Research background. Coccinia grandis L. is traditionally used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Since the scientific evidence and mechanism of action have not yet been extensively investigated, this study aims to evaluate the antidiabetic and cytotoxic effects together with the optimisation and development of a scale-up process design for higher yields of bioactive phytocompounds from C. grandis. Experimental approach. The in silico study was conducted to predict the binding affinity of phytocompounds of C. grandis for α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes involved in the pathophysiology of diabetes with pharmacokinetic assessment. Response surface methodology was used to determine the optimum total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), total tannin content (TTC) and antioxidant activities (DPPH and FRAP) in 17 different experimental runs in which the parameters of microwave-assisted extraction such as temperature (50–70 °C), power (400–1000 W) and time (15–45 min) were varied. The phytocompounds were purified and identified using column chromatography, thin-layer chromatography (TLC), UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The in vitro antidiabetic activity was determined by α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymatic inhibitory assays, while cytotoxic investigations were done by measuring haemolytic activity, 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays. Results and conclusions. The reported major bioactive compounds have shown an excellent binding affinity for α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes in the range of −14.28 to -36.12 kJ/mol with good pharmacokinetic properties and toxicities ranging from low to medium. The bioactive constituents such as total phenols, total flavonoids, total tannins and antioxidant activities such as DPPH and FRAP were found to be high and dependent on the optimised microwave-assisted extraction parameters such as temperature, time and power: 55 °C, 45 min and 763 W, respectively. Sixteen compounds were identified by FTIR and LC-MS spectra in the plant sample after preliminary identification, purification and TLC. The percentage of enzyme inhibition depended on the concentration of the extract (7.8–125.0 μg/mL) and was higher than that of acarbose. The haemolytic activity was in accordance with ISO standards and low toxicity was observed in the MTT and CAM assays in the range of 7.8−125.0 μg/mL, suggesting its potential use as an antidiabetic drug and for functional food development. Novelty and scientific contribution. The results of the study open up new opportunities for researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs in the food and pharmaceutical sectors to develop antidiabetic foods and medicines that help diabetics to better control their condition and maintain overall health.
27 April 2023 in Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to develop relationships between many major issues relevant to the agriculture supply chain.Design/methodology/approach: With the purpose of gaining an all-encompassing understanding of the agriculture supply chain, this work uses 233 filtered research articles and three bibliometric analysis tools, namely VOSviewer, term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) and Person correlation. The collected research publications were also catalogued using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA).Findings: Using analytic techniques, a total of 12 keywords were obtained. The study found that agri-products are in dire need of digitisation via Internet of things (IoT) and blockchain due to the usage of economic variables and comprehensive management of total food waste throughout transportation, anchoring quality and the predominant variable.Research limitations/implications: The study was limited to the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) indexing in order to assess the viability of the linked idea and problem.Originality/value: This study aims to generate vital knowledge in the field of horticulture-focused agriculture supply chain based on previous justification and relationship formation.
The current study investigates farmers’ behavioral intentions toward adopting biopesticides in India, integrating the theory of planned behavior and health belief model. The models were further expanded by the inclusion of a control variable, Government Initiatives. A total of 468 responses from four districts (Patna, Bhagalpur, Purnea, and Saharsa) in Bihar were collected by face-to-face surveys and analyzed using the SmartPLS 4 software by structural equation modeling to assess the correlation between the constructs. The hypothesis testing employs a bootstrapping method with 5,000 iterations. The present study demonstrated a strong positive correlation between all variables derived in the integrated model. Perceived severity strongly influenced farmers’ attitudes toward adopting the use of biopesticide. Furthermore, subjective norms and government initiatives emerged as the most important factors influencing farmers’ intentions toward adopting biopesticide. Premium price, low effectiveness, and reduced crop productivity emerged as significant challenges to the adoption of biopesticides. To address these challenges, this study suggests providing farmers with affordable solutions and resources in collaboration with the government. The proposed study provides significant information and facilitates the understanding of farmers’ inclinations to utilize biopesticides. The government and policymakers can address key barriers to the adoption of biopesticides—such as income inequality—by offering subsidies for organic food production, developing an efficient and dedicated supply chain for input and output organic produce, and formulating strategies to optimize the use of biopesticides in order to promote long-term sustainability.
Household waste (40.44%) and cultivation (31.96%) were identified as major emission sources, which were often overlooked, contributing to a total carbon emission of 4607.07 kg CO 2 -e per hectare from the overall losses across the litchi supply chain.