Introduction: purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a member of the portulacaceae. Purslane has been described as a power food of the future because of its high nutritive and antioxidant properties. Purslane is listed in the world health organization as one of the most used medicinal plants and it has been given the term “Global panacea“. This study is concerned with the evaluation of PHYSICOCHEMICAL characteristics of the oil extracted from purslane seeds.Materials and Methods: In this research work purslane seeds were subjected to oil extraction. The extracted oils were subjected to a series of physical and chemical tests consisting of fatty acid composition, iodine value, colour measurement, saponification value, nonsaponifiable matter contents, acid value, peroxide value, phospholipids contents, metal contents, sterols and tocopherol compositions and contents.Results: The extracted oils accounted for 13.4% of the total weight of the seeds. The fatty acid profile of the isolated oil indicated that linoleic and a-linolenia- acids were the predominant fatty acids present. Examination of the isolated nonsaponifiable matter of the oil showed that a- tocopherol and b- sitosterol were the predominant tocopherol and sterol respectively.Conclusion: It was concluded that purslane seeds oil due to its high nutritive and antioxidant values might be regarded as a valuable oil for human consumption.

Enset (Ensete ventricosum, family musaceae) is a plant of Ethiopia. Ethiopians are farmed enset plant for food uses. It is very similar to the banana plant (Musa acuminate, Family musaceae) and hence termed “ false banana” . However, the starch of enset plant is stored in major quantities in the pseudostem and underground corms. The properties of the enset starch were not studied in detail. The native enset starch (ES) was evaluated for proximate composition and PHYSICOCHEMICAL properties. The enset starch properties, such as bulk density, tapped density, granule size, color of enset starch powder and gel, pH, swelling capacity, solubility, and gelatinization properties were examined. Sorption isotherm of enset starch was studied. The effect of NaCl and sucrose on swelling capacity, solubility and gelatinization properties has been examined. The kinetics of gelatinization of enset starch (starch: water weight ratio, 1: 2) were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).

Nanomaterials involve the structures with at least one dimension of <100 nm. Recently, development in nanotechnology has led to the use of nanomaterials in many different fields. On the other hand, increasing use of nanomaterials has resulted in release of these materials to the environment. Therefore, before employing these materials in biological and living systems, they should be evaluated in terms of biocompatibility and distribution. Although the toxic effects of nanomaterials on living organisms, human health and the environment have been studied by some researchers, there are too much uncertainty regarding the effects and mechanisms of toxicity of nanomaterials. Therefore, understanding the toxicity effects of nanomaterials is highly desirable. Cellular uptake mechanisms and dispersion of nanomaterials in biological environments depend on their PHYSICOCHEMICAL properties. Therefore, knowledge of the unique characteristics of nanomaterials and the interactions of nanomaterials with biological systems, are important criteria for the safe use of nanomaterials. Properties of nanomaterials such as size, shape, aspect ratio, density, surface and structural defects and dissolving rate are the main causes of cytotoxicity and side effects of these materials in the body. Exposure to nanomaterials may cause a range of acute and chronic effects, including inflammation, exacerbation of asthma, metal fume fever, fibrosis, chronic inflammatory diseases and cancer. The present paper, reviews the previous studies aiming at the investigation of the relation between the physiochemical properties of nanomaterials and their toxicity.

Three varieties of Iranian rice were evaluated in the paddy (Tarom, Khazar, Fajr) for the cooking, textural, and pasting PHYSICOCHEMICAL properties during 18 months of storage under ordinary conditions. Testing was done for were amylose, cooking time, elongation, water uptake, and solid loss. A texture analyzer and Rapid Visco Analyzer were employed to determine hardness and pasting properties. All experiments were repeated every three months for 18 months and in three replications. Amylase was determined only for the first month. Solid loss decreased significantly over the 18 month for all varieties. The hardness of the cooked rice increased for all varieties, but was only significant for Khazar. The most significant change in the pasting properties was that the peak viscosity increased initially there was decreased. There was an initial increase in breakage followed by a decrease. In Tarom and Khazar varieties, the setback initially increased and then decreased and, in Fajr, it was initially constant and then decreased.