Investigations were undertaken to study the drying kinetics of pretreated and unblanched leaves of Moringa oleifera dried in a fluidized bed dryer (FBD) using nine established thin layer drying mathematical models. The statistical software tool Statistica was utilized to carry out regression analysis, and the model constants were evaluated using nonlinear regression. In nonlinear regression, the R² and reduced χ² were employed to evaluate the goodness of fit of several mathematical models to the data generated experimentally. The model with the highest R² and the lowest reduced χ² and root mean square error (RMSE) values was adjudged as best fit to the drying curves. The drying kinetics of drumstick leaves was best explained by the Midilli–Kucuk model, followed by the Logarithmic model. The R², reduced χ², and RMSE values of the Midilli–Kucuk model under fluidized bed drying varied from 0.9982–0.9997, 0.00003–0.00029, and 0.0059–0.0166 in pretreated and 0.9945–0.9961, 0.00019–0.00054 and 0.0136–0.227 in unblanched Moringa leaves dried at 50–70 °C, respectively. The diffusivity (D_eff) values ranged between 2.96 × 10⁻⁹–3.59 × 10⁻⁹ m² s⁻¹ and 2.92 × 10⁻⁹–3.04 × 10⁻⁹ m² s⁻¹, and activation energy varied from 13.67–14.07 (KJ/mol) and 13.85–14.11 (KJ/mol) for pretreated and unblanched dried leaves at 50–70 °C drying temperatures, respectively.

Starch is a reserve carbohydrate present in plants. It is an important component for maintaining various quality attributes like texture, consistency, thickening in the food industry. The aim of the present study was to isolate starch from a legume named jack bean that is not very much famous and considered as underutilized-legume. The isolated starch was studied for various physicochemical properties. One-way analysis of variance was used in this study. The starch was isolated as a white powder from the dry legume by using standard method and the starch yield was observed to be 25.79%. Legume starch was further assessed for the chemical composition. The moisture, ash, fat, protein, fiber and carbohydrate content were 9.56%, 0.35%, 0.21%, 0.69%, 0.33%, and 89.19% respectively. The apparent and total amylose content was 37.62% and 40.83% with least gelation concentration at 6% of starch gel. Starch was further assessed for functional properties. The leached amylose displayed a rise in content from 6.56% to 9.50% with the corresponding increase in temperature from 65°C to 95°C that may affect gelatinization properties of starch. The water absorption capacity was 3.60 g/g while oil absorption capacity was 3.54 g/g. Further, the emulsion stability and emulsion capacity of native starch was 79.00% and 68.33% respectively that showed good stability of emulsion. Similarly, the swelling power and solubility of rice bean starch increased with the increase of temperature from 55-95°C. However, the opposite trend was observed for an increase in starch concentration from 1-4%. The effect of different concentrations at 6, 8 and 10% on freeze-thaw stability and storage studies showed that the expelled water decreased with the rise in starch concentration up to three consecutive storage days while no change was observed later during frozen gel storage. It showed good freeze thaw stability of starch. This underutilized legume attracted more attention from researchers due of its affordability and ease of availability. In dry farming circumstances with limited soil fertility, the legume yield consistently. Thus, this neglected legume that has minimal agronomic development but many qualities is a good substitute for starch. However, thorough study on the unique functional properties and other qualities of starch from rice bean has not been carried out. The results of this underutilized legume starch can provide opportunities to starch researchers and to the food industries that are frequently using conventional sources of starch from cereals, tubers and rhizomes.

Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) have emerged as a green, sustainable alternative to conventional organic solvents due to their biocompatibility and non-toxicity. This review highlights the composition and structural diversity of NADES. The various techniques of NADES preparation are discussed, along with the critical factors that influence their stability and functionality. A wide range of NADES applications was discussed, such as their role in the extraction of bioactive compounds, food analysis, biocatalysis, and cryoprotection. Additionally, the review examines the potential applications of NADES in pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences, including their role in drug delivery, burn injury management, and wound treatment. Despite these potentials, there are certain limitations of NADES, such as high viscosity and difficulty in product recovery. Thus, there is a need for a standardized methodology to understand NADES interactions at the molecular level and to develop cost-effective commercial processes for product recovery.