An environment-benign approach of bamboo pulp bleaching using extracellular xylanase of strain Bacillus stratosphericus EB-11 isolated from elephant dung.

The use of microbial enzymes is highly encouraged in paper and pulp industries to reduce the excessive use of hazardous chemicals. During the study, xylanase of Bacillus stratosphericus EB-11 was characterized for pulp bleaching applications. The extracellular xylanase was produced under submerged fermentation using bamboo waste as a natural carbon source.

Instant rice-based composite pasta requiring no cooking.

The present study was undertaken to develop rice-based composite pasta with improved cooking/rehydrating and nutritional qualities. Pasta samples (T1-T10) having different proportions of rice flour (RF, 60-80%), wheat flour (WF, 40-12%), malted green gram flour (MGGF, 5 and 10%) and guar gum (GG, 1-3%) were prepared using a single screw extruder. Pasta made of 100% WF served as the control (T0).