B. Neeharika

• Ph.D. Food Science and Nutrition
• Subject Matter Specialist at ICAR-CTRI-KVK Kandukur

The current study aimed at determining the ideal conditions for the germination of clove basil and sweet basil seeds to enhance their nutritional and sensorial quality. Prechilling of seeds at 4oC for 2 days followed by germination at 35°C in continuous light for 60 h for clove basil seeds and for 48 h for sweet basil seeds were found to be ideal....

This narrative review examines the evidence that sex is a vital factor in determining nutritional interventions for preterm infants. The biological disparities between the sexes are obvious from the initial phase of pregnancy. The female and male foetuses exhibit different responses to maternal nutrition. Female newborns have a natural survival adv...

BACKGROUND The edible seeds of Ocimum gratissimum and Ocimum basilicum were found to be a potent source of phytochemicals with noteworthy antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antimicrobial properties. This study aimed to investigate the impact of germination and extraction solvents (ethanol (EtOH), distilled water) on the therapeutic properties exhibited...

The seeds of clove basil (Ocimum gratissimum) and sweet basil (O. basilicum) produce mucilage upon hydration that can be utilized as a substitute in several foods. In the present study, reduced‐fat eggless mayonnaises were developed by substituting 30% of the oil content in the formulation with clove basil and sweet basil seed mucilages. The develo...

The germinated clove basil (Ocimum gratissimum) and sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) seeds being a potent source of dietary fibre, minerals and antioxidants are utilized as functional ingredients for the enrichment of gluten-free pasta. The germinated clove basil seed and sweet basil seed incorporated pastas with acceptable sensory scores were develo...

The urbanization, fast-paced lifestyle, improved income and globetrotting have spurred the adoption of convenience foods in India. Value addition to millets promotes their production, marketing and offers good opportunities to farmers for better income generation. Little millet is an indigenous nutricereal widely cultivated across India yet underut...

Little millet (Panicum sumatrense) is one of the underutilised indigenous nutricereals due to coarse nature and drudgery associated with processing. Minimal processing such as germination could convert it into edible form. The present study revealed that 24 h germinated little millets were better source of vitamin C (5.11 mg/100 g) and total solubl...

The seeds of clove basil (Ocimum gratissimum) and sweet basil (O. basilicum) are highly underutilized despite of their splendid nutritional composition and presence of bioactive constituents associated with several health benefits. The present investigation was carried out to enhance the organoleptic properties of seeds in an economical way through...

The present era witnessed altered food habits and lifestyle which led to consumption ofunhealthy diets concomitant with augmented prevalence of life style diseases worldwide.Consequently, the health consciousness among food consumers was spurred and demandfor functional foods was drastically improved amidst COVID 19 pandemic. Theunderutilised clove...

The changing food habits and lifestyle led to consumption of faulty diets with increased prevalence of life style diseases in India. This has spurred health consciousness among food consumers and enhanced the demand for functional foods. The indigenous underutilised clove and sweet basil seeds being rich source of fibre (36.23, 28.85%), protein (9....

The hydrothermal extraction of clove basil and sweet basil seeds mucilages were optimised using response surface methodology for maximum yield, water absorption, swelling capacities, minimum water solubility and syneresis. The optimum conditions for extraction of clove basil seeds mucilage were 67.34°C, 2.51 h and water-to-seed ratio of 80:1 while...

Conventional measurements used for consumer response to food products may be subject to cognitive bias, as measurement data was consumer reported thoughts or through questionnaires. Decision-making about food is influenced by complex set of emotions, feelings, attitudes and values that are not easy to assess simply by asking consumers their opinion...

Millets being climate resilient crops with high nutritional value are far better than staple grains like wheat and rice. Being adaptable to wide range of agro ecological conditions, the nutricereals little millet can grow on low fertility dry lands meeting demands of exploding population and providing solution to agrarian and nutritional challenges...

Convenience foods are the now a big trend in the food business. The Indian ready to eat (RTE), ready to cook (RTC) and ready to serve (RTS) food segments have emerged from its early days of being a fringe alternative to home cooked meals or eating out. The underutilised little millet like other nutricereals is nutritionally superior to regularly co...

Conventional measurements used to study consumer response to food products may be subject to cognitive bias, as measurement data was consumer's reported thoughts or through questionnaires. Therefore, for an unbiased approach electroencephalography (EEG), an electrophysiological method can provide implicit and extensive data. EEG uses electrical act...

Little millet is one of the oldest crops domesticated in India and is well adapted to varied soil and environmental conditions. Although little millet like any other millet is nutritionally superior to cereals, yet its utilization is limited. Hence, there is a need to restore the lost interest in little millet due to its potential nutritional quali...

Leavening agents cause expansion of doughs and batters by the release of gases within food mixtures, producing baked products with porous structure. Leavening agents are used in food products to help create structure and texture through gas expansion because of a chemical reaction or as the nucleation seed for gas formation. Leavening can be achiev...

The inclusion of underutilised bathua (Chenopodium album) leaves in diet provides noteworthy antioxidants. These leaves were subjected to 1, 2-and 3-min blanching and its methanol and aqueous extracts were screened for phytochemicals with no change even after 3 min blanching. A decrease of 65.13 and 47.13 % in total phenolic content of methanol and...

Though the inclusion of underutilised bathua (Chenopodium album) leaves in diet provides dietary elements and antioxidants, still their nutritional exploitation is hindered due to the presence of anti-nutritional factors like oxalate and saponin. The bathua leaves were subjected to 1, 2 and 3 min blanching and its methanol and aqueous extracts were...

Groundnut oil was blended with cottonseed oil for the enhancement of its physico-chemical properties and sensory characteristics. The physico-chemical properties like colour, specific gravity, smoke point, moisture content, peroxide value, acid value, free fatty acids and oil retention capacity of groundnut and cottonseed oil blends in 80:20 to 20:...