Crickets contain high protein content that can be used to improve nutrition but are less exploited. This study was conducted to isolate different Cricket Protein Fractions including albumin, globulin, glutelin, and prolamin. All fractions were characterized and hydrolyzed by commercial enzymes. The results showed that the glutelin fractions had the highest extraction yields with 53.9 ± 2.12% (p < 0.05). Moreover, glutelin hydrolysate fraction prepared by Alcalase with a 16.35 ±0.29% hydrolysis degree was selected for further purification because of their high antioxidant activities, including ABTS radical-scavenging activity (0.44–0.55 µmol Trolox eq./g) and metal chelating activity (1721.99–1751.71 µmol EDTA eq./g). Two active fractions, GA-1 (<3 kDa) and GA-2 (<3 kDa), were collected from the consecutive purification of glutelin hydrolysates, which included processes such as membrane ultrafiltration and gel filtration. The fractions were analyzed by LC-MS/MS to obtain 10 peptides with 3–13 amino acids identified as TEAPLNPK, EVGA, KLL, TGNLPGAAHPLLL, AHLLT, LSPLYE, AGVL, VAAV, VAGL, and QLL with a molecular weight range of 359.23–721.37 Da in the two fractions. The amino acid sequence shows a prevalence of hydrophobic amino acids (50–100%) such as valine and leucine in the peptide chains, accounting for its high antioxidant activity. In conclusion, cricket glutelin hydrolysate prepared by Alcalase can serve as an alternative source of potent edible bioactive peptides in functional food products.

Background/Aim: Across the globe, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus is rapidly increasing even in populations with significant undernutrition. In this study, the effect of fermentation period and soybean flour supplementation on the glycemic indices and starch digestibility of biofortified provitamin A cassava meal was investigated. Method: Biofortified provitamin A cassava (TMS 011368) was processed into cassava meal under different fermentation periods (24 and 72 hrs) and supplemented with soybean flour at 0-80% to produce different composite meals. The composite meals were evaluated for its predicted glycemic index (pGI) and in-vitro starch digestibility. Results: Soybean supplementation significantly (p<0.05) decreased the hydrolysis index and pGI of the samples from 68.15-47.28% and 73.20-44.56% for composite meals fermented for 24 and 72 hrs, respectively. pGI, digestible starch, and resistant starch contents was significantly (p<0.05) higher in composite meals fermented for 72 hrs than for 24 hrs fermentation. Increase in soybean supplementation significantly (p<0.05) decreased the resistant starch, and digestible starch contents of the samples. Conclusion: Composite meals supplemented with 40-80% soybean flour and fermented for 24 hrs had reduced rate of invitro starch hydrolysis and glycemic indices, which may therefore be better suited in dietary prevention and management of diabetes milletus.

Background: Adequate nutrition during infancy is fundamental to ensuring children’s growth, health, and development of to their full potential. However, several national reports have indicated poor nutritional status and high prevalence of anemia among children living in low-income areas where millet-based porridge is a predominant complementary food. Aims: The study aimed to examine the effect of a millet-based fortified complementary food on the anthropometric and biochemical indices of anemic infants (6 – 24 months). Patients and Methods: One hundred and twenty children aged 6 – 24 months enrolled in this study. On six separate groups, each comprising of 20 children, they consumed CerelacÒ (control diet), millet / OFSP (test diet 1), millet / OFSP / carrot (test diet II), millet / OFSP/carrot / oyster (test diet III), millet / OFSP / carrot / periwinkle (test diet IV), and millet / OFSP / carrot / periwinkle / oyster (test diet V), respectively. The children were fed with 50 g/day of the diets over a period of 36 weeks during which anthropometric and biochemical assessments were performed before and after test product ingestion. Results: All children fed on the test diets had an increase in anthropometric parameters. Test diet V had the highest percent effect on biochemical and anthropometric parameters at the end of the study. The percentage effect of test diet V (109.45 %; p = 0.020) on the hemoglobin levels of the infants was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than other test diets. Conclusion: Millet-based complementary diet fortified with carrots, OFSP, periwinkle and oyster display positive effects on the nutritional status of infants. Thus, it should be considered as an appropriate alternative when planning nutrition programs to ameliorate the nutritional status of children in areas where millet-based porridge is a predominant complementary food.

Roasting is a widely used thermal process for pulses, though prior work has not fully clarified how temperature and duration of roasting together affect phytochemicals, antioxidant, and antinutrient profiles of different pulses. This research applied a central composite design within response surface methodology (RSM‐CCD) on five cultivars, including cranberry, navy, pinto, and yellow beans, along with chickpeas, examining roasting temperatures between 150°C and 220°C and durations of 10–20 min. Before roasting, all samples were soaked for 12 h, followed by dehydration at 50°C before processing in a pilot‐scale oven. Total phenolics, total flavonoids, antioxidant capacity, proanthocyanidins, non‐extractable polymeric proanthocyanidins, carotenoids, and lectin (phytohemagglutinin) activity were each quantified, with the collected data subsequently modeled using quadratic regression. Roasting significantly affected every response, and the models showed strong fit ( R ² > 0.80 for most). All cultivars peaked at 220°C for 20 min, except yellow beans, which reached their optimum at a comparatively lower temperature of 150°C for the same duration. Among all cultivars, navy beans gained the most in total phenolic increase (up to 514%) and FRAP (21.2 g kg ⁻¹ ), while cranberry beans had a significant increase in total flavonoid content, yielding 13.1 g kg ⁻¹ and DPPH, yielding 50.5%. Lectin content declined drastically up to 85% across all cultivars after processing. These findings demonstrate that controlled roasting effectively reduces lectins while enriching antioxidant activity in bean flour, supporting its suitability for use in nutraceuticals and functional food products.