Ruchira Nandasiri

• PhD Food and Human Nutritional Sciences
• PostDoctoral Fellow at St. Boniface Hospital

Mustard seeds are cultivated worldwide due to their substantial agronomic value of their high protein, oil, and phenolic content. The latter bioactive compounds give mustard seeds various applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries, as antimicrobial, antioxidant, and chemoprotective agents. By modifying the pretreatment and extraction co...

Brassica vegetables have demonstrated many health benefits over the years due to their composition of phenolic, flavonoid, and glucosinolate contents. However, these bioactive molecules can be easily depleted during gastronomic operations. Therefore, a sustainable method that improves their phenolic content and antioxidant activity is required for...

RapidOxy® 100 is an automated instrument originally designed for measuring the oxidative stability of both solid and liquid samples. The compact and portable design of RapidOxy® 100, and its built-in pressurized heating chamber, provides a suitable environment for studying processing conditions. The feasibility of using oxygen or an inert atmospher...

Canola meal, a by‐product of oil pressing, is a rich source of phenolic antioxidants. However, its use in the food and feed sector is still limited by the need for greener, sustainable, and more cost‐effective extraction methods. This study used accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) to enhance the extraction efficiency of the phenolic antioxidants....

Mustard seeds have been used since ancient times contributing great economic value to global agriculture. Canada, one of the world's top producers, grows three main mustard varieties, white /yellow, ( Brassica hirta / Sinapis alba ), black ( Brassica nigra ) and Oriental ( Brassica juncea ). Besides their high protein and lipid content, mustard var...

Mustard seeds have been used since ancient times contributing great economic value to global agriculture. Canada, one of the world’s top producers, grows three main mustard varieties, white /yellow, (Brassica hirta/ Sinapis alba), black (Brassica nigra) and Oriental (Brassica juncea). Besides their high protein and lipid content, mustard varieties...

Fresh and processed fruits are commonly used to prepare different industrial products with superior nutritional and health-promoting properties. Currently, the demand for processedfruit products has motivated the rapid growth of fruit-processing industries, persuading them to produce an enormous number of by-products. Furthermore, people’s shifting...

Fruits are commonly used, fresh or processed, to prepare different industrial products with superior nutritional and health-promoting properties. Currently, the demand for processed fruit products has motivated the rapid growth of the fruit processing industries, persuading them to produce an enormous amount of by-products with less utilization. Fu...

Brassica vegetables has demonstrated many health benefits over the years due to its composition of phenolic, flavonoid, and glucosinolate content. However, these bioactive molecules can be easily depleted during gastronomic operations. Therefore, a sustainable method which improves the phenolic content and antioxidant activity is required at large...

Canola meal, the by-product of canola oil refining, is a rich source of phenolic compounds and protein. The meal, however, is primarily utilized as animal feed but represents an invaluable source of nutraceuticals. Of particular interest are the sinapates, sinapine and sinapic acid, with the decarboxylation of the latter to form canolol. Extracting...

Roasting of canola seeds before oil extraction is essential for producing unique flavors and heat-induced formation of novel phenolic compounds. The current study assessed the efficacy of roasting by air frying as a pre-treatment technique to improve the extraction of canolol and other oil-soluble sinapic acidic derivatives (SADs) from canola seeds...

This study investigated the efficacy of roasting pre-treatment by air frying to enhance the extraction and recovery of the predominant sinapic acid derivatives (SADs) from roasted canola meal and the antioxidant potential of the methanolic extracts. Canola meal was obtained by air frying canola seed at 160, 170, 180 or 190 °C for 5, 10, 15 or 20 mi...

Canola is the major oilseed crop of Canada. The de-oiled material is an important by-product due to its rich phenolic profile and high protein content. This co-processing stream from canola is primarily utilized as animal feed but represents an invaluable source of nutraceuticals. Microwave-assisted solvent extraction (MAE), as a green extraction m...

The phenolic compounds in canola and mustard, sinapine, sinapic acid, and canolol, are recognized for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic health-promoting effects. Previous studies demonstrated the effectiveness of different pretreatment conditions on the extraction process by enhancing the yield of phenolic antioxidants suc...

Consumption of excess amounts of trans fatty acids (TFA) causes health-related problems. Further, to limit the intake of saturated fatty acids (SFAs), the ratios between SFAs, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) are also introduced in addition to the ratio in between essential fatty acids (EFAs). Eight brand...

Pre-treatment techniques such as dry heating by microwave roasting, conventional oven and air frying have been applied in the roasting of oil-seeds and their co-products prior to oil pressing to enhance canolol extraction. This research investigated the efficacy of air frying as hot air pre-heat treatment strategy for enhancing the extraction and r...

Mustard seeds have a substantial agronomic value due to their high protein, oil, and phenolic content. The seeds are a rich source of phenolic compounds compared to many other oilseeds, especially canolol. These bioactive compounds in mustard seeds resulted in their utilization by the food and pharmaceutical industries, for their antimicrobial, ant...

Roasting of canola seeds prior to oil extraction is essential for producing unique flavors and heat-induced formation of novel phenolic compounds. This study investigated the efficacy of air frying as a seed roasting pre-treatment technique to improve the recovery of canolol and other oil-soluble sinapic acidic derivatives (SADs) from canola seeds....

The health and safety concerns associated with synthetic antioxidants has resulted in an urgent search for natural sources of antioxidants. Such antioxidants are not only convenient but may also have important therapeutic properties. Oilseed crops, for example, are rich in phenolic compounds some of which exhibit powerful antioxidant properties tha...

Brewers' spent grain (BSG) is a brewery co-product rich in phenolic compounds which only within Europe, 3-4Mt is generated annually. This study aims to sustainably isolate low-molecular-weight phenolic compounds from Belgian BSG using a microwave-assisted method (MW). Two types of BSG (from light and red malted barley grains) were subjected to MW a...

The effect of preheating temperature (X1), preheating time (X2) and the nature of the extracting solvents (X3) on the antioxidant activity of ultrasonic extracts of hemp cake was evaluated using a factorial design with a general linear multiple regression method using the three variables (X1, X2, and X3) and three levels including low (-1), interme...

Treatment resistance in psychiatry involves mental illnesses that do not significantly or positively respond to their treatments. In this book, the definition of this complication is elaborated on. It covers many topics that will aid with one’s knowledge regarding treatment resistance in this area of medicine. This includes: the science involved, h...

As humans, we use our hands every day but how much do each of us know about the many topics that surround the importance of our hands? In this book, you will learn all about the importance of hands, what the advantages of hands are, the research being done, and disorders affecting the hands. Without hands, you wouldn’t be able to flip the pages in...

This book about Pet Scans goes in-depth into what in the world they are! From the history of medical imaging before Pet Scans to the invention of it, to the science behind it, and much more. You can even learn what to do in preparation for a pet scan and the risks. For all things Pet Scan-related, this book has got your back!

Treatment resistance in psychiatry involves mental illnesses that do not significantly or positively respond to their treatments. In this book, the definition of this complication is elaborated on. It covers many topics that will aid with one’s knowledge regarding treatment resistance in this area of medicine. This includes the science involved, ho...

While domestication is a common occurrence in today's society, the history of domestication is not common knowledge. The produce bought in the grocery store and the animals you see in a pet store would not be there if domestication was never discovered. In this book, you can learn about the history of domestication as well as many other topics surr...

The discovery of pulsars was a great feat in the field of astronomy and is integral to our knowledge of space and time. This book details the history of pulsars and their research, including the direction of future studies.

In more recent history, it has become more plausible to create home bases in space and be able to fly to space as if it is a regular flight on an airplane. In this book, you will learn about what humankind has discovered or proposed about living on the moon. From all the depictions of life on the moon in movies, tv, and video games, to the future m...

The Cave of Altamira was the first paleolithic cave to be discovered in Europe in modern times. As such, it has had quite a significant impact on our knowledge of prehistoric humans. Throughout this book, you will learn all about Altamira and its discoveries, such as the paintings that were left on the walls. It will also include information on top...

The Ötzi Man was a man who lived between 3400 and 3100 BCE and became frozen after his death. Upon the discovery of his body, scientists have been able to use it to further our knowledge of the time in which he lived. In this book, you will be able to learn about the history of the Otzi Man and kinds of information from after his discovery, includi...

Roasting of mustard seeds prior to oil extraction is a well‐documented unit operation essential to produce canolol and other lipophilic sinapates. This study investigated the effectiveness of air frying as a seed roasting treatment operation for enhancing the recovery of lipophilic sinapates from various mustard samples and fractions/products. Air...

Canolol (4-vinyl-2,6-dimethoxyphenol) is a highly active antioxidant compound formed during high pressure and temperature processing and not found naturally in the sample matrix. Primarily, canolol was found in canola oil during the refining process. However, in recent studies, canolol was also found in canola by-products including the meal. Moreov...

De‐oiled canola meals are sources of protein‐containing flavor‐active phenolic compounds. Conventional canola oil processing utilizes an excess amount of solvents and is associated with the release of high‐intensity bitter flavor‐active phenolic compounds, limiting the use of the canola meal. Recent advances in the extraction and isolation of the b...

De-oiled canola meals are sources of protein-containing flavor-active phenolic compounds. Conventional canola oil processing utilizes an excess amount of solvents and is associated with the release of high-intensity bitter flavor-active phenolic compounds, limiting the use of the canola meal. Recent advances in the extraction and isolation of the b...

Canola by-products have considerable potential as functional ingredients and antioxidants due to the presence of unique phenolic compounds. Thus, extraction of flavor-active phenolics present in canola by-products is important for their co-production and valorization. The quantity and quality of these unique phenolic compounds could affect the sens...

RapidOxy® 100 is a compact, automated instrument originally designed to determine the oxidative stability of both solid and liquid samples. The compact and portable design of RapidOxy® 100, and its built-in pressurized heating chamber, provides an environment for studying processing conditions. The feasibility of using oxygen or inert atmosphere pr...

Innovative solvent-free pre-treatment method for isolation and quantification of phenolic compounds

The majority of the bioactive compounds present in canola seeds are phenolic compounds. They are present as aglycones, glycosides, monomers, polymerized structures, or as free or matrix-bound compounds. Conventional methods of extraction utilize an excessive amount of organic solvents and require high energy input. Current environmental issues asso...

The effect of different solvents (aqueous methanol [70%, v/v], aqueous acetone [80%, v/v], and a solvent mixture [MA] of aqueous methanol [70%, v/v] and aqueous acetone [70%, v/v] in a ratio of 1:1 [v/v]), preheating temperatures (140, 160, and 180°C), and times of exposure (5, 15, and 30 min) on the ultrasonic extraction of the main phenolic compo...

Canola meal itself is rich in many polyphenols and many antioxidant compounds which, yet to be investigated. Although, there are numerous studies associated with high temperature processing yet, up to date limited number of studies related to structure elucidation of canola meal extracts in accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) is present. Thus, rec...

Canola (Brassica napus) has been nominated as the major oil crop of Canada, which accounts for more than 20% of the global production.Due to its elevated bioavailability of phenolic contentandantioxidant capacity, lately interest towards canola by-products as a natural source of antioxidants as well as a rich source for nutraceuticals has gained it...

Importance towards increasing yield of antioxidant properties is a hot topic in modern world. Researchers have acknowledged that in several instances during processing and refining diverse amounts of phenolic compounds and potential antioxidant compounds are lost. Thus, recent investigations have initiated that application of accelerated solvent ex...

Fruit vinegar beverages have been becoming popular as a part of the healthy diet. The current study investigated the antioxidant and in vitro low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation inhibition and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) properties of four different fruit vinegar beverages: apple, blueberry, cranberry and tomato at 5, 10, and 15 mg acet...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is ranked as one of top leading causes of death in most industrialized countries. Recent research suggests that fruit vinegar beverages (FVB) possess beneficial effects such as antihypertensive properties, reduction of serum cholesterol and triacylglycerols (TAG). FVB made using apple, blueberry, cranberry and tomato we...

Bee honey has been renowned among nations throughout the world for its therapeutic, nutritional, flavouring and preservative values since times immemorial. It has been proven to be rich in carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, organic acids and antioxidants. Many of the ancient medicinal systems and modern medicine prescribe bee honey as...