Psidium guajava (L.) belongs to the Myrtaceae family and it is an important fruit in tropical areas like India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and South America. The leaves of the guava plant have been studied for their health benefits which are attributed to their plethora of phytochemicals, such as quercetin, avicularin, apigenin, guaijaverin, kaempferol, hyperin, myricetin, gallic acid, catechin, epicatechin, chlorogenic acid, epigallocatechin gallate, and caffeic acid. Extracts from guava leaves (GLs) have been studied for their biological activities, including anticancer, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antidiarrheal, antimicrobial, lipid-lowering, and hepatoprotection activities. In the present review, we comprehensively present the nutritional profile and phytochemical profile of GLs. Further, various bioactivities of the GL extracts are also discussed critically. Considering the phytochemical profile and beneficial effects of GLs, they can potentially be used as an ingredient in the development of functional foods and pharmaceuticals. More detailed clinical trials need to be conducted to establish the efficacy of the GL extracts.

Annona squamosa L. (custard apple) belongs to the family Annonaceae and is an important tropical fruit cultivated in the West Indies, South and Central America, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, India, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Egypt. Leaves of custard apple plants have been studied for their health benefits, which are attributed to a considerable diversity of phytochemicals. These compounds include phenol-based compounds, e.g., proanthocyanidins, comprising 18 different phenolic compounds, mainly alkaloids and flavonoids. Extracts from Annona squamosa leaves (ASLs) have been studied for their biological activities, including anticancer, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiobesity, lipid-lowering, and hepatoprotective functions. In the current article, we discussed the nutritional and phytochemical diversity of ASLs. Additionally, ASL extracts were discussed with respect to their biological activities, which were established by in vivo and in vitro experiments. A survey of the literature based on the phytochemical profile and health-promoting effects of ASLs showed that they can be used as potential ingredients for the development of pharmaceutical drugs and functional foods. Although there are sufficient findings available from in vitro and in vivo investigations, clinical trials are still needed to determine the exact effects of ASL extracts on human health.

Cottonseed is potential candidate to act as an important protein source but presence of toxic compound gossypol with concentration more than 0.045% is main hurdle in utilization of this protein. Optimized lyophilized protein powder constitutes 5.05% moisture, 93.1% crude protein, 0.03% free gossypol, 0.27% total gossypol, and total bacterial count of 1295 cfu/g with no presence of pathogenic bacteria. Cottonseed may be utilized as an ingredient for food industry as a supplement in various foods since it has surpassed all critical quality standards except lysine content as mentioned in Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011 (FSSR, version IV, 2017).

Cottonseed is one of the important by-products of the cotton crop. Researchers claim that cottonseed with less than 0.45% of gossypol is quite good for human consumption and animal feeding because it is a rich source of protein, edible oil, and energy. Total and free gossypols are the influencing parameters that reduce the edible nature of the cottonseed. In the present work, multiple quadratic regression models have been prepared to predict the reduction in the free and total gossypol percent. This response surface method (RSM)-based approach was applied to investigate the combined effect between input parameters such as acetone level, time of extraction, liquid-to-solid ratio (LSR), and the number of extraction cycles, whereas output responses are free and total gossypol reduction percentage. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) has been performed to determine the highly significant parameter. The optimum combination of input parameters was determined using the RSM-based desirability approach, and confirmatory experiments were performed to validate the combination. Results revealed that the number of extraction cycles and liquid-to-solid ratio significantly affects the reduction of free and total gossypol levels. The values of r-square were found above 0.9, which indicates that the developed models are suitable and reliable for predicting free and total gossypol reduction percentage.

Cottonseed is the major by-product of cotton and it contains about 33% protein which shows its potential to be utilized for food applications. However, the presence of gossypol restricts its use for edible purpose. The previous attempts made for gossypol reduction in cottonseed meal resulted in poor extraction efficiency and loss in protein quality. The present study aimed at efficient removal of gossypol from the cottonseed kernel powder to produce the high-protein flour with an excellent amino acid profile. The process was divided into two stages; in the first part, gossypol was extracted from the kernel powder at optimized conditions (acetone-to-water ratio 90:10, sample-to-solution ratio (1:10), 30-min shaken time, and number of extractions 4). Further, the oil was removed from the acetone-treated sample that yielded 15.7% oil. In the second-stage processing, the de-oiled sample was treated at optimized conditions (ethanol-to-water ratio 50:50, citric acid 0.2 M, sample-to-solvent ratio 1:15, and incubation time 30 min) in a water bath at 100 ℃ temperature. The cottonseed flour produced in the present study had 64% protein, 23% carbohydrates, 0.24% total gossypol, and all essential amino acids except tryptophan.

Rice milling process refers to the removal of husk and bran layers from the paddy grain. Proper machine settings in relation to physical and engineering properties of paddy are necessary for efficient milling operations. The present research work was aimed at incorporating modifications in a rice rubber roll sheller of modern rice mill for better control on its operation. A microcontroller-based electronic device was developed to quantify the clearance between the rubber rolls and feed opening of the rubber roll sheller. The values were displayed on seven-segment display units. A mechanical system to suit automation was also developed to automatically control the feed rate of feed hopper of the rubber roll sheller. The device was designed to read from 0 - 72 mm feed opening gap with least count of 0.075 mm, and rolls clearance from 0 mm to 21 mm with least count of 0.01 mm.