Anjali Sharma’s research while affiliated with Central University of Punjab and other places

Cereals, including wheat, play a crucial role in human nutrition, providing a significant proportion of dietary energy and essential nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. Wheat, in particular, is one of the most important staple crops consumed globally, accounting for a significant portion of the world’s food supply. Wheat kernels are composed of three main parts, bran, germ, and endosperm, which are milled into flour used to make various food products, including bread, pasta, cakes, and cookies. Wheat has a significant amount of dietary fiber, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals. The present review represents the impact of various chemical, physical and biological treatments to improve the overall quality and storage stability of wheat grain, flour and resultant products. This review article highlights the impact of these various treatments on the physicochemical, nutritional, and functional characteristics of wheat-based products, as well as their storage stability. By selecting appropriate processing techniques, food manufacturers can develop final products with desirable characteristics and enhanced storage stability, providing consumers with nutritious and safe food products.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal variation of the interstitial pulmonary illness characterised by extracellular matrix deposition that leads to secretion of inflammatory cytokines and causes fibrosis in the lungs. Further progression of fibrosis leads to cancerous stage of lungs and death. IPF is the worst pathological condition to be focused on and explored because of its rising prevalence, poor prognosis, and inadequate treatment. Even though the disease’s origin is still unknown, several genetic, environmental, and underlying pulmonary problems could set off a number of molecular pathways which is involved in the development of IPF. However, several genetic loci and genetic polymorphisms linked to IPF have been examined by genome-wide association studies and whole-genome sequencing. The newly found gene may clarify key elements in the identification, prognosis, and treatments of IPF. Additionally IPF can result from a variety of epigenetic alternations, including modification of histone, methylation of DNA, and non-coding RNA. This book chapter summarises the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis, available treatment and the pathways that involved in IPF progression and may develop into lung cancer. Furthermore, this highlights epigenetic and molecular mechanism of IPF progression.

With aim of assessing inter-laboratory variations, phytochemical and antioxidant analysis of seventeen wheat lines were carried out in three well-equipped Indian laboratories viz- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Punjab, Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering & Technology (CIPHET), Punjab, and National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Telangana. Protocols were rigorously discussed among laboratories, re-formulated, and uniformly executed for estimating anthocyanins, phenolics, flavonoid content and antioxidant activity measured by colorimetric assays (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP & MC). Compiled data complement each other, with minor inter-laboratory variations. Colored wheat lines show higher antioxidant activity and phytochemical profile than white wheat lines across the laboratories. Within colored wheat lines, black wheat lines have the best nutraceutical profile across the laboratories, with an observed order of black > blue > purple > white. Within black wheat varieties, one of the studied lines, Bk2, consistently outperformed across the laboratories and had highest antioxidant activity, mean anthocyanin content (150.19 mg/kg), phenolic content (277.67 mg/kg), flavonoid content (17.76 mg/kg). The factors that may contribute to the evaluation process include differences in the human resources involved, type and company of solvent, instrument model, and weather and humidity conditions during the measurement. This study validates the higher phytochemicals and antioxidant property of colored wheat through a multi-laboratory analysis.

Anthocyanins have been reported for the protective effects against type 2 diabetes and related obesity. This meta-analysis examined the benefits of anthocyanins on type 2 diabetes and obesity biomarkers in animals and humans. The study included 21 clinical trials and 27 pre-clinical studies. A systematic search was conducted using the following inclusion criteria: in vivo rodent studies; human randomized clinical trials, both aimed at assessing the fasting blood glucose (FBG), HbA1c, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein; and study duration of at least two weeks. Out of the 201 examined publications, 48 were shortlisted after implementation of the selection criteria. Results of clinical trials demonstrated that consumption of anthocyanin-rich food significantly reduced the FBG (p < 0.0001), HbA1c (p = 0.02), TC (p = 0.010), TG (p = 0.003), LDL (p = 0.05) and increases the HDL (p = 0.03) levels. Similarly, pre-clinical studies demonstrated the amelioration of the HbA1c (p = 0.02), FBG, TC, TG, and LDL (p < 0.00001), with non-significant changes in the HDL (p = 0.11). Sub-group analysis indicated dose-dependent effect. This compilation confirms that consuming anthocyanin-rich foods positively correlates with the reduction in the blood glucose and lipid levels in diabetic and obese subjects.

Global warming is the major cause of abiotic and biotic stresses that reduce plant growth and productivity. Various stresses such as drought, low temperature, pathogen attack, high temperature and salinity all negatively influence plant growth and development. Due to sessile beings, they cannot escape from these adverse conditions. However, plants develop a variety of systems that can help them to tolerate, resist, and escape challenges imposed by the environment. Among them, anthocyanins are a good example of stress mitigators. They aid plant growth and development by increasing anthocyanin accumulation, which leads to increased resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. In the primary metabolism of plants, anthocyanin improves the photosynthesis rate, membrane permeability, up-regulates many enzyme transcripts related to anthocyanin biosynthesis, and optimizes nutrient uptake. Generally, the most important genes of the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathways were up-regulated under various abiotic and biotic stresses. The present review will highlight anthocyanin mediated stress tolerance in plants under various abiotic and biotic stresses. We have also compiled literature related to genetically engineer stress-tolerant crops generated using over-expression of genes belonging to anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway or its regulation. To sum up, the present review provides an up-to-date description of various signal transduction mechanisms that modulate or enhance anthocyanin accumulation under stress conditions.

Wheatgrass juice is a low-acid functional drink extracted from white wheat seedlings. It is cherished by consumers due to its potent health benefits. The present study was conducted to develop and analyze wheatgrass juice from colored wheat lines to meet consumers' increasing demand for a novel functional drink. The conventional lyophilized wheatgrass juice powder (WJLP) was found to contain significant chlorophyll content (0.3%), soluble phenolic content (0.6%), protein content (20%), moderate essential amino acid index (EAAI; 86%), high K (RDA; 11.6%) and antioxidant activity. Whereas, black WJLP had 564.2% higher anthocyanins, 30.5% higher chlorophyll, 87.5% higher soluble phenolic content, 10.2% higher proteins, 31.5% higher EAAI, and 112.5% higher antioxidant activity compared to white WJLP. Overall, the biochemical parameters of WJLP were increased in the order of white< blue <purple < black. The findings indicate that a proper cultivar selection can improve the nutritional value of wheatgrass juice.