Milk and dairy products are integral part of human nutrition and they are considered as the carriers of higher biological value proteins, calcium, essential fatty acids, amino acids, fat, water soluble vitamins and several bioactive compounds that are highly significant for several biochemical and physiological functions. In recent years, foods containing natural antioxidants are becoming popular all over the world as antioxidants can neutralize and scavenge the free radicals and their harmful effects, which are continuously produced in the biological body. Uncontrolled free radicals activity can lead to oxidative stresses, which have been implicated in breakdown of vital biochemical compounds such as lipids, protein, DNA which may lead to diabetes, accelerated ageing, carcinogenesis and cardiovascular diseases. Antioxidant capacity of milk and milk products is mainly due to sulfur containing amino acids, such as cysteine, phosphate, vitamins A, E, carotenoids, zinc, selenium, enzyme systems, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, milk oligosaccharides and peptides that are produced during fermentation and cheese ripening. Antioxidant activity of milk and dairy products can be enhanced by phytochemicals supplementation while fermented dairy products have been reported contained higher antioxidant capacity as compared to the non-fermented dairy products. Literature review has shown that milk and dairy products have antioxidant capacity, however, information regarding the antioxidant capacity of milk and dairy products has not been previously compiled. This review briefly describes the nutritional and antioxidant capacity of milk and dairy products.

Lignans are a group of phytonutrients which are widely distributed in the plant kingdom. Flaxseed is the richest source of providing lignan precursor such as secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG). This article reviews the studies relevant to experimental models in animals and humans demonstrating the possible nutraceutical actions of SDG to prevent and alleviate lifestyle-related diseases. A local and international web-based literature review for this project was carried out to provide information relating to the study. The major key word “SDG” was selected to gather information using the electronic databases pertaining to the current state of flaxseed lignans composition, bioactive compounds, metabolism and to find out their role in terms of chemopreventive action. The extraction methods vary from simple to complex depending on separation, fractionation, identification and detection of the analytes. The majority of studies demonstrate that SDG interferes with the development of different types of diseases like cardiovascular, diabetic, lupus nephritis, bone, kidney, menopause, reproduction, mental stress, immunity, atherosclerosis, hemopoietic, liver necrosis and urinary disorders due to its various biological properties including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimutagenic, antimicrobial, antiobesity, antihypolipidemic and neuroprotective effects. Moreover, SDG has a defending mediator against various cancers by modulating multiple cell signaling pathways. As discussed in this review, SDG has shown therapeutic potential against a number of human diseases and can be recommended for discerning consumers.

Antioxidant capacity of milk is largely due to vitamins A, E, carotenoids, zinc, selenium, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and enzyme systems. Cow milk has antioxidant capacity while the antioxidant capacity of buffalo milk has been studied in a limited way. The information regarding the effect of pasteurization and boiling on antioxidant capacity of cow and buffalo milk is also scared. Cow and buffalo milk was exposed to two different heat treatments i.e. 65 °C for 30 min and boiling for 1 min. After heat treatments, milk samples were cooled down to 4 °C packaged in transparent 250 ml polyethylene PET bottles and stored at 4 °C for 6 days. Milk composition, total flavonoid content, total antioxidant capacity, reducing power, DPPH free radical scavenging activity, antioxidant activity in linoleic acid, vitamin C, A, E, selenium, Zinc, fatty acid profile, peroxide value and sensory characteristics were studied in raw, pasteurized and boiled cow and buffalo milk at 0, 3 and 6 days of storage period. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of raw, pasteurized and boiled milk for cow (42.1, 41.3 and 40.7%) and buffalo (58.4, 57.6 and 56.5%) samples was found, respectively. Reducing power (RP) of raw cow and buffalo milk was 6.74 and 13.7 while pasteurization and boiling did not showed significant effect on RP of both cow and buffalo milk. DPPH activity of raw, pasteurized and boiled milk for cow (24.3, 23.8 and 23.6%) and buffalo (31.8, 31.5 and 30.4%) samples was noted, respectively. Storage period up to 3 days was non-significant while DPPH assay after 6 days of storage period indicated significant decline in antioxidant activity of milk samples. Antioxidant activity in linoleic acid (AALA) of buffalo and cow milk were recorded 11.7 and 17.4%, respectively. Pasteurization and boiling did not showed any impact on antioxidant capacity of cow and buffalo milk. The Loss of vitamin C in pasteurization (40 and 42%) and boiling (82 and 61%) of cow and buffalo milk was recorded, respectively. Concentration of vitamin A and E in pasteurized cow and buffalo milk was not significantly different from raw milk samples of cow and buffalo. Concentration of selenium and zinc was not influenced by the heat treatment in both cow and buffalo milk samples. After 3 days of refrigerated storage, antioxidant capacity of both cow and buffalo milk decreased. Concentrations of short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids increased in pasteurized and boiled cow and buffalo milk, while long-chain fatty acids decreased in pasteurized and boiled cow and buffalo milk, with no effect on colour and flavor score. Peroxide value of pasteurized and boiled cow and buffalo milk was not influenced by the storage up to 3 days. These results suggest that buffalo milk had a higher antioxidant capacity than cow milk and pasteurized milk should be consumed within 3 days of refrigerated storage for better antioxidant perspectives.

Lipids are the concentrated source of energy, fat soluble vitamins, essential fatty acids, carriers of flavours and many bio-active compounds with important role in maintaining physiological functions of biological body. Moringa oleifera is native to Himalaya and widely grown in many Asian and African countries with seed oil content range from 35–40%. Moringa oleifera oil (MOO) has light yellow colour with mild nutty flavour and fatty acids composition suggests that MOO is highly suitable for both edible and non-edible applications. MOO is extremely resistant to autoxidation which can be used as an antioxidant for the long term stabilization of commercial edible oils. Thermal stability of MOO is greater than soybean, sunflower, canola and cottonseed oils. High oleic contents of MOO are believed to have the capability of increasing beneficial HDL cholesterol and decreased the serum cholesterol and triglycerides. MOO applications have also been explored in cosmetics, folk medicines and skin care formulations. Overall, this review focuses on commercial production status, food applications, antioxidant characteristics, health benefits, thermal stability, fractionation, cholesterol contents, medicinal, nutraceutical action, toxicological evaluation, biodiesel production, personal care formulations and future perspectives of the MOO for the stake holders to process and utilize MOO as a new source of edible oil for industrial purpose.

The current review investigates the effects of black seed (Nigella sativa) on human health, which is also used to encapsulate and oxidative stable in different food products. In recent decades, many extraction methods, such as cold pressing, supercritical fluid extraction, Soxhlet extraction, hydro distillation (HD) method, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), ultrasound-assisted extraction, steam distillation, and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) have been used to extract the oils from black seeds under optimal conditions. Black seed oil contains essential fatty acids, in which the major fatty acids are linoleic, oleic, and palmitic acids. The oxidative stability of black seed oil is very low, due to various environmental conditions or factors (temperature and light) affecting the stability. The oxidative stability of black seed oil has been increased by using encapsulation methods, including nanoprecipitation, ultra-sonication, spray-drying, nanoprecipitation, electrohydrodynamic, atomization, freeze-drying, a electrospray technique, and coaxial electrospraying. Black seed, oil, microcapsules, and their components have been used in various food processing, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetics industries as functional ingredients for multiple purposes. Black seed and oil contain thymoquinone as a major component, which has anti-oxidant, -diabetic, -inflammatory, -cancer, -viral, and -microbial properties, due to its phenolic compounds. Many clinical and experimental studies have indicated that the black seed and their by-products can be used to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, chronic cancer, diabetes, oxidative stress, polycystic ovary syndrome, metabolic disorders, hypertension, asthma, and skin disorders. In this review, we are focusing on black seed oil composition and increasing the stability using different encapsulation methods. It is used in various food products to increase the human nutrition and health properties.

Milk fat is one of the complex fat and most sensitive biochemical compounds towards auto-oxidation. To enhance the shelf life, milk is subjected to Ultra-high Temperature (UHT) treatment followed by aseptic packaging. During the storage, several chemical and biochemical changes take place in lipid fraction of UHT milk. In current investigation, the effect of UHT treatment and storage was determined by making a comparison in fatty acid profile, triglyceride composition, organic acids and lipid oxidation of the thermally treated and stored milk with raw milk, which was not reported in earlier investigations. Raw milk samples were collected from the bulk storage facility of a dairy industry. The same milk was routed to UHT treatment and aseptically packaged samples were collected. The fatty acid profile, triglyceride composition, organic acids and lipid oxidation was determined in raw and UHT treated milk at 0, 30, 60 and 90 days. Fatty acid and triglyceride profile was determined on GC-MS while organic acids were determined by HPLC. For the measurement of induction period, professional Rancimat was used. Lipid oxidation was characterized through free fatty acids, peroxide value, anisidine value and conjugated dienes. Compositional attributes of milk remain unchanged during the entire length of storage. Concentrations of short-chain fatty acids in raw and UHT milk were 10.49% and 9.62%. UHT treatment resulted in 8.3% loss of short-chain fatty acids. Up to 30 days, storage did not have any significant effect on fatty acid profile of UHT milk. Concentration of medium-chain fatty acids in raw and UHT treated milk was 54.98% and 51.87%. After 30, 60 and 90 days of storage, concentration of medium chain fatty acids was found 51.23%, 47.23% and 42.82%, respectively. Concentration of C18:1 and C18:2 in raw and UHT milk was 26.86% and 25.43%, respectively. The loss of C18:1 and C18:2 in UHT treatment was 5.32%. After 30, 60 and 90 days of storage, the concentrations of C18:1 and C18:2 were 24.6%, 21.06% and 18.66%, respectively. Storage period of 30 days was found non-significant, while noticeable variations were found in triglyceride profile of 60 and 90 days old samples of UHT milk. UHT treatment and storage period significantly affected the concentration of organic acids in milk. After UHT treatment, concentration of lactic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, pyruvic acid, formic acid, succinic acid and oxalic acid increased by 3.45, 0.66, 3.57, 0.68, 2.24, 2.16 and 1.63 mg/100 g. Effect of storage period on the production of organic acids in UHT milk was non-significant up to 30 days. After 60 days of storage period, the increase in concentration of lactic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, pyruvic acid, formic acid, succinic acid and oxalic acid was 3.79, 0.75, 4.69, 0.78, 2.83, 3.03 and 2.38 mg/100 g. After 90 days of storage period, the increase in concentration of lactic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, pyruvic acid, formic acid, succinic acid and oxalic acid was 7.3, 2.18, 9.96, 3.58, 11.37, 5.22 and 5.96%. Free fatty acids content of raw, UHT treated and 90 days old milk were 0.08%, 0.11% and 0.19%. UHT treated version of milk showed similar peroxide value. While, the storage remarkably affected the peroxide value. After 30, 60 and 90 days, peroxide value was 0.42, 0.62 and 1.18 (MeqO2/kg). Induction period of raw, UHT and stored milk was strongly correlated with peroxide value and fatty acid profile. Mean value of lipase activity in raw milk was 0.73 ± 0.06 μmoles/ml. UHT treatment significantly decreased the lipase activity. The lipase activity of milk immediately after the UHT treatment was 0.18 ± 0.02 μmoles/ml. Lipase activity of UHT milk after 30, 60 and 90 days of room temperature storage was 0.44 ± 0.03, 0.95 ± 0.07 and 1.14 ± 0.09 μmoles/ml. Color, flavor and smell score decreased through the storage of UHT milk for 90 days. The results of this investigation revealed that fatty acid and triglyceride profile changed after 60 and 90 days of storage. Production of organic acids led to the drop of pH and sensory characteristics in UHT milk during the long-term storage. Induction period can be successfully used for the determination of anticipatory shelf life of UHT milk.