Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima Lam.) is a well-known, extensively grown and consumed crop, world-wide. Pumpkins are natural and rich source of potential bioactive compounds. The presence of active phytochemicals makes these fruits a great matrix to be further exploited for therapeutic purposes, beyond biotechnological applications. Peel, flesh and seeds of this fruit are heavily loaded with phenolics, flavonoids and carotenoids, which are the main tributes of this functional and medicinal food. Present study was designed to utilize these parts of pumpkin in the form of powders, at 0, 5, 10 and 15% replacement levels with white flour, to develop biscuits and to obtain methanolic extracts of these biscuits to determine their phytochemical parameters. Among the different treatment biscuits, highest amount of total phenolics (101.79 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (60.74 mg CE/ 100 g) and DPPH free radical scavenging activity (38.00 mg AAE/100 g) was found in biscuits with 15% replacement of pumpkin seeds powder, while biscuits with 15% replacement of pumpkin flesh powder exhibited highest amount of total carotenoid contents (6.95 mg/ 100 g) and β carotene (2.86 mg/100 g). Functional biscuits developed from replacement of pumpkin parts powders with wheat flour may be offered to patients facing oxidative stress, degenerative diseases and diabetes. These biscuits can be offered to children for better growth and development. Consumers awareness through proper marketing at commercial level with proper labelling of nutritional facts, may lead to increased demand of this functional and medicinal food rich in bio actives.

This study has been conducted to determine the fruit quality parameters such as sugar and carotenoid content as well as plant and fruit characteristics of 11 local watermelon genotypes from watermelon genetic resources collection of Cukurova University, Department of Horticulture. First and 50% male and female flowering period, main stem length, main stem diameter, number of nodes on main stem, total yield, fruit weight, fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit rind thickness, total soluble solids (TSS), sugar and carotenoid contents were examined. Although there is no significant difference for main stem diameter and number of nodes on the main stem, significant differences were obtained for total yield, sugar and carotenoid composition of the genotypes. Carotenoid and sugar analysis were performed with a high-performance liquid chromatographic method coupled with diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) and HPLC coupled with refractive index detector (RID), respectively. In all studied genotypes, cis-13-lycopene and β-carotene were the most abundant compounds. As expected for watermelon genotypes, the main sugar found in all studied genotypes was fructose. According to PCA analyses, genotypes were characterized by physical and chemical composition. Overall evaluation of results revealed that Kar 147 had better potential with carotenoid, sugar contents and fruit characteristics.

This study aimed to evaluate the biochemical and nutritional profiles of three cauliflower cultivars—Valentena, Carotena, and Snow White—focusing on chlorophyll, carotenoids, anthocyanins, vitamin C, flavonoids, phenolics, and antioxidant activity. Uniform curds were harvested at 60 days post-sowing from Baratia, Dumuria, Khulna, and analyzed at Khulna Agricultural University. Valentena exhibited the highest chlorophyll content (40.06±0.39 µg/100g FW chlorophyll a, 28.98±3.35 µg/100g FW chlorophyll b), superior lycopene (8.71±0.38 µg/100g FW) levels. Carotena showed the highest total carotenoid content (60.52±1.76 µg/100g FW) and β-carotene (26.99±0.44 µg/100g FW), while Snow White had the lowest values across most parameters. Valentena also led in anthocyanins (101.56±3.9 mg/L FW) and total flavonoids (79.56±10.36 mg/100g FW), with Carotena having the highest vitamin C content (60.05±2.93 µg/g FW). DPPH assays indicated that Valentena showed the most effective antioxidant (IC50 = 43.65±3.56 mg/mL FW), followed by Carotena and Snow White. Hierarchical clustering and pricipal component analysis (PCA) revealed distinct biochemical profiles: Valentena and Carotena shared similarities in carotenoids and antioxidant activity, whereas Snow White differed significantly. Linear discriminant analysis identified lycopene, chlorophyll b, and β-carotene as major differentiators, highlighting the diverse nutritional and antioxidant properties of these cauliflower varieties. The findings highlight the potential of Carotena and Valentena for health-conscious consumers seeking nutrient-rich, antioxidant benefits in functional meals.

Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima Lam.) is a well-known, extensively grown and consumed crop, world-wide. Pumpkins are natural and rich source of potential bioactive compounds. The presence of active phytochemicals makes these fruits a great matrix to be further exploited for therapeutic purposes, beyond biotechnological applications. Peel, flesh and seeds of this fruit are heavily loaded with phenolics, flavonoids and carotenoids, which are the main tributes of this functional and medicinal food. Present study was designed to utilize these parts of pumpkin in the form of powders, at 0, 5, 10 and 15% replacement levels with white flour, to develop biscuits and to obtain methanolic extracts of these biscuits to determine their phytochemical parameters. Among the different treatment biscuits, highest amount of total phenolics (101.79 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (60.74 mg CE/ 100 g) and DPPH free radical scavenging activity (38.00 mg AAE/100 g) was found in biscuits with 15% replacement of pumpkin seeds powder, while biscuits with 15% replacement of pumpkin flesh powder exhibited highest amount of total carotenoid contents (6.95 mg/ 100 g) and β carotene (2.86 mg/100 g). Functional biscuits developed from replacement of pumpkin parts powders with wheat flour may be offered to patients facing oxidative stress, degenerative diseases and diabetes. These biscuits can be offered to children for better growth and development. Consumers awareness through proper marketing at commercial level with proper labelling of nutritional facts, may lead to increased demand of this functional and medicinal food rich in bio actives.

Tomato pomace (TP), utilized improperly is not namely causes a waste of valuable resources but also increases environmental pollution. In this study, possibilities improving nutrient composition by fermenting dry TP with Aspergillus niger was investigated for the value-added utilization of this pomace in animal feed. The TP, dried at 65°C for 8 hours with a simple layer and under a laminar airflow drying oven, was subjected to solid-state fermentation. After unfermented and fermented dry pomaces were milled in 2 mm sieve, proximate analysis and the analysis of cellulosic fractions were performed. Roughage quality indices were calculated using cellulosic fractions. Fermentation of TP with Aspergillus niger inoculant increased the amount of dry matter (82.98 vs 91.47%), crude fiber (21.71 vs 23.00%), neutral detergent fiber (29.70 vs 35.92%), acid detergent fiber (25.22 vs 26.84%), acid detergent lignin (7.91 vs 10.77%), hemicellulose (44.71 vs 90.78), crude protein (13.70 vs 21.37%), ether extract (2.82 vs 3.52%) and ash (10.57 vs 13.24%) compare to unfermented TP. Fermentation process decreased nitrogen-free extract (51.19 vs 38.86%), non-fiber carbohydrates (46.03 vs 29.47%) and quality index as relative feed value (216.9 vs 176.1) and relative forage quality (242.5 vs 195.5) and metabolizable energy (2.66 vs 2.60). Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), DPPH free radical (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrilhydrazil) and total phenolic content of TP did not increase by fermentation. Concentration of β-carotene and lycopene of TP decreased after fermentation with A niger. The results indicate that the selected strains of A. niger can be used to enrich the chemical composition of TP, except for cellulosic fractions and also carotenoids and antioxidant activity.

This study investigates the antioxidant components (total carotenoids, lycopene, β-carotene, total phenols, flavonoids, ascorbic acid and total vitamin C) as well as the hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant activities (HAA and LAA) of tomato genotypes consisting of one ordinary cultivar Rio Grande and the two high-lycopene breeding lines HLT-F71 and HLT-F72. The correlation of nutritional value to L∗, a∗, b∗ colour indexes and a∗/b∗ ratio was also investigated in whole and fresh cut tomato fruits. Except for β-carotene content, significant differences were found among cultivars for antioxidants. The berries of both HLT-lines recorded higher antioxidant contents, HAA and LAA (TEAC and FRAP assays) than Rio Grande. Under controlled conditions, HLT-F72 reached the highest levels of total carotenoids (165.5 mg β-ca Eq per kg fw), lycopene (150.1 mg per kg fw) and total phenolics (549.7 mg GAE per kg fw). However, HLT-F72 exhibited the highest levels of ascorbic acid (193.3 mg per kg fw), total vitamin C (271.6 mg per kg fw) and flavonoids (450.5 mg RE per kg fw). Line HLT-F71 showed the highest HAA (148.0 µM Trolox per 100 g fw and 4.2 mM FRAP per g fw) and LAA values (258.5 µM Trolox per 100 g fw and 3.2 mM FRAP per g fw respectively). Colour readings in red ripe fresh cut tomato berries particularly a∗, b∗ and the ratio a∗/b∗ could represent an indicator not only for lycopene but also for other phytochemicals and resulting antioxidant activities. HLT-Lines may serve as a starting point for the development of semi-determinate growth habit tomato cultivars with higher functional quality.

The symptoms which were directly bound to the biochemical mode of action of an herbicide, other symptoms result from an indirect consequence of this action. The symptoms of herbicidal action deeply differed and that the climatic factors during the two first weeks after treatment could change definitely the result of the selective herbicide action. The repetitive observation of symptoms allows to inform the farmer about the tolerance or resistance of certain plant species, including the culture, for instance through the appearance of symptoms on the first leaves of the seedlings and their absence in the following leaves. As a whole, the accurate observation of herbicidal symptoms on plants is the essential, rapid and non-expensive analysis of treatment effectiveness at the field scale. The purpose of the current report is to describe the symptoms of a very complex herbicidal action, that of aclonifen involving two modes of action for the same molecule, approximately at the same concentration, and to compare these symptoms under field conditions and under controlled conditions, for a better understanding.