Yadav Kc

Green teas are the sources of bioactive compounds with potential health benefits. This study aims to optimize fixing and drying conditions for Nepalese tea varieties: Gumti (G‐t), Takda 383 (T‐383), Happy‐valley 39 (HV‐39), Takda 78 (T‐78), and Phubtsering 312 (Pb‐312). Pan firing and drying were performed at 100°C, 105°C, 110°C, 115°C, and 120°C to achieve a final moisture content of 10%. The chlorophyll content was used to assess the indicator of green tea quality during the fixing process. The effect of varieties and temperature variation was significant ( p < 0.05) for the antioxidant activity, total phenol, caffeine, and flavonoid content. The values of the experimental moisture ratio were calculated and compared, and the best‐fitted model was selected based on the statistical parameters. The peroxidase inactivation took longer at 100°C. However, all varieties had higher chlorophyll retention at this temperature. For T‐383 and T‐78, peroxidase inactivation was at 7 min; for others, it was at 8 min at 100°C. Drying at 100°C for all varieties had more total phenols, flavonoids, and DPPH scavenging activity. Caffeine content was least affected by the drying temperatures. However, there was variability in the values due to varietal and temperature differences. The T‐78 drying at 100°C is the best quality among all samples, with a diffusivity of 7.66 × 10 ⁻⁸ m ² s ⁻¹ , and the Midilli model was the best fit. In conclusion, pan firing at 100°C for 7–8 min, followed by drying at 100°C for 1.17 h, is recommended for green tea processing. This ensures the highest retention of phytochemicals while maintaining desirable quality attributes. Drying conditions for each variety must be tailored to optimize energy efficiency and product quality.

Rice bran (RB) is a by-product of the rice milling process and is rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds making it a valuable ingredient for extruded foods.

Different applications of the fertilizers were carried out to study their effect on tea plant productivity and phytochemicals in prepared black tea. Weight and dimensions of the bud, first and second leaf of each variety was taken for this purpose. Organic application (T1) 200 g vermicomposting per bush and inorganic application (T2) which is a combination of 2.5 g urea, 5 g Di-ammonium phosphate and 1 g potash was applied per bush. Weights of the bud was found higher in organic treated Ambari (0.061 g), Phubtsering 312 (0.056 g), Takda 78 (0.069 g) but in Banekbern 157 (0.046 g) and Gumti (0.07 g) inorganic fertilizer treatment increased the weight. The weight of first leaves ranged from 0.04 g to 0.115 g for the experimental samples. The weight of first leaves of PB 312, Banekbern 157 and Gumti varieties was observed to have greater for inorganic while for AV2 and Takda 78 weight of first leaf was observed to be greater for organic treatment. The weight of second leaf was found greater for inorganic treatment for all varieties which ranged from 0.115 g to 0.335 g in all samples of tea. In all varieties length was found to be increased in inorganic treatments. In all varieties, inorganic practice has positive effect in the growth and yield of the leaves. The fresh leaves and black tea prepared from the leaves of organic treatments had better tea quality in reference to TPC, TFC and DPPH radical scavenging activity. The caffeine content was not significantly different (p > 0.05) for the organic and inorganic treatment for both fresh leaves and prepared tea. Black tea prepared by organic treated leaves from Gumti and AV2 were superior to other samples regarding the phytochemical properties. Inorganic treatments increased the yield and growth but the quality of tea was increased by organic fertilizers.

Antibiotic usage has played a significant role in the growth of poultry industry all across the globe. But because of indiscriminate use of antibiotics, several incidences related to occurrence of antibiotic residues in broiler meat have been reported. In the context of Nepal, only limited studies have been attempted to assess the presence of antibiotic residues in poultry meat and thus this study aims to determine the same in Dharan. A questionnaire survey was conducted among poultry farmers and veterinary shops in Dharan where 44% of respondents had training on poultry farming but only 4 % had knowledge on antimicrobial resistance in microorganism. The survey report showed maximum usage of doxycycline and tetracycline in poultry farms. Four types of broiler meat, namely, liver, breast muscle, kidney and gizzard were collected and screening of antibiotic residues (ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, enrofloxacin, gentamycin and tetracycline) in them was performed by thin layer chromatography. On thin layer chromatography, 9%, 17%, 8%, 3% and 21% of samples were detected with ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, enrofloxacin, gentamycin and tetracycline residues respectively. Highest occurrence of ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, enrofloxacin and tetracycline residues were found in kidney (16%), gizzard (32%), liver (12%) and kidney (36%) samples respectively.

Fruit leathers, which are also known as fruit rolls, are dehydrated fruit-based products. Despite the popularity of Lapsi fruit leather, its production is limited to home-scale industries, which lack uniformity in quality. Moreover, scientific research to address this issue is very limited. Therefore, in this study, Lapsi fruit leather was prepared and its nutritional, phytochemicals, and sensorial properties were studied. The fruit pulp and sugar were mixed at the proportion of 50:50, 80:20, 57.5:42.5, 72.5:27.5, and 65:35 to prepare leather and labeled as samples A, B, C, D, and E, respectively. The drying behavior was studied at 55°C in cabinet dryer. Among these samples, B had higher amount of crude fat (0.88 g/100 g sample), crude protein (3.87 g/100 g sample), crude fiber (10.95 g/100 g sample), and total ash (1.09 g/100 g sample); however, carbohydrate and energy value was significantly higher in sample A with the value of 83.21 g and 284 kcal per 100 g leather, respectively. Similarly, sample B was rich in phytochemicals containing 67 mg vitamin C/, total polyphenol of 88.33 mg GAE/g dry extract, total flavonoid of 37.57 mg QE/g dry extract and DPPH inhibition activity of 43.17%. Sample A was dried in 8.83 h, which had moisture diffusivity of 8.723 × 10⁻⁷ m²/sec, and sample B was dried in 7.33 h, which had moisture diffusivity of 10.0 × 10⁻⁷ m²/sec. Though there was significant effect (p < .05) on the taste, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability except for color of the product, sample C was preferred by the panelists. Thus, nutritionally rich and underutilized lapsi fruit can be processed into fruit leather with high consumer acceptance.

Moringa oleifera is a nutrient-rich plant, also referred to as a miracle tree, and is commonly used in the preparation of functional foods including herbal biscuits. Despite having a wide range of biomolecules, M. oleifera has not been studied for its nutritional benefits in Nepal. To fill this gap, five different formulations of flower and leaf powder ratios of 11:4, 11.75:3.25, 12.5:2.5, 13.25:1.75, 14:1 named as A, B, C, D, E, and control formulations were tested for their sensory and chemical characteristics. The results showed that calcium content (115.73 mg/100 g) was higher in biscuits with a higher percentage of the leaf (11:4) while TPC was minimum. Further, biscuits containing a higher percentage of flower powder contained fewer tannins. The sensory analysis concluded that D was deemed the best in overall attributes by panelists upon statistical analysis, however formulations A and B were superior to other samples regarding the chemical properties. These findings confirm that there is a huge potential for improving herbal biscuits.

The government of Nepal has recommended blanket fertilizer application for rice cultivation, which results in lower nutrient use efficiency (NUE) particularly under rainfed conditions. With the aim of finding an appropriate nutrient management practices concerning rice production and profitability, a field experiment was conducted during rainy season of 2017 and 2018 at Kavrepalanchowk and Dang district of Nepal. Altogether, five treatments comprising various nutrient management practices viz. Nutrient Expert Model (NE), use of Leaf Color Chart (LCC), Government Recommended Fertilizer Dose (GON), Farm Yard Manure (FYM), and Farmers’ Field Practice (FFP), were laid out in RCBD with four replications in farmers’ fields. The analysis of variance showed significant difference between treatments for test weight and grain yield in Kavrepalanchowk whereas all traits except number of effective tillers were significant in Dang. The significantly higher grain yield and harvest index were obtained in NE, followed by LCC; and the overall straw yield was highest in LCC, followed by NE in both the locations. Also, yield gap analysis suggested the NE had 44.44% and 23.97% increase in yield as compared to FPP in Kavrepalanchowk and Dang, respectively. The combined analysis with Best Linear Unbiased Estimator revealed the interaction of nutrient management and location significantly effects the straw yield and harvest index across both the locations. The estimated mean straw yield and harvest index were 10.93 t/ha and 34.98%, respectively. Both correlation study and biplot of principal component analysis signaled grain yield had positive correlation with all other traits. Furthermore, the net revenue was maximum for NE, followed by LCC in both the locations. The benefit: cost ratio was highest for NE which was 1.55 in Kavrepalanchowk and 2.61 in Dang. On the basis of these findings, NE and LCC can be effectively used as nutrient management practice by the farmers to obtain maximum production and profitability in Rice.

Coffee pulp, mucilage, and beans with mucilage were used to develop alcoholic beverages. The pulp of 45.3% pulp, 54.7% mucilage with seed, and 9.4% mucilage only were obtained during the wet processing of coffee. Musts were prepared for all to TSS (Total soluble solid) 18 °Bx and fermentation was carried out for 12–16 days until TSS decreased to 5 °Bx at 30 °C. Phenolic characteristics, chromatic structures, chemical parameters, and sensory characteristics were analyzed for the prepared alcoholic beverages. Methanol content, ester content, aldehyde, alcohol, total acidity, caffeine, polyphenols, flavonoids, chromatic structure, and hue of the alcoholic beverage from the pulp was 335 mg/L, 70.58 ppm, 9.15 ppm, 8.86 ABV%, 0.41%, 30.94 ppm, 845.7 mg GAE/g dry extract, 440.7 mg QE/g dry extract, 0.41, and 1.71, respectively. An alcoholic beverage from the pulp was found superior to an alcoholic beverage from mucilage with beans and a beverage from mucilage in sensory analysis. There is the possibility of developing fermented alcoholic beverages from coffee pulp and mucilage. However, further research is necessary for quality of the beans that were obtained from the fermentation with the mucilage.