Polyphenols have gained significant attention in recent decades due to their protective role against cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, neurodegenerative, and cardiovascular diseases. This study explored the influence of radiation time, microwave power, and sample-to-solvent ratio on the microwave-assisted extraction of polyphenols from Pithecellobium dulce fruit peels. Extraction efficiency, antioxidant activity, and anti-cholesterol activity were optimised using both response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural networks combined with a genetic algorithm (ANN-GA). The ANN-GA model exhibited higher predictive accuracy (R² = 0.9805–0.9813) and lower statistical error compared to quadratic RSM models (R² = 0.9566–0.9767). Under optimised conditions, ANN-GA yielded 244.35 mg/g total polyphenols, 92.51% antioxidant activity, and 73.96% anti-cholesterol activity, outperforming RSM (242.35 mg/g, 92.18%, and 73.26%, respectively). These findings demonstrate the scientific novelty of ANN-GA as a more robust and reliable tool than RSM for process optimisation. Moreover, the study highlights the practical application of utilizing P. dulce fruit peels as a low-cost, natural source of health-promoting bioactives. Importantly, this work presents a broader impact by providing a sustainable strategy for waste valorisation into nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products.

The antioxidants available in fresh organic materials could vary significantly from all those we consume through diet, as it has historically been recognized. Plants contain several phytochemicals, which possess strong antioxidant activities. A large variety of phytochemicals have been isolated and characterized from familiar sources, including vegetables, such as onion and broccoli; fruits, such as apples and grapes; spices, such as nutmeg, pepper, and turmeric; and brews, such as green tea, oolong tea, and red wine; which possess strong antioxidant properties. This is typically affected by the usage of thermal and nonthermal food processing methods. This chapter deals with various traditional and unconventional techniques that can be utilized to recover bioactive constituents. Any traditional method’s extraction effectiveness is primarily influenced by the solvents utilized. Among the most effective approaches, notably pressurized solvent extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, pressurized low-polarity water extraction, enzyme-assisted extraction, pulsed electric field extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, and microwave-assisted extraction were reviewed. The contrasting antioxidant activities of various extraction techniques were emphasized, as well as the processing techniques and industrial applications for unconventional ways of antioxidant extraction. How well this varies throughout absorption, how this impacts gastrointestinal function, and subsequent accumulation into the plasma, but which in vivo biological consequences it has on the internal organs all are aspects to consider.

Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals (RTE-BC) is either extruded product from flour (or) flaked corn, wheat (or) rice commonly used as breakfast in western countries. Cereal fortification helps to eliminate many nutritional deficiencies in various developed nations including United States. Recent techniques used to make bio-available vitamins and minerals in breakfast cereals to overcome the nutritional deficiencies such as iron, calcium etc. The main objective of this study was development of readt to eat foods from cereals for breakfast using extrusion. Trial no.6 because of its Good consistency and sensory properties. Among all other trials the red rice and quinoa 42% is found to be effective in nutritional facts and consistency. Typically, breakfast cereals include flaked, puffed, shredded, granula, extrude and baked product Oryzapunctata (red rice) and Chenopodium quinoa (quinoa seed), two gluten free food grains help to replace the wheat which contains gluten and used for the production of breakfast cereals. Quinoa is good example for the functional food that aims to lower the risk of various debilitating diseases and identify the presence of phyto-hormones of as several advantages for human nutrition over other plant foods. The Orzyapunctata (red rice) with high antioxidant content can be supplemented in the form of breakfast cereal so as to reduce the usage of artificial antioxidant BHT (butylated hydroxyl toluene).