The use of herbal preparations remained the main approach of folk medicine to the treatment of ailments and debilitating diseases. Initial intensive researches conducted on Lemongrass extracts (tea) may have showed conflicting evidences, however the resurgence in claims of folk medicine practitioners necessitated further inquiry into the efficacy of the tea. Lemongrass tea contains several biocompounds in its decoction, infusion and essential oil extracts. Anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-obesity, antinociceptive, anxiolytic and antihypertensive evidences of lemongrass tea were clearly elucidated to support initial pharmacological claims. Lemongrass tea was non-toxic, non-mutagenic and receives wide acceptance among alternative medicine practitioners in several developing countries. This review therefore presents previous research activities, technologies and information surrounding bioactivities of lemongrass tea. Areas of future researches which may elucidate mechanisms of the biological properties of lemongrass extracts were highlighted.
In recent time, there has been a great influx of numerous processed foods into the market. The utilization of improved technologies in food ecosphere has not only led to the emergence of complex foods but has also raised concerns about their nutritional, safety and halal status among consumers. Consumers are confused whether to reject or adopt the proceesed foods and have become divided into various groups based on their eating habits. In order to ameliorate their concerns, consumers seek the adoption of knowledge-based eating habits. This review provides details on the nutritional perspectives of eating habits by early Muslims. Islam, as a complete way of life, entails well-defined eating habits as a comprehensive guide for mankind.
This study involves extraction of sulfated polysaccahride (SP) from brown seaweed (Turbinaria turbinata). Eight processing conditions affecting enzyme aided extraction (EAE) were screened using Plackett-Burman design. Three significant factors (hydrolysis time, enzyme concentration and extraction stage) were optimized using Faced Centred Central Composite Design in Random Surface Methods. Micrograph obtained using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy revealed that cellulase degradation ruptured the seaweed cell matrix thus caused increase in the release of SP. The optimum conditions for extraction of SP from T. turbinata are: extraction stage of 2, hydrolysis time of 19.5 h and enzyme concentration of 1.5 μl/ml to produce 25.13% yield. The SP obtained from cellulase treated T. turbinata is a suitable anti-inflammatory agent for pharmaceutical applications.