Bangladeshi medicinal plants (BMP) have a history of traditional use in treating chronic inflammatory diseases, but a BMP bark’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects remain largely unexplored. This study assessed methanolic extracts’ antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties from the bark of 15 medicinal plant species native to Bangladesh. The methanol extracts of BMP bark were evaluated for their total antioxidant activity and ability to counteract inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Among the 15 bark extracts from BMP, Albizia odoratissima (A. odoratissima), Engelhardia spicata (E. spicata), and Shorea robusta (S. robusta) showed the highest total phenolic contents and total antioxidant capacity by effectively scavenging free radicals. In particular, these three bark extracts significantly reduced the mRNA expression of LPS-induced inflammatory cytokines and enzymes inducible by inflammation in macrophages. Also, the mRNA expression of NADPH oxidase 2 was significantly suppressed by the three bark extracts in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages. These results suggest that out of the 15 bark extracts obtained from medicinal plants in Bangladesh, the extracts from A. odoratissima, E. spicata, and S. robusta exhibit substantial total antioxidant capacity by efficiently scavenging free radicals and also inhibit LPS-induced inflammation in macrophages.

This study aimed to establish the optimal conditions for producing gluten-free noodles by varying the amount of pregelatinized rice flour added to the regular rice flour and investigating their quality characteristics. With an increase in the amount of added pregelatinized rice flour, the brightness of the noodles decreased, and the color became more yellow both before and after cooking. Adding pregelatinized rice flour to the noodles also increased hardness, elasticity, chewiness, stickiness, and adhesiveness. The textures of the two groups of samples (PR-10 and PR-15) were similar to that of the control, indicating comparable structural characteristics. Furthermore, the absence of gluten made it inherently challenging to form gluten-free noodles. Still, adding pregelatinized rice flour improved the processability of the dough, leading to better noodle formation. An optimal addition of 15% pregelatinized rice flour was deemed suitable for optimal noodle formation in gluten-free noodles. This study established blending conditions using pregelatinized rice flour to improve the poor processability of gluten-free noodles. The findings are expected to be valuable for the industry’s future development of gluten-free processed food.