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Ecophysiology is the branch of physiology which aims to define the adaptive features of an organism which fits it to its environment. Most of the time the environment in which the animal lives is a difficult one, hence the requirement of adaptation to environment. Environment is defined as the surroundings in which the organism lives.

Domestic animals –including chicken and mammals, belong to the category of homeotherms, as opposed to poikilotherms. Homeotherms or warm blooded animals are those which are able to maintain constant body temperature in the face of varying environmental temperature. The poikilotherms or the cold blooded animals change their body temperature according to the temperature of the surroundings.

Growth is a correlated increase in the mass of the body in definite intervals of time, in a way characteristic of the species i.e. increase in size and weight. This means growth includes the protein, fat and mineral deposition in the body. Growth is an irreversible increase in the metabolically active protoplasm. There is a characteristic rate of growth for each species and a characteristic adult size and development. Maximum size and development are fixed by heredity and nutrition is an essential factor determining whether this maximum will be reached. An optimum nutritional regime is the one which enables the organism to take full advantage of its heredity.

Lactation is the process of milk secretion by the mammary gland. Lactation is the final phase of the complete reproductive cycle of mammals. Newborns of most species are dependent on maternal milk during the neonatal period. Lactation is therefore essential for survival of the species.

The male reproductive system consists of a pair of testes that produce sperm (or spermatozoa), ducts that transport the sperm to the penis and glands that add secretions to the sperm to make semen. The adult mammalian testis performs two important functions, spermatogenesis and male sex hormone production. It is an organ structurally designed to produce the haploid male gametes from diploid postnatal germ-line stem cells, i.e. type A spermatogonia.

Reproduction is essential for the survival of the species but not for the survival of the individual. The female reproductive system is entrusted with the responsibility to produce female gametes ie ova and hormones that regulate and integrate the functional activity of the female reproduction.

Endocrine glands are organs which secrete chemical substances called hormones into the bloodstream. Hormones are chemical substances that are produced in one tissue, released into the bloodstream, and carried to other tissues, where they act through specific receptors to bring about changes in cellular activities. The term hormone is derived from the Greek root meaning to excite.

Animal body contains several fluids other than blood and lymph which have specialized functions for specific organs. Two of these fluids are cerebrospinal fluid and synovial fluid. The cerebrospinal fluids protects and supports brain and spinal cord function. Synovial fluid protects the functioning of the movement of the body by bone-muscular joints.

A large proportion of the body of mammals including domestic animals, is made up of water. This water is an essential attribute for the life of the animals. Animals deprived of food but provided water will survive much longer than the animals provided with food but deprived of water. Water is the basis of the liquid environment of the cells, which Claude Bernard called the milieu interieur, and Cannon the fluid matrix.

Substances which are in excess of the body and/or are harmful need to be removed constantly. This function is carried out by the excretory organs which include skin, gastrointestinal tract and kidney. Skin excretes water and salts in the form of sweat. Gastrointestinal tract removes undigested food material as well as some heavy metals in the form of faeces. Kidneys are the main excretory organs which together with a pair of ureters, a urinary bladder and urethra constitute the excretory system. Renal function is essential for homeostasis.

The primary role of the respiratory system is to provide O2 to the tissues for metabolic needs and remove the CO2 formed by them. Body needs oxygen to oxidise the food nutrients and derive energy. In this process carbon dioxide is produced in the body, which is toxic and must be removed quickly and efficiently. The oxygen utilization & carbon dioxide production takes place within the mitochondria of cells of the various tissues.

Digestion is the process by which food is converted into substances that can be absorbed and assimilated by a living organism. In most animals it is accomplished in the digestive tract by the mechanical and enzymatic breakdown of foods into simpler chemical compounds. Digestion usually consists of two elements: a mechanical/ physical stage, e.g. mastication, churning, emulsification, in which no chemical bonds are broken and no enzymes are required; and a chemical stage requiring enzymes in which complex food molecules are broken down by hydrolysis into a state in which they can be absorbed.

Detection of sensations allow the body to be aware of changes (or stimuli) that occur in the environment or inside the body. These senses permit the central nervous system to produce reactions for the stimuli and maintain body homeostasis. Somatic senses (“soma” means body) detect touch, pain , pressure, temperature, and tension on the skin and in internal organs. Special senses detect the sensations of taste, smell, hearing, equilibrium, and sight, only in special sense organs in the head region. All senses are detected by sensory receptors, and after integration and processing being done in the central nervous system, motor nerves produce a response.

A neuron is the basic unit of nervous tissue. It is specialized for the function of reception, integration and transmission of information in the body. The nerve cells are excitable, i.e. capable of generation of electrical impulses at their membranes. The electrical impulses generated in the excitable tissues, in most instances, can be used to transmit signals along the membranes.

The muscular system allows movement and necessary functions such as circulation, digestion, and breathing. It is made up of muscles and connective tissue, such as tendons. The muscular system also helps provide support and shape. In the body, muscles have primary functions to provide motion, maintain posture, and generate heat.

Transport systems are crucial to survival. Unicellular organisms rely on simple diffusion for transport of nutrients and removal of waste. Multicellular organisms have developed more complex circulatory systems. The circulatory system is responsible for the transport of the various essential compounds and other factors around the body, as well as the removal of the metabolic wastes that accumulate in the tissues from body activities to places of elimination.

The heart is a muscular structure that contracts in a rhythmic pattern to pump blood. The heart functions as a pump to provide a continuous circulation of blood throughout the body.The blood vessels that take blood from the heart to the various tissues are called arteries.Arterioles open into a network of capillaries which constitute the microcirculation. Circulation of blood in the body is important for the transport of nutrients to all parts of the body and for the transport of gases and waste products. The primary function of the heart is to transfer sufficient blood from the venous system to the arterial side of the circulation under sufficient pressure to maintain the circulatory needs of the body.

Blood is the fluid pumped by the heart that circulates throughout the body via the arteries, veins, and capillaries . Blood is a body fluid in animals and human beings that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Hematology is the science or study of blood, blood-forming organs and blood diseases.

The word physiology initially meant for that branch of biology which deals with the function of living organisms.Physiology can be defined as the study of mechanisms of body functions. Physiology is concerned with the way the various systems of the body function and the way each contributes to the functions of the body as a whole.Thus, physiology not only seeks to define the functions of living organisms like feeding, digestion, respiration, transport of gases in the blood, circulation and functions of the heart, excretion and kidney functions, muscle and movement, reproduction etc but also seeks to answer to ‘why’ and ‘how’ all these functions are regulated.

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Many chemistry principles are abstract (for example, carbonatebicarbonate buffering) and difficult to grasp. However, a fundamental understanding of the concepts and chemistry underlying the interactions of pH, CO2 , alkalinity, and hardness is required for an effective and profitable pond management. It is impossible to avoid; water quality is water chemistry.

Interactions of different chemical components affect water quality in shrimp ponds.

The preservation methods used for water samples differ depending on the experiment to be performed, and they are as follows:

Phytoplankton populations are important in shrimp ponds because they aid in shrimp nutrition and the removal of excess nutrients from the pond environment. They can be beneficial or have potentially negative consequences, depending on how they are managed.

Although it is the fourth most abundant element in the earthís crust, it is found in very low concentrations in surface waters and the ocean. It is found in many enzymes that are involved in energy transformations, making them necessary for bacteria, plants, and animals.

Salinity is a measure of the total concentration of dissolved solids, which is usually expressed in parts per thousand (ppt). Chloride, sulphate, bicarbonate, and bromide are anions (- charged). Cations that are positively charged are sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and strontium. The main solids are sodium and chloride.

The presence of humic acids, fulvic acids, metallic ions, suspended matter, plankton, weeds, and industrial effluents all contribute to the colour of natural water.

Since shrimps live and grow in water, water quality has an impact on their growth and survival. Water of good quality means that the parameters influencing shrimp growth and survival rates are within the optimal range of shrimp requirements. Each water quality parameter can have a direct impact on the health of the animals. Shrimp suffer from stress and disease when exposed to improper levels of dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrite, or hydrogen sulphide. Water quality parameters, however, influence each other in the complex and dynamic environment of aquaculture ponds. 

Jamun (Syzygium cuminii L. Skeels) is an evergreen tropical tree which belongs to family ‘Myrtaceae’. It is commonly known as java plum, jambul, jamun, black plum, faux pistachier, Indian blackberry, doowet and jambolan. Jamun is native to the subtropical Himalayas, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Australia. Its fruits are delicious and have great importance in folk medicine (Ayyanar and Subash, 2012).

Food and nutrition are necessary for all living beings to maintain good health[1]. Thermal treatment is commonly used for preservation of food. Although application of thermal treatment can ensure food safety, it may cause undesirable changes in the nutritional, sensory and functional properties of food products[2]. Due to growing awareness of connection between the diet and the health, there is an increase in demands for fresh-like, palatable, additive-free and microbiologically safe food products with high nutritional value and quality[3].

Food preservation methods are important in order to avoid glut or shortage of food in the market. In addition it helps to increase the shelf life, maintain the nutritional and sensorial quality, facilitate transportation and improve the overall value of the commodity. Even though various methods of food preservation are available now. Most of the conventional methods are thermal preservation methods which may result in the loss of volatile nutrients and flavour, different sensorial modifications, microbial spread with or without gas production, damage to the microstructure, rupture of coating or packaging surfaces and microbial recontamination caused by non-hermetic closure.

A number of quality management tools are being used in food processing industry. Often selection of such tools are tough as it involves several factors for decision-making. The problem of choice of quality management and tools can be solved by selection on the basis of the objective decision making process rather than on the opinion of the decision makers (Sukkarn and Thawesaengskulthai, 2015).

Probiotics have been newly defined as ‘live microbes which passage the gastrointestinal tract and in doing so benefit the health of the consumer differing from the earlier definitions which focused on probiotic interfaces with original intestinal microbes (Fuller, 1989). These definitions of probiotic bacteria generally agree that probiotic bacteria should be living organisms toward consult health benefits. Probiotics have been reported to play a therapeutic role by modulating immunity, lowering cholesterol, improving lactose tolerance and preventing some cancers (Kailasapathy and Chin, 2000).

In India after rice wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the second most important cultivated food crop belonging to family poaceae. Total production of wheat was 760 million tons in India during 2016-2017 (FAOSTAT, 2017) which is second largest in the world after china. In India highest producing state of wheat is Uttar Pradesh followed by Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan etc. Wheat is categorize into seven commonly known wheat classes those are hard red spring, hard red winter, soft red winter, hard white, soft white, durum and mixed wheat (Khamis, 2014). 

Most of the starch sources are cereals (40 to 90%), tubers (65 to 85%), roots (30 to 70%), legumes (25 to 50%) which contain nearly 70% of starch on dry basis (Santana & Meireles, 2014). Major application of starch is seen in food production, where it is used as a thickening agent, for stabilization, adsorption, gelling, for binding aromatic compounds and as a film forming agent as well (Subaric et al., 2007). About 0.8-3.2 tons of CO2 per ton of plastic can be saved by using starch-based plastics (Patel 1999).

Drying is basically the unit operations which is used in many of the food industry nowadays. It can be desirably known as the process of removing moisture to relent a hard products. It is the transfer of energy source, mostly it derives heat from the outer environment to the dryer in which the food products is placed.

As a result of a number of health advantages provided by functional foods, a substantial rise in their popularity has been seen in recent years (Keservani et al., 2010).

Diverse categories of Food Products such as canning, preservation of fruits and vegetables, processing of poultry products, dairy goods and many more present different challenges for wastewater disposal and regular use of water. A significant source of environmental pollution is the dissipated water generated from food product development and other agricultural tasks. This waste is being considered the most strenuous and requires a high amount of capital to convert this waste into reusable waste and the main reason behind this is different nutritional components such as inorganic and organic carbon compounds, nitrogenous elements, suspended and dissolved solids, high amount of biochemical and chemical oxygen demands (BOD & COD).

The proposal presented takes into account the rationale of using natural source of immunity, discarding any preservatives or artificial flavors and additives. Collection of fresh produce followed by processing of fruits and vegetables, in the form of a veggie mix slushy which is ready to eat, ready to cook and easy to digest, through the use of sustainable retorting technology. The proposal takes into account the major problems regarding food for the elder like lack of digestion, in sufficient appetite, lack of value in terms of vitamins and minerals of food, also targeting the notion of feeling sick by taking multi vitamin and immunity tablets on a regular basis.

In India the problems of protein energy malnutrition, anemia, and vitamin A deficiency are more prevalent among children and adolescents (Udayasree, Manjula, & Sowjanya, 2013). To overcome these problems, the need of nutritional compositions rich foods came into existence. One of such foods which constitute the most significant attention of nutrients is “Spirulina”. Spirulina is a common name for supplements derived mainly from two Cyanobacteria species, i.e. Arthrospira maxima and Arthrosepira platensis, which are human and animal.

Fermentation is one of the ancient techniques that been routinely used to maintain the quality of food products. This process involves the breakdown of complex substances like carbohydrates into smaller ones which assist in extending the shelf life of food products. Fermented foods and beverages shared the major portion of the human diet which positively affect the body. Beer is a low alcoholic drink in which malt, hops and other adjuncts like aromatic herbs, honey and others are fermented with yeast to obtain a product that offers unique flavour, taste and aroma (Sohrabvandi et al., 2012).

Lanolin, commonly known as Wool grease is primarily a lipid secretion from sebaceous glands of wool bearing animals. The role of Lanolin in nature is to protect wool and skin of animal from climate and the environment. It is an excellent emollient, self-emulsifying and dermatological safe for skin applications. Lanolin is a complex matrix since it is a mixture of high molecularweight esters of fatty acids with fatty alcohols, sterols, tri-terpene alcohols; diesters, long-chain alcohols & diols, long-chain fatty acids and hydroxy acids and is therefore difficult for effective matrix clean-up. Because of its water proofing and antimicrobial properties, lanolin is used mainly in cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications.

Most traditional food processing techniques like boiling, cooling, freezing, and blanching are used in a home kitchen. But now-a-days, food processing and preservation industries combine these techniques with other processing operations by using different technical prospects. As a subset of traditional processing technologies, modern processing technologies include hot air sterilization, vacuum cooking and pulsed electric-field technology as well as high pressure treatment, extrusion, microwave processing, and pulsed electric field technology.

Pre-harvest factors are responsible for the majority of post-harvest losses. Fruits which have already been infected with insects and pathogens, have been poorly irrigated and fertilized, or are of low quality before harvesting will never benefit with post-harvest cures. As a result, the process of accomplishing production quality, as well as harvesting, processing, and selling, must be taken into account.

Fruits are an essential component of a human’s healthy diet. Fruits are used as a supplement to primary foods. When compared to grains, many fruits have far greater nutritional potential. The common fig is one of the most important and widely consumed fruits (Ficus carica).

Cowpea is a quick growing leguminous forage crop. It is usually grown mixed with cereal fodders and grasses to improve the nutritive value of the herbage. It contains 20 – 24 % crude protein, 43 - 49 % neutral detergent fibre, 34 – 37 % acid detergent fibre, 23– 25 % cellulose and 5 – 6 % hemicelluloses on dry matter basis. The digestibility of cowpea fodder is above 70%. Cowpea can be grown under partial shaded conditions. It is an excellent cover crop, which suppresses weeds and enriches the soil. Cowpea requires warm climate with good atmospheric humidity. It can be grown in kharif as well as in zaid season.

Cumbu Napier hybrid grass is a cross between Cumbu (Pennisetum glaucum) and Napier grass (P. purpureum Schumach.), widely cultivated across India, Africa, Sri Lanka and South East Asian countries. As the hybrid is a triploid, it displays complete sterility and high vegetative growth. In Tamil Nadu, land area utilized for growing fodder is negligible, accounting only 1.6 per cent of the total cultivated area.