Curcumin is one of the most common spices worldwide. It has potential benefits, but its poor solubility and bioavailability have restricted its application. To overcome these problems, this study aimed to assess the efficacy of sodium caseinate (SC), α-lactalbumin (α-La), β-lactoglobulin (β-lg), whey protein concentrate (WPC) and whey protein isolate (WPI) as nanocarriers of curcumin. Furthermore, the antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial activities of the formed nanoparticles were examined. The physicochemical characteristics of the formed nanoparticles as well as the entrapment efficiency (%) and the in vitro behavior regarding the release of curcumin (%) were examined. The results showed that the formation of curcumin–milk protein nanoparticles enhanced both the entrapment efficiency and the in vitro behavior release of curcumin (%). Cur/β-lg nanoparticles had the highest antioxidant activity, while SC and WPC nanoparticles had the highest anticancer effect. The antimicrobial activity of the formed nanoparticles was much higher compared to curcumin and the native milk proteins.

Agro-industrial wastes have emerged as a significant source of bioactive compounds. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using nano-powders of some fruit wastes, namely; apricot (Prunus sp.) and peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) kernels, watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) rind and banana (Musa spp.) peel as functional ingredients (0.5%) in stirred yoghurt, as well as their effect on the antioxidant activity, quality characteristics, viability of yoghurt starter culture and sensory attributes. Results revealed that the fortification process significantly (P < 0.05) elevated the total solids, fat, protein and ash contents, especially with apricot and peach kernels (AK and PK), which distinctly increased fat by average values of 3.46 and 3.40%, and protein by 3.70 and 3.68% during storage compared to control (3.12 and 3.57%), respectively. The addition of watermelon rind (WMR) increased the titratable acidity (0.97%) and viscosity (463.59 cP) with a significant reduction of syneresis (16.38%), increased the total viable count of starter culture, acetaldehyde and diacetyl contents (167.10 and 18.82 mg/100 g) in yoghurt, followed by banana peel (BP). Stirred yoghurt fortified with BP nano-powder had the highest total phenolic content (20.96 mg gallic acid/g) and DPPH scavenging activity (31.93%) as average values during storage compared to the other nano-fruit wastes. Sensory attributes of stirred yoghurt were improved with the addition of WMR and BP during storage periods, compared to those fortified with AK and PK. All the nano-powders of the studied fruit wastes constitute excellent raw materials for the development of novel functional stirred yoghurt.

Food production, processing and consumption generate enormous volumes of wastes - byproducts that cause environmental and economical negative effects. These wastes are considered an inexpensive source of bioactive components that can be used as functional ingredients in the food and dairy sectors. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional value, antioxidant and anticancer activities of apricot (Prunus sp.) and peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) kernels (AK & PK), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) rind (WMR) and banana (Musa spp.) peel (BP) in native and nano-powder form.The results revealed that AK and PK are rich sources of fat and protein while WMR and BP had the highest carbohydrate, ash and dietary fiber content. All tested wastes had variable concentrations of major and minor elements. AK and PK had significant amounts of oleic and linoleic acids, while WMR and BP had significant amounts of palmitic, stearic, linoleic, and linolenic acids. All samples contained high concentrations of aspartic and glutamic acids, arginine, leucine and lysine.BP and WMR are characterized by their higher phenolic and flavonoids contents, antioxidant effect and high cytotoxic effect against human liver cancer HepG2. Nano-powder of all the tested wastes had significantly higher solubility index (%), antioxidant and anticancer effects.

The goal of this study was to assess the efficacy of garden cress (GCO) and jojoba (JO) oils compared to butylated hydroxyl anisole (BHA) to extend ghee shelf-life under accelerated conditions (80°C). Both oils were added individually to ghee at concentrations of 100, 200, and 300 ppm while BHA was added at 200 ppm. Oils were examined for some chemical properties as well as their phenolic components while ghee samples either incorporated with BHA or both oils were examined for their free fatty acids, peroxide value, thiobarbituric acid, conjugated dienes, and radical scavenging activity (%) during storage at 80°C. JO had a high content of vanillin, benzoic acid, cinnamic acid, and kaempferol compared to GCO. Both oils exhibited varying antioxidant potential. Statistically, ghee incorporated with BHA had the highest significant differences in antioxidant activity followed by JO (200 - 300 ppm) and GCO (300 ppm) which have proven to be effective in delaying the undesirable changes in the ghee. Overall, jojoba oil followed by garden cress oil offer a promising option as alternatives of synthetic antioxidants to extend ghee shelf-life under accelerated conditions.