Browsing by Author "Aastha Dewan"

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A review on instant controlled pressure drop technology – a strategic tool for extraction of bioactive compounds
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2022) Nisha Chaudhary; Priya Dangi; Vandana Chaudhary; Aastha Dewan; Sujata Pandit Sharma; Amrita Poonia; Manoj Kumar
Bioactive compounds are the naturally derived extra-nutritional components with diversified arrangement and functionality, which makes them a promising source for the fabrication of functional foods, nutraceuticals and food additives. Extraction of these compounds by traditional techniques is a cumbersome process, which yields product with compromised quality and poor efficiency besides huge investment in terms of energy and time. This urges an acute need to develop an improved method that ensures the nutritional and organoleptic quality of these bioactive components is better preserved. Instant controlled pressure drop is one such novel and sustainable technique that allows the raw materials to be treated at high pressure and temperature first and latterly followed by an abrupt pressure drop towards a vacuum. The induced thermo-mechanical effects in the sample ensure boost in availability and extractability of high-value bioactive compounds. This technique has found numerous applications in food industry such as a pre-treatment in drying and freezing of food product, enhanced extraction of bioactive compounds and to improve the colour, odour and texture quality of a variety of food products. This review article will emphasise on all these aspects of instant controlled pressure drop technology. © 2022 Institute of Food Science and Technology.
Impact of processing treatments induced changes on little millet: Insights in nutritional, structural and metabolite profile
(Elsevier Ltd, 2025) Neelam Upadhyay; Kumudhini Akasapu; Reena Kumari; Sellam Perinban; Priya Yawale; Chintha Pradeepika; Anushka Singh; Rajan Mahendra; Sunil Meena; Aastha Dewan; Pranita Jaiswal; Dinesh Kumar
Little millet (LM) is a nutrient dense and climate resilient grain. The effect of different processing treatments (roasting, pressure cooking, soaking, germination) was studied on nutritional, anti-nutritional, structural (SEM, XRD, texture), thermal (TGA) and metabolite (NMR) profile of LM. Roasting resulted in significant (p < 0.05) enhancement of iron content (2.65 ppm), soaking and roasting significantly (p < 0.05) reduced phytic acid content to 0.241 g/100 g and 0.311 g/100 g, respectively. Germination showed significant (p < 0.05) improvement in bio-functional attributes prior to digestion (antioxidants, flavonoid content and α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition activity in ½-diluted samples) and after in-vitro digestion (CUPRAC activity, TPC and TFC). Presence of metabolites (amino acids, fatty acids and polyphenols) was prominent in germinated LM. SEM of intact grain and flour revealed notable morphological changes in starch granules on processing. Roasting resulted in a damaged starch structure, while pressure cooking led to complete loss of starch morphology. Soaking and germination affirmed swollen starch granules. XRD revealed enhanced crystallinity in soaked and germinated LM. Reduced fracturability and hardness were observed after pressure cooking and germination. These inferences indicate potential of processing treatments in improving functionality and utility of LM in functional foods. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd