Osmotic dehydration is a simultaneous mass transfer process which mainly promotes the flow of water molecules from the food to osmo-active solution and some migration of solutes from the solution into the food, thus maintaining good organoleptic and functional properties in the finished product. This paper presents mechanism of osmotic dehydration and recent developments regarding the factors affecting osmotic dehydration process viz., pretreatment factors (blanching, coating, ultrasound treatment, high pressure processing, pulsed electric field effect, etc.), product-related factors and osmotic solution related factors (temperature of osmotic solution, concentration of osmotic agent, type of osmotic agent, agitation/stirring process during osmotic process, osmotic solution and food mass ratio). The details on mathematical modeling of mass transfer during osmotic dehydration of foods and benefits of osmotic dehydration which includes energy saving methods and quality of final product are reviewed. Practical ApplicationOsmosis is a physical phenomenon that has been extensively studied in various disciplines of science and engineering. Osmotic dehydration has diverse applications in fruits and vegetables. Thus it can be used to decrease the post harvest losses. Being a simple process, it facilitates processing of fruits and vegetables with retention of initial fruit characteristics viz., colour, aroma, texture and nutritional composition. Since no preservative was used, it does not adversely affect the human body. This process could be used on small scale for development of self-entrepreneurs and home scale industries. The mathematical models can be used for understanding the mass transfer phenomenon during the process. The economic interest relates to the reduced energy consumption as compared to conventional drying. This review serves to provide an updated status on osmotic dehydration and its research gap which is useful for academics, research purpose and processing industries.

Boiling and drying of raw turmeric rhizomes is essentially very important for development of an attractive yellow colour and the aroma. The quality of the final product turmeric depends largely on curing process (Purthi, 1992). The post harvest unit operations for turmeric processing are boiling and drying carried out by conventional method which are slow, tedious and labour intensive. Use of petroleum fuel or electricity for drying of turmeric is an expensive process at village scale in developing countries. Therefore, an appropriate technology for boiling and drying of turmeric was developed and was evaluated for the boiling and drying of turmeric rhizomes. The results indicate that boiling and drying practice as intensified the colour and curcumin content. It was observed that time required to reduced moisture content in turmeric from 82% to 8% in solar drying was 42 h while 56 recommended that the improved biomass combustor and solar dryer be used for turmeric processing.

The aim of the present study was to develop solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and formulate a hydrogel for enhanced topical delivery of aceclofenac (ACF). The SLN were prepared by the ultrasonic emulsification method and optimized on the basis of stirring speed and lipid content. The optimized formulation was characterized for particle size (189 ± 9.2 nm), polydispersity index (PDI) (0.162 ± 0.02), zeta potential (-32.51 ± 0.12 mV), entrapment efficiency (86.51 ± 2.46%), surface morphology, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In vivo performance of ACF-loaded SLN hydrogel showed prolonged inhibition of edema, as compared to that observed using plain ACF hydrogel, after 24 h. The results demonstrated that the ACF-SLN formulation for skin targeting could be a promising carrier for topical delivery of ACF.

SynopsisMany molecular sunscreens penetrate into the skin causing photo‐allergic and photo‐toxic reactions as well as skin irritations establishing an urgent need for the development of a safer sunscreen formulation. The search for active substances, efficient combinations, and the design of novel vehicles or carriers has led to the implementation of new cosmetic systems in contrast to the classic forms such as creams or gels. Amongst various approaches utilized to improve performance of sunscreening agents, the use of multiparticulate delivery systems is gaining increasing attention amongst researchers. Multiparticulate delivery systems can be incorporated into gels, creams, liquids, powders or other formulations, and can release active agents depending on their temperature, moisture, friction, volatility of the entrapped ingredients or time. These systems also have the ability of scattering or reflecting incoming UV radiations and therefore can act as physical sunscreens on their own.

In spite of encouraging results of alternative parenteral dosage forms, the problems of type I diabetes and insulin delivery remain a challenging area of research. Glucose responsive liposomes (GR) containing encapsulated insulin and GOD were prepared using defined molar ratios of DPPE, Egg PC, cholesterol and any of three different fatty acids viz. oleic acid (GR-O1& GR-O2), palmitic acid (GR-P1& GR-P2), stearic acid (GR-S1& GR-S2). The control formulations include a non-glucose responsive liposome (PS-L; no GOD) and non-pH-sensitive liposome (NP-L; no pH-sensitive component). The GR formulations showed a marked aggregation at pH 6.8-6.4 and a glucose concentration dependent permeation and destabilization. In vitro, insulin release was 21-31% within 0.5 h at 100 mg/dL glucose incubation and was doubled (52-62%) at 250 mg/dL; the release was slightly higher with the formulations of 2 molar ratios of fatty acids. Following s.c. injection, the GR formulation showed higher responses to reduce blood glucose (percentage of initial is expressed) and were found to be 40-50% compared to control formulations (PS-L; 61% and NP-L; 67 ± 5.5%). Nonetheless, tailoring of controlled release and long circulating forms of this carrier system may improve its potential.

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Experiments on thin layer drying of greengram (Phaselous aureus Roxb.) were conducted at 40, 50, so, 70 and 80 degrees C in a batch type cross now dryer at an air flow rate of 3.45 m(3)/min. Drying rate and moisture ratio were calculated from the moisture loss data It was observed that drying of greengram occurs in falling rate period and is governed by moisture diffusion. A mathematical relationship has been established between moisture ratio and drying time.