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.

Globally, the increasing adverse health effects of excessive consumption of natural nutritive sweeteners have lead to a significant interest in non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) among all age groups. The NNS approved by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has higher sweetness intensity than natural nutritive sugar. NNS when added to food they provide negligible calories and a promising healthier alternative to nutritive sweeteners for the dietary management of noncommunicable diseases. FSSAI has approved six non-nutritive artificial sweeteners (saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, isomaltulose, neotame, and acesulfame potassium) for use in human food. Besides their benefits, metabolic products of these artificial sweeteners have found controversial health effects over animal studies. Therefore, intensive research activities are being devoted by scientists all over the world to find less controversial, plant-derived, organic zero-calorie or low calorie, and non- carcinogenic NNS which provides consumer a better choice to satisfy their innate desire for a sweet taste without adding calories. This review highlights natural NNS, including their sensory property, structural characteristics, and specific compounds contributing to their sweetness, uses, and food applications. The steviol glycoside is the only natural NNS that has been approved by FSSAI.