https://journalafsj.com/index.php/AFSJ/issue/feed 2026-06-12T12:25:41+00:00 Asian Food Science Journal [email protected] Open Journal Systems <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Asian Food Science Journal (ISSN: 2581-7752)</strong> aims to publish high quality papers (<a href="https://journalafsj.com/index.php/AFSJ/general-guideline-for-authors">Click here for Types of paper</a>) on all aspects of Food research. By not excluding papers based on novelty, this journal facilitates the research and wishes to publish papers as long as they are technically correct and scientifically motivated. The journal also encourages the submission of useful reports of negative results. This is a quality controlled, OPEN peer-reviewed, open-access INTERNATIONAL journal.<br /><br />This is an open-access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.</p> https://journalafsj.com/index.php/AFSJ/article/view/885 2026-05-29T12:13:47+00:00 Nikita Agarwal Priyanka Shankar [email protected]

<p><strong>Background: </strong>In recent years, Increased screen time in children is strongly linked to unhealthy snacking habits, characterized by the consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods. These trends contribute significantly to childhood obesity and poor nutritional health, creating an urgent need for healthier, child- friendly snack alternatives.</p> <p><strong>Objective: </strong>The present study aimed to develop a nutrient-rich snack, nut-based chocolate and evaluate its overall acceptability among children as a healthier alternative to commonly consumed snacks during screen time.</p> <p><strong>Methods: </strong>The present research was conducted as an experimental study to formulate a healthy snack alternative for children. Nut-based chocolate was developed using nutrient-dense ingredients such as almonds, cashews, walnuts, makhana, oats, honey, milk powder, cocoa powder, and dark chocolate. Standard preparation techniques, including roasting, mixing and moulding, were employed. The developed product was evaluated by 51 participants using a sensory evaluation scale to assess overall acceptability. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, frequency distribution, and a one-sample t-test to determine the significance of acceptability scores.</p> <p><strong>Results: </strong>The findings showed high acceptability of the developed product, with 64.7% participants liking it extremely and 33.3% liking it very much, while only 2% moderate liking. The mean acceptability score was 8.63±0.528, indicating very good to excellent acceptance. The one-sample t-test revealed statistically significant (t=116.764, p&lt;0.001), confirming that the high ratings were not due to chance. Additionally, the product was equally accepted by both male and female participants, demonstrating broad consumer appeal.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The developed nut-based chocolate was found to be highly acceptable and may serve as a healthier alternative to unhealthy snacks commonly consumed during screen time. The study highlights the importance of nutrient-dense snack options to improve dietary habits and promote better health outcomes among children. Further research is recommended to assess large-scale acceptability, shelf life, and long-term nutritional impact.</p>

2026-05-29T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://journalafsj.com/index.php/AFSJ/article/view/886 2026-06-06T12:23:36+00:00 Aderounmu Ibrahim Ganiyu Aminat Onize Idris [email protected] Muhammad Sani Ikra

<p>Suya, a traditional West African grilled meat product, is highly susceptible to nutritional and microbiological deterioration during ambient-temperature storage. This study evaluated the effects of four packaging materials cellophane film (CF), aluminium foil (AF), glass jar (GJ), and newspaper (NP) on the proximate composition and microbial safety of suya stored at 25°C for 14 days. Proximate analysis revealed initial moisture contents ranging from 16.25% (AF) to 23.17% (GJ), crude protein from 13.62% (CF) to 17.43% (GJ), and crude fat from 14.20% (GJ) to 28.00% (NP). During storage, NP-packaged samples underwent dramatic desiccation (16.33% to 2.20% moisture by day 14), while CF, GJ, and AF samples showed progressive moisture accumulation reaching 34–37% by day 14. Ash content increased markedly in NP samples (3.94% to 9.25% a 135% rise), indicative of chemical migration from the packaging. Aerobic bacterial counts in freshly prepared samples ranged from 3.6 × 10⁴ (CF) to 1.1 × 10⁵ CFU/g (AF), with pathogenic isolates including <em>Escherichia coli</em>, <em>Klebsiella pneumoniae</em>, <em>Proteus mirabilis</em>, and <em>Aspergillus flavus</em> detected across packaging types. CF maintained the lowest aerobic bacterial count at day 14 (1.1 × 10⁴ CFU/g). These findings establish CF as the superior packaging material for nutritional retention and microbial control, while NP is contraindicated due to chemical migration and inadequate moisture barrier properties.</p>

2026-06-06T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://journalafsj.com/index.php/AFSJ/article/view/887 2026-06-09T04:52:57+00:00 Divya Singh [email protected] Jasmeet Singh Kritika Chaudhary A. C. Kar

<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Pumpkin seeds (<em>Cucurbita pepo</em>, <em>Cucurbita maxima</em>, and <em>Cucurbita moschata</em>) are widely consumed agro-industrial by-products that are often discarded despite their reported nutritional and pharmacological potential.</p> <p><strong>Aim</strong>: The present study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics and preliminary phytochemical profile of pumpkin seed samples collected from the local market of Varanasi, India.</p> <p><strong>Materials and Methods: </strong>Three pumpkin seed samples obtained from different vendors were subjected to proximate and phytochemical analyses. Moisture content was determined by loss on drying at 105°C. Total ash, acid-insoluble ash, water-insoluble ash, and water-soluble ash were estimated using standard analytical procedures. Ethanolic extracts of powdered seeds were prepared using Soxhlet extraction, followed by qualitative phytochemical screening for major bioactive constituents using standard chemical tests.</p> <p><strong>Results: </strong>The average moisture loss of pumpkin seeds was 5.62%, indicating moderate moisture content reduction under controlled drying conditions. The average total ash content was 4.46% for Batch I and 4.43% for Batch II, reflecting consistency in mineral composition across samples. Acid-insoluble ash (1.48%), water-insoluble ash (4.02%), and water-soluble ash (0.41%) indicated low levels of extraneous inorganic impurities and moderate mineral solubility characteristics. Phytochemical screening of ethanolic extracts revealed the presence of protein in all samples, while alkaloids, carbohydrates, starch, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, steroids, tannins, and glycosides were absent. Resin was detected only in Sample I.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings indicate that the analyzed pumpkin seed samples possess stable physicochemical properties with appreciable protein content. However, the absence of several key phytochemicals in the ethanolic extracts suggests possible influence of factors such as solvent specificity, seed maturity, storage conditions, or varietal differences. Further detailed quantitative and advanced chromatographic analyses are recommended to better characterize the bioactive profile of pumpkin seeds.</p>

2026-06-09T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://journalafsj.com/index.php/AFSJ/article/view/888 2026-06-09T11:34:22+00:00 Chidinma A. Okafor [email protected] Kolawole O. Falade

<p>The growing demand for nutrient-rich ready-to-eat foods has increased the need to understand moisture sorption characteristics and packaging stability of extruded Bambara groundnut-based breakfast meals to enhance their quality, safety, and shelf life. The objective of this study was to evaluate the adsorption isotherms of extruded Bambara groundnut-based ready-to-eat breakfast meal. Banana, pearl millets, sorghum and Bambara groundnut flours were blended in the ratio of 10:20:20:50, respectively. Response surface methodology was utilised for experimental design. The blend was hot extruded at 180-220 ^oC (barrel temperature), 300-350 rpm (screw speed) and 12-16% (feed moisture) to produce unsweetened, sweetened and sweetened-flavoured extruded samples. The adsorption isotherm was determined by gravimetric static methods using salt slurries at 25 ^oC and 30 ^oC. The experimental data were analysed using eight model equations, including Chun-Pfost, BET, Bradley, Smith, BET, modified Henderson, Halsey, Oswin and GAB. The extruded samples all exhibited a type II sigmoidal pattern and showed better stability at 30 ^oC. Equilibrium moisture content and water activity of the samples increased rapidly until water activity of 0.8. The GAB and Oswin sorption models fitted most with experimental results. The GAB model estimated the monolayer moisture content to be 13.25, 13.23, and 10.41 g water/g dry solids (d.s.) at 30°C and 11.41, 14.87, and 14.77 g water/g d.s. at 25 °C for unsweetened, sweetened, and sweetened-flavoured extrudates, respectively. The GAB model also showed the least number of points with deviation greater than 5% at 38.5% for both sweetened and sweetened-flavoured extrudates. An adsorption isotherm study was helpful in establishing the necessary parameters for the packaging and storage of extruded Bambara groundnut-based ready-to-eat breakfast meal.</p>

2026-06-09T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://journalafsj.com/index.php/AFSJ/article/view/889 2026-06-11T11:38:41+00:00 Misba Ansari [email protected] Sunita Mishra

<p><strong>Background: </strong>Nutrigenomics examines the relationships between food bioactives and the human genome, facilitating a shift towards precision nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases. Notwithstanding its clinical possibility, the incorporation of genetic literacy into educational and professional domains remains insufficiently examined. This study assessed the knowledge, awareness and attitudes towards nutrigenomics among our varied population of university students. Moreover, it clarified prevalent misconceptions about the scope and scientific rigor of nutrigenomics by emphasizing that it is a multidisciplinary domain firmly grounded in molecular biology, genetics, and biochemistry, rather than simply a food trend. Enhancing awareness via scientific education, evidence-based research, seminars, and effective public communication may improve knowledge of the impact of nutrients on gene expression, metabolism, and disease prevention, thereby strengthening the connection between nutrigenomics and molecular biology in personalized nutrition and precision healthcare.</p> <p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional survey was performed at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, with a sample size of <em>N = 95</em> undergraduate and postgraduate students. Data were obtained via a standardized structured questionnaire examining three domains: knowledge of nutrigenomics, awareness of clinical application and perception of customized nutrition plans. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 20.0, incorporating descriptive statistics for baseline data, the Mann-Whitney U test for group comparisons and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient to assess inter-variable correlation.</p> <p>Results: An elevated level of basic literacy was noted, with 92.6% of participants exhibiting a strong comprehension of gene nutrition mechanisms. However, a significant conceptual gap was identified: 20% of respondents falsely regarded nutrigenomics as a intervention for diseased populations rather than a preventive measure. While knowledge scores remain consistent across gender and academic disciplines (p &gt; 0.05), Attitudinal scores exhibited significant positive correlations with age (r s = 0.271, p = 0.008) and academic progression (r s = 0.325, p = 0.001). Overall, 69.5% of the cohort maintained positive attitudes toward the societal and clinical adoption of genomic-based dietary interventions.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions</strong>: The findings suggest that while basic genomic literacy is prevalent, targeted pedagogical interventions are required to address misconceptions regarding the scope of neutral genomic strength in the Nexus between molecular biology and clinical dietetics within higher education curriculum is essential for the future implementation of personalized healthcare framework in India.</p>

2026-06-11T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://journalafsj.com/index.php/AFSJ/article/view/890 2026-06-12T12:25:41+00:00 Sylvia Kercher Bangura [email protected] Osman Sanu Beatrice Edwina Koroma

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Maternal malnutrition remains a major public health challenge in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where it contributes significantly to adverse maternal and child health outcomes. In Sierra Leone, especially in rural districts such as Moyamba, inadequate dietary practices among pregnant and lactating women are influenced by multiple factors, including limited nutrition knowledge, food insecurity, socioeconomic constraints, cultural beliefs, and restricted access to health services. Although nutrition education interventions have been implemented to improve maternal nutrition, evidence remains limited regarding the factors that influence the adoption of recommended nutritional practices among women in rural Sierra Leone. Understanding these determinants is essential for designing effective, context-specific interventions to improve maternal and child nutrition outcomes.</p> <p><strong>Aim:</strong> To determine the socioeconomic, cultural, health service, and household factors influencing the adoption of recommended nutritional practices among pregnant and lactating women in rural Moyamba District, Sierra Leone, following a nutrition education intervention</p> <p><strong>Method:</strong> A quasi-experimental study was conducted among 266 pregnant and lactating women (133 intervention and 133 control) in rural Moyamba District. Data were collected using structured questionnaires, 24-hour dietary recall, and interviews. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, chi-square tests, and logistic regression at a significance level of <em>p</em> &lt; 0.05.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Nutrition education significantly improved maternal knowledge (2.48 ± 0.52 vs 1.89 ± 0.61; <em>p</em> = 0.001). However, the adoption of nutritional practices was significantly influenced by maternal education (<em>p</em> = 0.002), wealth status (<em>p</em> = 0.001), and food security (<em>p</em> = 0.003), while larger household size negatively affected dietary practices (<em>p</em> = 0.015). Cultural beliefs and food taboos significantly reduced dietary diversity (<em>p</em> = 0.003). Access to antenatal care and nutrition counseling, as well as household and community support, significantly improved the adoption of recommended practices (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05).</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Although nutrition education improves maternal knowledge, the uptake of nutritional practices is determined by a combination of socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors. Integrated, multi-sectorial interventions are required to improve maternal nutrition outcomes.</p>

2026-06-12T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2026 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.