Chitosan the Ultimate Nutrition

Chitosan is a linear polysaccharide with a composition of glucosamine (composed of randomly distributed β-(1-4)-linked D-glucosamine (deacetylated unit) and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (acetylated unit)). Chitosan is widely used in commercial biomedical world. Chitosan is actually derived from the polysaccharide fibers of shellfish, shrimp, crabs and others. Chitosan has the capacity to bind lipids and fats. Most importantly, because chitosan is not digestible in its consumption, the chitosan itself does not contain calories. When drunk, chitosan attaches itself to the intestinal tract, and binds the fat that passes in the gut until absorbed by blood, because the fat that is not tied into the bloodstream, the fat is considered "can not be digested" by the body, so the fat will be excreted through digestive tract. Fibre needed as one who has played an important substance to clean the digestive tract, especially colon. Chitosan is a fiber that is useful to clean the intestines, stimulates the digestive process, and make healthy gut and helps reduce fat absorption.

Chitosan is produced commercially by deacetylation  of chitin  , which is the structural element in the exoskeleton  of crustaceans (crabs, shrimp, etc.) and cell walls of fungi. The degree of deacetylation (%DD) can be determined by NMR spectroscopy, and the %DD in commercial chitosans is in the range 60-100 %.

In agriculture, chitosan is used primarily as a plant growth enhancer, and as a substance that boosts the ability of plants to defend against fungal infections. It is approved for use outdoors and indoors on many plants grown commercially and by consumers. The active ingredient is found in the shells of crustaceans, such as lobsters, crabs, and shrimp, and in certain other organisms. Given its low potential for toxicity and its abundance in the natural environment, chitosan is not expected to harm people, pets, wildlife, or the environment when used according to label directions. Chitosan can also be used in water processing engineering as a part of a filtration process. Chitosan causes the fine sediment particles to bind together and is subsequently removed with the sediment during sand filtration. Chitosan also removes phosphorus, heavy minerals, and oils from the water. Chitosan is an important additive in the filtration process. Sand filtration apparently can remove up to 50% of the turbidity alone while the chitosan with sand filtration removes up to 99% turbidity

Usage

Chitosan supplements are used to manage and maintain weight with the workings of chitosan to absorb as much fat 3-6 times its own weight before the fat is absorbed in the body to be excreted through the process of defecation. Pure chitosan in the diet can also burn 30 calories a day. Chitosan also has the effect of changing or eliminating ineffective minerals in the food that keeps your body healthy. In the world of biomedical, chitosan is used in wound dressings for blood clotting and has anti-bacterial properties.

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Introduction of Biochar

Biochar is charcoal created by pyrolysis  of biomass, and differs from charcoal only in the sense that its primary use is not for fuel, but for biosequestration or atmospheric carbon capture and storage.  Charcoal is a stable solid rich in carbon content, and thus, can be used to lock carbon in the soil. Biochar is of increasing interest because of concerns about climate change caused by emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHG). Carbon dioxide capture also ties up large amounts of oxygen and requires energy for injection (as via carbon capture and storage), whereas the biochar process breaks into the carbon dioxide cycle, thus releasing oxygen as did coal formation hundreds of millions of years ago. Biochar is a way for carbon to be drawn from the atmosphere and is a solution to reducing the global impact of farming (and in reducing the impact from all agricultural waste). Since biochar can sequester carbon in the soil for hundreds to thousands of years, it has received considerable interest as a potential tool to slow global warming. The burning and natural decomposition of trees and agricultural matter contributes a large amount of CO2 released to the atmosphere. Biochar can store this carbon in the ground, potentially making a significant reduction in atmospheric GHG levels; at the same time its presence in the earth can improve water quality, increase soil fertility, raise agricultural productivity and reduce pressure on old growth forests.

Current biochar projects are small scale and make no significant impact on the overall global carbon budget, although expansion of this technique has been advocated as a geoengineering approach. As trees pull down carbon dioxide and release oxygen very efficiently they are already well suited to geoengineering. Further research is in progress, notably by the University of Georgia, which has a dedicated research unit. Agrichar is produced by Best Industries in Australia.

The approach which favors applications that benefit the poorest is gaining traction: in May 2009, the Biochar Fund received a grant from the Congo Basin Forest Fund to implement its concept in Central Africa. In this concept, biochar is a tool used to simultaneously slow down deforestation, increase the food security of rural communities, provide renewable energy to them and sequester carbon.

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Benefit of Bioethanol Stove

People frequently ask about the advantages of bio ethanol stove over traditional wood-burning fireplaces or kerosene stove. Bioethanol stove is the latest breakthrough from the traditional stove-burner. with the use of bioethanol stove is expected we can obtain many advantages. advantage in can not only obtained by the wearer but also the entire mankind. The following is a list of advantages of bioethanol stove :



It is eco friendly and what is bio ethanol?
It is an organic alcohol produced by the fermentation of plants, often sugar cane, wheat, or corn. It is considered a renewable energy. It is eco friendly in virtue of the neutral emission of CO2 during combustion. By neutral emission, I mean that the CO2 emitted by burning is the same quantity of CO2 absorbed by the plant while it is growing.

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Handmade Biodiesel at Home

Fuel prices have been incessantly increasing over the years, and it does't look like rising gas costs are going to stop anytime soon. This is precisely why so many people are searching for alternative sources to regular fuel.

The great thing about biodiesel is that it is actually renewable and clean-burning. We all know how our environment has been suffering with those fuel emissions that come from our cars. With biodiesel, you no longer have to worry about such emissions. And the best thing is that making biodiesel at your house is actually very possible.

What Is Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is actually fuel that uses vegetable oil for its base. Yes you read that right - vegetable oil, that same vegetable oil that you throw out after a number of uses. For one thing, vegetable oil is naturally produced, so you won't have to dig very deep into the earth's core just to get some fuel for personal consumption. This is what happens with the production of regular crude oil today, you know. And by avoiding this altogether, you can also lend another helping hand towards the preservation of our environment. Also, you must not forget how fuel that is petroleum-based comes with aromatics and sulfur, which is why their emissions just add up to the pollution in our atmosphere. Biodiesel does not have these components at all, leaving the burning process of fuel way cleaner that that with traditional diesel.

How Biodiesel Is Made
Biodiesel is actually produced via a process known as transesterification. What happens here is that fat is actually extracted from vegetable oil first. The byproducts would then be glycerin and methyl esters. The best way to learn how to make biodiesel at home is to start small. Prepare a small batch of this natural fuel first so that you can familiarize yourself with the whole process. Here are the ingredients you will need: 200 ml methanol, lye, and 1 liter vegetable oil. First, you have to dissolve your lye in your methanol. This actually produces sodium methoxide. Upon the creation of sodium methoxide, you should then mix this with your vegetable oil. Continue mixing them for roughly 20 minutes. You can use your blender here. Just make sure to set it on low.

Once blending is done, leave the mixture to sit for roughly eight hours. During this period, glycerin should have separated from the rest of the mixture, settling at the bottom of the container. After the 8-hour waiting period, your byproduct should be rid of glycerin already. You can then start enjoying the fruits of your labor. Really, making biodiesel at home is as easy as that.(http://www.makingbiodieselathome.org/)

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Influence of Nanotechnology

According to the Helmut Kaiser Consultancy, the nanofood market has increased from a value of USD2.6 bn in 2003 to USD5.3 bn in 2005; and it is expected to soar to USD20.4 bn in 2015. This trend is a clear indication that nanotechnology will progress within the food & drink industry, and all companies, should they wish not to lose out, need to stay on top of this dynamic development.

Indeed “nanotechnologies” is probably more of a correct term to use these days, as there are such a wide span of different nano technologies and applications. “Nano-technologies” is crossing many technology boundaries as the scientists from disciplines such as chemistry, physics and other pure sciences to medical, materials, sensors and food to name a few, interact to link their researches together. Developments in the food and drink areas are at a at very early stage and are currently being shaped by progress in other areas, most specifically the pharmaceutical industry. Currently the main uses for nanotechnologies in food & drink applications are in packaging and in the

health/nutraceutical supplements areas, and it is expected that the use of nanotechnologies will not only increase within these two areas in the immediate future, but will also expand into other areas, such as ingredient functionality, emulsions and sensors.

Examples in packaging
An example for the packaging industry is the use of nano-silver. Because of its antimicrobial properties, nano-silver has been used to coat packaging materials and inner surfaces of fridges and dishwashers, as well as being incorporated into plastic food containers. Another example is the use of nanoclays, which can be incorporated into plastic bottles for drinks – preventing oxygen from migrating through the plastic bottle walls and destabilising the drink and therefore extending the product shelf life.

With respect to the health supplement areas, the use of nano-sized droplets has been found to increase the efficacy of certain nutraceuticals or health agents. These are generally prepared either by emulsion technology or by micelle encapsulation technology. For example, the antiinflammatory properties of curcumin were found to be enhanced if the emulsion droplet size was reduced below 100nm (Wang et al, 2008, Food Chemistry, Vol 108:
20). Nano-encapsulation is reported to improve solubility properties and enhance bioavailability, and an example is the Canola Active Oil, produced by Shemen Industries; this oil product contains nanocapsules or nanomicelles of phytosterols, which are thought to reduce the uptake of cholesterol from the digestive system.

Nanofoods
While the use and benefits of nanotechnologies is extolled in published research / academic papers, there has been some technology transfer into real food and drinks products. A database of all commercial products claiming to use nanotechnology can be found by accessing the website set up by the Project on Emerging Nano-technologies (“PEN”) organisation, which is based in the USA. Within the website -www.nanotechproject.org - there are six inventories, and one of these is specifically set up for the food & drink industry. A cooking oil and chocolate shake are some of the products listed. The chocolate slim shake is a dietary product, where silica nano-particles are
included that are coated with cocoa particles to give a creamy chocolate taste with reduced fat content.

The application of nanotechnologies to standard ingredients such as salt, fat and biopolymers to produce foods with improved properties should not pose any danger as it is thought that they will be broken down in the body in the usual way. This needs to be emphasised to the media and consumers, so that the development of new foods benefiting from nanotechnologies can proceed. Examples of inorganic nanoparticles that could be a risk include silver, titanium and silica, and the main concern is that these are not normally eaten and metabolised. Thus, it is certainly sensible for the food & drink industry to look at the use and safety of these inorganic nanoparticles. The use
of silica nanoparticles as centres for diet products, such as the commercial Chocolate SlimShake, has raised the question as to whether and how these products should be regulated.

Examples of products that contain nanoparticles resulting from the manufacturing processes include margarines, toffees, chocolate and cheese. For example, toffee is made up of fat droplets surrounded by a thin nanoscale protein membrane in a matrix of sugar containing milk protein. The stability of the interface is important, as it controls the fat droplet size and hence the sensory properties, such as texture and creaminess. Understanding how the
properties of foods change with size of the ingredients and then manufacturing foods with controlled size and structure, should allow improvements to properties that are of benefit to the consumer. In addition, this approach allows for development of healthier foods, which is of concern to the Western world where many suffer from obesity and related diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and coronary heart disease. The use of nanotechnologies
can lead to the development of products that are lower in fat, sugar and salt, and can help overcome technical and sensory problems that food developers come across when using conventional methods. An example is the development of lower fat foods that taste as good as the higher fat products. Using technology to put nanosized water droplets inside fat droplets which are then inside a continuous water phase (a water in oil in water (WOW)
system) can produce mayonnaise that is much lower in fat but tastes as good as the high fat product. Figure 1 shows an image of a WOW emulsion under the microscope, where the fat is white and the water black.

Another example is the particle size reduction of salt crystals. There is a strong move from government agencies to lower the amount of salt in the consumer’s diet as the current intake is considered too high and dangerous for health. Studies at Leatherhead Food International have shown that the size of salt particles dominates the salt intensity and how quickly the salt is tasted. Smaller (micro-sized) salt particles were found to be tasted faster and with
higher intensity than standard sized table salt. This observation is due to the increase in surface area giving a change in properties. By using smaller, and potentially nano-sized, salt particles, the level of salt in products
such as crisps and snacks could be reduced, giving a healthier product.

source: http://www.nanomagazine.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56:nanotechnology-for-the-food-industry

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Nanotechnology and Agriculture

The realization that there are small things in the world that are not visible to the naked eye extends back into human history. Today's developments are addressing the size range below these dimensions. Because a typical structure size is in the nanometer range, the methods and techniques are defined as nanotechnology.  The prefix "nano," derived from the Greek "nano" signifying "dwarf," is becoming increasingly common in scientific literature. "Nano" is now a popular label for much of modern science, and many "nano-" words have recently appeared in dictionaries, including: nanometer, nanoscale, nanoscience, nanotechnology, nanostructure, nanotube, nanowire, and nanorobot. Although the idea of nanotechnology: producing nanoscale objects and carrying out nanoscale manipulations, has been around for quite some time, the birth of the concept is usually linked to a speech by Rachard Feyman at the December 1959 meeting of the American Physical Society where he asked, "What would happen if we could arrange the atoms one by one the way we want them?"

Application Nanotechnology in Agriculture

In the agricultural sector, nanotech research and development is likely to facilitate and frame the next stage of development of genetically modified crops, animal production inputs, chemical pesticides and precision farming techniques. While nano-chemical pesticides are already in use, other applications are still in their early stages, and it may be many years before they are commercialized. These applications are largely intended to address some of the limitations and challenges facing large-scale, chemical and capital intensive farming systems. This includes the fine-tuning and more precise micro-management of soils; the more efficient and targeted use of inputs; new toxin formulations for pest control; new crop and animal traits; and the diversification and differentiation of farming practices and products within the context of large-scale and highly uniform systems of production.
                      
      Table 1. Nano agrochemicals under development

Type of product	Product name & manufacturer	Nano content	Purpose
Super" combined fertilizer and pesticide	Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperative Program	Nano-clay capsule contains growth stimulants and biocontrol agents	Because it can be designed for slow release of active ingredients, treatment requires only one application over the life of the crop
Herbicide	Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (India) and Technologico de Monterry (Mexico)	Nano-formulated	Designed to attack the seed coating of weeds, destroy soil seed banks and prevent weed germination
Pesticides, including herbicides	Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization	Nano-encapsulated active ingredients	Very small size of nanocapsules increases their potency and may enable targeted release of active ingredients

Source: http://agropedia.iitk.ac.in/?q=content/nanotechnology-agriculture (Rajeew Kumar, G.B.Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar-Uttrakhand)

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