Assay for lipid peroxides in animal tissues by thiobarbituric acid reaction

The Nature and Properties of Soils

Why is sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) so exceptional? A review.

Vegetable oils are obtained by mechanical extraction or cold pressing of various parts of plants, most often: seeds, fruits, and drupels. Chemically, these oils are compounds of the ester-linked glycerol and higher fatty acids with long aliphatic chain hydrocarbons (min. C14:0). Vegetable oils have a variety of properties, depending on their percentage of saturation. This article describes sea-buckthorn oil, which is extracted from the well characterized fruit and seeds of sea buckthorn. The plant has a large number of active ingredients the properties of which are successfully used in the cosmetic industry and in medicine. Valuable substances contained in sea-buckthorn oil play an important role in the proper functioning of the human body and give skin a beautiful and healthy appearance. A balanced composition of fatty acids give the number of vitamins or their range in this oil and explains its frequent use in cosmetic products for the care of dry, flaky or rapidly aging skin. Moreover, its unique unsaturated fatty acids, such as palmitooleic acid (omega-7) and gamma-linolenic acid (omega-6), give sea-buckthorn oil skin regeneration and repair properties. Sea-buckthorn oil also improves blood circulation, facilitates oxygenation of the skin, removes excess toxins from the body and easily penetrates through the epidermis. Because inside the skin the gamma-linolenic acid is converted to prostaglandins, sea-buckthorn oil protects against infections, prevents allergies, eliminates inflammation and inhibits the aging process. With close to 200 properties, sea-buckthorn oil is a valuable addition to health and beauty products.

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Abundance of active ingredients in sea-buckthorn oil

Effects of heavy metals on the

This explorative study was undertaken for the first time in Kel village located in the Upper Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. The purpose was to document the indigenous knowledge of the native people used in the preparation of herbal medicines. To get the data on traditional uses of medicinal plants, 20 informants were interviewed. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices, i.e., use value (UV), relative frequencies of citation (RFC), informant consensus factor (Fic), fidelity level (FL), data matrix ranking (DMR), preference ranking (PR), and jaccard index (JI), were calculated for the recorded medicinal plants. A total of 50 medicinal plants belonging to 33 families used in 13 disease categories were documented. Leaves were the frequently used plant parts, and decoction was the commonly used method for herbal medicine. Plants with high use value were Berberis lycium (2.05), Impatiens glandulifera (1.95), Artemisia scoparia (1.75), Ageratum conozoides (1.75), and Achillea millefolium (1.7). The highest RFC value was calculated for Berberis lycium (0.75), Cynoglossum lanceolatum (0.65), and Impatiens glandulifera and Achillea millefolium (0.60 each). The maximum informant consensus factor was for urinary system, cardiac diseases, baldness, and abortion and miscarriage (1.00). Berberis lyceum (95%) used in jaundice, hepatitis, typhoid, fever, and tuberculosis disorders. Plants with maximum fidelity level (FL) were Berberis lycium (95%) followed by Dioscorea bulbifera, Impatiens glandulifera, and Artemisia vulgaris (90%). Olea ferruginea was the most multipurpose plant and exports (21.2%) was the leading threat in the area. The pearson correlation coefficient (0.500) showed a positive correlation between the use value and relative frequency of citation. The present study provides useful information about traditional uses of medicinal plants used by local communities in different ailments. The plants with the highest use values could be employed in pharmacological research and biotechnological approaches in order to achieve adequate revenue. Some of the plants in the study area are facing high threats of becoming rare, and conservation initiatives are needed to conserve them for sustainable management in the region.

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Ethnopharmacological studies of indigenous plants in Kel village, Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.

Cereal-legumes intercropping is among the most economical and effective agronomic strategies to boost forage biomass production, nutritional quality and monetary returns. This review synthesizes the research findings on how intercropping affects productivity, quality, competitiveness and economic viability of sorghum-legumes mixed, row and strip intercropping systems under varied pedo-climatic conditions. Though component crops show yield reductions in row (additive and row-replacement series), mixed (seed blended crops) and strip intercropping systems, in general overall productivity per unit land area increases to a great extent. The significantly higher resource capturing with better utilization efficacy by intercrops in temporal and spatial dimensions helps explain their greater productivity. In addition, forage intercrops result in improved nutritional quality as legumes contain protein in double quantity than cereals. Cereal-legumes intercropping systems yield higher quantities of lush green forage with improved quality traits, which ultimately increase monetary benefits. Furthermore, legumes inclusion as an intercrop with cereals has the potential to serve as a nitrogen-saving strategy due to the biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) process. Moreover, cereal-legume intercropping systems are effective in reducing weed infestations and soil erosion by providing extended soil cover, as well as in increasing water use efficiency and improving soil fertility. However, despite a significant increase in overall productivity, component crops suffer yield losses in intercropping systems owing to competition for the finite divisible pool of growth resources. Thus, there is a dire need to optimize spatial and temporal arrangements in sorghum-legumes intercropping systems to achieve maximum productivity and economic returns.

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Forage sorghum-legumes intercropping: effect on growth, yields, nutritional quality and economic returns

Mini review on fructose metabolism

Effect of urea, FYM and P2O5 was studied on growth and flowering Dahlia cultivars. Urea, P2O5 and FYM in different combinations showed significant results on plant height, number of branches /plant, early flowering and number of flowers/plant as compared to other doses of fertilizers, while number of leaves were effected by the combination of urea + P2O5 + FYM as compared to single and control. Size of flowers were significantly increased by application of urea with combination of potash and FYM and also by using single P2O5, while single FYM and urea did not effect size of flowers.

Effect of Urea, DAP and FYM on Growth and Flowering of Dahlia (Dahlia variabilis)

Experiment was conducted to study the effect of Bor on (B) on the growth and yield of Rio Grand and Rio Figue cultivar of tomato at Horticultural Research Farm, NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar during 20082009. Different doses of B (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 a nd 5.0kg ha) with constant doses of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash was incorporated at the rate of 150, 100, 60 kg ha .The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with 2 factors. Boron showed a signifi cant effect on the growth and yield of tomato. Howe ver, 2 kg B ha resulted in maximum number of flower clusters per plant, fruit set percentage, total yield, fruit wei ght loss and total soluble solid. Rio Grand cultivar of tomato s howed significant effect on all parameters. Maximum number of flower clusters per plant, fruit set percentage and total yield were recorded with Rio Grand cultivar of tomato. Generally it can be concluded that 2 kg B ha -1 significantly affected flowering and fruiting of R io Grand cultivar.

Abdul Hamid

Papers

Ethnopharmacological studies of indigenous plants in Kel village, Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.

Forage sorghum-legumes intercropping: effect on growth, yields, nutritional quality and economic returns

Mini review on fructose metabolism

Effect of Urea, DAP and FYM on Growth and Flowering of Dahlia (Dahlia variabilis)

Effect of boron on the flowering and fruiting of tomato.