidant activity.
The present study compares three methods viz. microwave assisted extraction (MAE), ultrasonic-ass... more The present study compares three methods viz. microwave assisted extraction (MAE), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) and conventional solvent extraction (CSE) for extraction of phenolic compounds from black carrot pomace (BCP). BCP is the major by-product generated during processing and poses big disposal problem. Box-Behnken design using response surface methodology was employed to investigate and optimize the MAE of phenolics, antioxidant activity and colour density from BCP. The conditions for maximum recovery of polyphenolics were: microwave power (348.07 W), extraction time (9.8 min), solvent-solid ratio (19.3 mL/g) and ethanol concentration (19.8%). Under these conditions, the extract contained total phenolic content of 264.9 ± 10.02 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 mL, antioxidant capacity (AOC) of 13.14 ± 1.05 lmol Trolox equivalents (TE)/mL and colour density of 68.63 ± 5.40 units. The total anthocyanin content at optimized condition was 753.40 ± 31.6 mg/L with low % polymeric colour of 7.40 ± 0.42. At optimized conditions, MAE yielded higher colour density (68.63 ± 5.40), polyphenolic content (264.9 ± 10.025 mg GAE/100 mL) and AOC (13.14 ± 1.05 lmol TE/mL) in a short time as compared to UAE and CSE. Overall results clearly indicate that MAE is the best suited method for extraction in comparison to UAE and CSE. The phenolic rich extract can be used as an effective functional ingredient in foods.
Black carrot, a potential source of anthocyanin pigment, has high antioxidant activity. The effec... more Black carrot, a potential source of anthocyanin pigment, has high antioxidant activity. The effect of pre-press maceration treatment with different doses of cell wall degrading enzyme pectinase (Aspergillus niger Teigh) on antioxidant composition of black carrot juice was investigated. Enzyme-assisted processing significantly (p<0.05) improved the antioxidant composition of black carrot juice. There was an overall increase of 33% in juice
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