The increasing use of pesticides for boosting the yield of agricultural crops also impart toxic residues which ultimately extend to numerous physiological disorders upon consumption. The present study was designed as an effort to assess the reduction potential of various chemical solutions and to minimize the pesticide residues in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis). The samples were soaked in various solutions along with tap water to mitigate pesticide residues. Afterwards, the extracted supernatant was passed through column containing anhydrous sodium sulfate trailed by activated carbon for clean-up. Eluents were first evaporated and then completely dried under gentle stream of Nitrogen. Finally, the residues were determined using gas chromatography equipped with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). Results revealed the highest reduction of endosulfan, bifenthrin and cypermethrin residues with acetic acid (10 %) was 1.133 ± 0.007 (41 %), 0.870 ± 0.022 (60 %) and 0.403 ± 0.003 (75 %), respectively among the tested solutions. However, simple tap water treatment also resulted in 0.990 ± 0.02 (12 %), 1.323 ± 0.015 (14 %) and 1.274 ± 0.002 (21 %) elimination of endosulfan, bifenthrin and cypermethrin residues, respectively. Moreover, among various solutions, acetic acid depicted maximum reduction potential followed by citric acid, hydrogen peroxide, sodium chloride and sodium carbonate solutions. The percent reduction by various solutions ranged from 12 to 41, 14 to 60 and 21 to 75 % for the elimination of endosulfan, bifenthrin and cypermethrin residues, respectively.

Lactoferrin, a multifunctional glycoprotein, occurring as awhey constitute in milk secretions of animals and humandisplays a variety of antimicrobial, antioxidant and immunomodulatory as well as a number of other biological functions. Its potential can be exploited in several food applications. Keeping in view the increased demand of natural antimicrobial agents to control prevalence of food borne pathogens in final packaged food products as well as for food preservation/ biocontrol, this study was designed to isolate lactoferrin from milk of camel. Cation exchange resin (CM-Sephadex C-25) was used for the isolation of lactoferrin using the fast protein liquid chromatography. The lactoferrin was further characterized through sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Disc diffusion method was applied for the evaluation of antibacterial activity of lactoferrin. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of lactoferrin was determined by 96-well plate method using ELISA reader. Results depicted that CM-Sephadex C-25 was a good cation exchanger for recovery of lactoferrin. Camel raw milk produced 2.4 mg/mL of lactoferrin. The lactoferrin isolated from camel milk exhibited promising antibacterial activity against E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Concentration of lactoferrin i.e. 4,000 ppm (4 mg/mL) showed the best results against both the pathogens. The E. coli was more susceptible to inhibition than S. aureusin disc diffusion assay. The MIC of lactoferrin was found to be 0.5 mg/mL for E. coli and 0.2 mg/mL for S. aureus.

Rice has been a dietary staple for centuries, providing vital nutrients to the human body. Brown rice is well known for its nutrient-dense food profile. However, owing to multiple causes (anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic), it can also be a potential source of toxic heavy metals in the diet. Brown Hassawi rice samples were collected from the Al-Ahsa region and analyzed for its content of toxic metals. The results reveal that all the tested metals varied significantly in the brown rice samples, while As and Pb in all three samples exceeded their respective maximum allowable limits (MALs), followed by Cd, which nearly approached the MAL in two samples out of three. Brown rice samples were cooked in rice:water systems, viz., low rice:water ratios (1:2.5, 1:3.5) and high rice:water ratios (1:5, 1:6), along with soaking as a pre-treatment. Soaking was unproductive in removing the heavy metals from the rice, whereas cooking dissipated all metals from the rice, except for Cd, which was statistically non-significant. The high-water cooking of the rice was more effective in the dissipation of metals from the rice as compared to low-water cooking conditions. Through the consumption of rice, the estimated daily intake (EDI) of heavy metals is 162 g per person per day for As, which is above the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) regardless of cooking circumstances. The hazard risk index (HRI) also highlighted the fact that As can be a potential health hazard to rice consumers in the Al-Ahsa region of Saudi Arabia. These results indicate the potential health risks caused by the consumption of this rice by humans. Regular monitoring is recommended to manage and control elevated concentrations and related health hazards as a result of the use of Hassawi rice contaminated by the accumulation of metals and metalloids.

The problems from heavy metals content increasing day by day over the world. Heavy metal contamination in vegetables has become a serious food safety concern in developing Asian countries, including Pakistan. Due to lack of clean water resources in many Asian countries, sewage water is frequently utilized to irrigate the crops, particularly in Pakistan. Irrigation of sewage water may increase the levels of heavy metals in such soil, which eventually transfer to crops. In humans, these metals induce a variety of illnesses, i.e. cancer. In this study, the concentrations of heavy metals (As, Pb, Cd, Hg, Co and Cr) in raw and processed tuber vegetables irrigated with ground water and sewage water were compared utilizing a wet digesting method. Different levels of heavy metals in raw, oven baked, air fried and deep-fried vegetables have been evaluated. Results showed higher levels of heavy metals in vegetables grown with sewage water and were above the permissible limits. It also shows that different processing methods had a significant effect on the level of heavy metals but was unable to reduce it to the safe limit designated by FAO and WHO. Maximum level of percentage decrease of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) was found in deep fried vegetables.