Liver diseases, encompassing conditions such as cirrhosis, present a substantial global health challenge with diverse etiologies, including viral infections, alcohol consumption, and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The exploration of natural compounds as therapeutic agents has gained traction, notably the herbal remedy milk thistle (Silybum marianum), with its active extract, silymarin, demonstrating remarkable antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties in extensive preclinical investigations. It can protect healthy liver cells or those that have not yet sustained permanent damage by reducing oxidative stress and mitigating cytotoxicity. Silymarin, a natural compound with antioxidant properties, anti‐inflammatory effects, and antifibrotic activity, has shown potential in treating liver damage caused by alcohol, NAFLD, drug‐induced toxicity, and viral hepatitis. Legalon® is a top‐rated medication with excellent oral bioavailability, effective absorption, and therapeutic effectiveness. Its active component, silymarin, has antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties, Eurosil 85® also, a commercial product, has lipophilic properties enhanced by special formulation processes. Silymarin, during clinical trials, shows potential improvements in liver function, reduced mortality rates, and alleviation of symptoms across various liver disorders, with safety assessments showing low adverse effects. Overall, silymarin emerges as a promising natural compound with multifaceted hepatoprotective properties and therapeutic potential in liver diseases.

Liposomal encapsulation is a crucial technique in food applications, offering protection and targeted delivery of bioactive compounds. This review focuses on the impact of thermodynamic factors on liposomal structures, specifically bilayers with large unilamellar vesicles and multilamellar vesicles. This study focuses on the chemical composition of liposomes, emphasizing the role of hydrophobic tails and sterols during phase transitions at various temperatures. This review also outlines the influence of liposome chemical composition and rheological characteristics, which determine encapsulation efficiency, mechanical stability, and potential functionality in various food matrices. The review highlights the use of conventional lipids to create stable liposomes via spray‐drying and fluidized bed coating for encapsulating solid food particles. The chemical composition of liposomes, particularly the type of phospholipids and inclusion of stabilizers, significantly affects their mechanical and rheological properties. These properties, including viscosity and viscoelastic behavior, influence liposome stability during processing and storage. High rigidity, imparted by saturated lipids or cholesterol, enhances structural integrity, while flexible membranes facilitate better encapsulation of large molecules or fragile bioactives. Furthermore, this work has addressed the importance of enzyme encapsulation and freeze‐drying techniques to preserve the enzyme activity in food processing, such as cheese production and fermentation. This study concludes by emphasizing the increasing demand for liposomal encapsulation in the food industry for preserving foods and delivering functional ingredients while also addressing key challenges and future research directions.

Turmeric ( Curcuma longa ) is an herbaceous plant that contains a phytochemical which is bright yellow and is known as curcumin. Turmeric, a member of Zingiberaceae family, has extensive application worldwide due to its beneficial medicinal attributes and is extensively used as a medicinal plant. Most people use turmeric as a spice, and it is a chief source of polyphenol curcumin. Curcuma longa has therapeutic properties, and since the initial extraction of curcumin from this plant, it has gained prodigious consideration from scientists in the medical field. The biological properties of curcumin, also known as 1,7‐bis (4‐hydroxy‐3‐methoxyphenyl)‐1,6‐heptadiene‐3,5‐dione, or diferuloylmethane, include anti‐inflammatory, anti‐oxidant, anti‐cancer, anti‐asthmatic, anti‐arthritic, neuroprotective, anti‐diabetic, anti‐obesity, wound‐healing, hepatoprotective, skin curative, reproductive role, etc. This work has reviewed many clinical trials and their findings about these activities. The focus of this review manuscript is concentrated on the presently existing clinical and animal studies, which exposed the possible anti‐retroviral activities of curcumin and its by‐products.

This review has studied omega fatty acids, their importance, functionality, health benefits, sources, oxidation, preservation, and the function of foods prepared with omega fatty acid edible sources. Omega fatty acids are essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and their consumption has increased with increasing awareness about their health benefits. Plant oilseeds, including chia seeds (CS), flax seeds, linseeds, sesame seeds, and fish oil (FO), are some of the major sources of omega fatty acids. These essential omega fatty acids have been studied for their health benefits and effectiveness against the pathophysiology of various diseases, including metabolic dysfunction, cardiovascular diseases, malignancy, mental health, neurodegenerative diseases, liver diseases, systemic circulation, and infant mortality. Various in vitro and in vivo studies revealed their effectiveness against these diseases and their complications. Omega fatty acids also reduce the risk of these diseases by improving health and reducing risk factors. Omega fatty acids, being polyunsaturated, are highly susceptible to oxidation, which greatly affects their stability and affects their peroxide value at storage. Various preservation techniques, including traditional encapsulation, microencapsulation, and multilayer encapsulation, are studied and practiced to prevent oxidation. To make omega fatty acids bioavailable, various functional foods, including spreads, cookies, and other formulations, are prepared by food technologists, considering their physicochemical properties.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can be utilized to enhance plant growth and production. The use of efficient PGPR is one of the effective ways to improve Triticum aestivum (wheat) growth and nutrition. The exploration of native rhizobacterial strains as biofertilizers with suitable carriers in immobilized form is an alternative way to prevent soil ecosystem pollution. In order to evaluate the potential of biofertilizers and multiple plant growth-promoting attributes, numerous experiments were conducted on isolated strains. The impact of auxin-producing rhizobacterial strains (APRS) on various growth parameters of wheat was examined through laboratory and field experiments. This study aimed to investigate the potential of rhizobacteria (isolated from various crop types) to encourage wheat growth by immobilization in alginate beads. The PGPR, obtained from different rhizospheric soils, were identified based on their colony morphology and biochemical characteristics. In addition, they were evaluated for their ability to produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), ammonia (NH3), and siderophores. The 16S rRNA-based identification revealed that auxin-producing rhizobacterial strains showed homology to various genera, including Bacillus, Brevundimonas, and Exiguobacterium spp. Selected strains showed plant growth-promoting (PGP) attributes and hydrolytic enzyme-producing abilities. Most of the strains had multifaceted plant growth-promoting attributes. Growth potential, assessed under laboratory and natural environments, confirmed the efficacy of bacterial strains as alginate beads biofertilizers. Encapsulation with alginate beads showed a 70-80% improvement in seed germination and a 60-70% enhancement in root and shoot length than control. The results revealed that the selected strain can be used as biofertilizers. Screening and the application of efficient PGPR encapsulation with alginate beads can be a better option to promote the production and yield of wheat.

The growing human population and abiotic stresses pose significant threats to food security, with PGPR favorable as biofertilizers for plant growth and stress relief. In one study, soil samples from both cultivated and uncultivated plants in various cities were used to isolate rhizobacterial populations. Using 50 soil samples from both cultivated and uncultivated plants, isolated rhizobacterial populations were screened for various biochemical changes, PGP activities and morphological characteristics. A total of 199 rhizobacteria were isolated and screened for IAA production. The strain M28 produced maximum IAA 378.44 ± 2.5 µg ml^-1, M9 formed only 34.72 ± 0.15 µg ml^-1. About 19% of IAA producers were isolated from Multan, 18% Lahore, 15% from soils of Faisalabad and Sheikhupura, while 7% from Gujrat. The 21 isolates were drought tolerant to -0.14Mpa, 14 of those were PSB and 15 were N fixers. In PGP traits, maximum zinc solubility was expressed by M4 as 2 ± 0.5 cm of zone. The strain M22 produced amount of HCN, 40.12 ± 0.052 ppm. All isolates showed diverse behavior in biocompatibility, motility patterns and hydrophobicity. Selected drought tolerant strains were genetically identified by ribotyping. Multitrait PGPR could be effective biofertilizers rather than with single trait. The strain M28 having highest production of IAA, was gelatinase, methyl red positive and was also capable of nitrogen fixation. Moreover, it had maximum swimming (8.9 mm) and swarming (8.7 mm) activities after 24 h, indicating its best PGP traits for future use.