IT may occasion some surprise to those men of science who are ill-acquainted with India, and who so frequently express the view that Governments are unappreciative of the importance of science to learn that as far back as 1886 the Government of India arranged for Dr. George (later Sir George) Watt, professor of botany in the Presidency College, Calcutta, to prepare a "Dictionary of the Economic Products of India". The six volumes of this standard work were published during the years 1889-99. In 1908 Sir George Watt published a condensed version, "The Commercial Products of India". Whatever the defects of these 'dictionaries', they have been of inestimable value to all interested in Indian natural products. The Wealth of India A Dictionary of Indian Raw Materials and Industrial Products. Raw Materials, Vol. 1. Pp. xxvii+254+39 plates. 15 rupees ; 24s. Industrial Products, Part 1. Pp. xii+182+8 plates. 8 rupees ; 12s. (New Delhi : Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948.)

The Wealth of India

Microencapsulation is a process of building a functional barrier between the core and wall material to avoid chemical and physical reactions and to maintain the biological, functional, and physicochemical properties of core materials. Microencapsulation of marine, vegetable, and essential oils has been conducted and commercialized by employing different methods including emulsification, spray-drying, coaxial electrospray system, freeze-drying, coacervation, in situ polymerization, melt-extrusion, supercritical fluid technology, and fluidized-bed-coating. Spray-drying and coacervation are the most commonly used techniques for the microencapsulation of oils. The choice of an appropriate microencapsulation technique and wall material depends upon the end use of the product and the processing conditions involved. Microencapsulation has the ability to enhance the oxidative stability, thermostability, shelf-life, and biological activity of oils. In addition, it can also be helpful in controlling the volatility and release properties of essential oils. Microencapsulated marine, vegetable, and essential oils have found broad applications in various fields. This review describes the recognized benefits and functional properties of various oils, microencapsulation techniques, and application of encapsulated oils in various food, pharmaceutical, and even textile products. Moreover, this review may provide information to researchers working in the field of food, pharmacy, agronomy, engineering, and nutrition who are interested in microencapsulation of oils.

Microencapsulation of Oils: A Comprehensive Review of Benefits, Techniques, and Applications

Salinity stress increases lipid, secondary metabolites and enzyme activity in Amphora subtropica and Dunaliella sp. for biodiesel production

Physical and antioxidant properties of films based on gelatin, gelatin-chitosan or gelatin-sodium caseinate blends loaded with nanoemulsified active compounds

Cancer is a global burden. In low- and middle-income countries around 70% of deaths are due to cancer. For a number of years natural products have been a good source of agents for combatting cancer and plants have played a huge role in anti-cancer product development. For many centuries, indigenous cultures around the world have used traditional herbal medicine to treat a myriad of diseases including cancer. In Sri Lanka, a number of plants have been reported to have anti-cancer properties and some of the commonly used plants are described in this review with an account of their compounds and modes of action. Only a small number of the plants in Sri Lanka have been tested for their bioactivity and more research is required to determine their medicinal activity with the aim of developing novel drugs to fight this disease.

Medicinal plants commonly used against cancer in traditional medicine formulae in Sri Lanka

Objective To assess in vitro antioxidant activity of the essential oil isolated from fresh rhizomes of garlic ( Allium sativum ) of the family Alliaceae in an yield of 0.2% (v/w). Methods 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Nitrogen oxide scavenging, reducing power and β-carotene bleaching assays were conducted. BHT and gallic acid were kept as standards. Results IC 50 values observed for DPPH and nitric oxide scavenging assays were 0.5 mg/mL and 50 μg/mL respectively. In reducing power assay absorbance increased linearly with increasing concentration of the oil, in β-carotene bleaching method also there is 84% bleaching in first one hour and it decreased to 45 % by the completion of second hour. Conclusions The results clearly indicate garlic essential oil is effective in scavenging free radical and has the potential to be powerful antioxidant.

Antioxidant activity of garlic essential oil (Allium Sativum) grown in north Indian plains

Evaluation of pigments from methanolic extract of Tagetes erecta and Beta vulgaris as antioxidant and antibacterial agent

Anioxidant activity of palmarosa essential oil (Cymbopogon martini) grown in north indian plains

The effects of Cu+2 stress (0, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 mM as CuSO4.5H2O) on growth and biochemical parameters of Withania somnifera L.Dunal, grown in a field pot experiment were studied. Increasing Cu+2 concentrations led to decreased stem length, root elongation and leaf area. Copper (Cu+2 ) stress decreased chlorophyll and carotenoids content in leaves and stems as compared to controls; this was more pronounced in leaves than in stems. Lipid peroxidation, in terms of malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased. Lipid peroxidation increased significantly with elevation in Cu+2 concentrations and was highest in roots followed by leaves and stems at 200 mM. Leakage of electrolytes measured in terms of membrane stability index (MSI), which showed a negative correlation with increasing Cu+2 levels. The MSI was lowest in 200 mM Cu+2 treated plants. The phenol content of leaves, stems and roots peaked at 50 mM Cu+2 treatment and thereafter declined. These results indicate that Cu+ 2 stress negatively impacted nearly all the parameters assayed; particularly in the roots. It is being reported for the first time that stress resistance in W.somnifera as observed by increase in total phenol content at low Cu+2 levels possibly to combat increased ROS generation.

/pdf/response-of-leaves-stems-and-roots-of-withania-somnifera-to-38gkq633zo.pdf

Response of leaves, stems and roots of withania somnifera to copper stress

Objective: The work is aimed to evaluate the health beneficial properties of ( Beta vulgaris ) Beet root . Beet root ranks among the 10 most powerful vegetable as a natural antioxidant and has a potential source of natural food colorant . The present work is therefore organized to evaluate the Total Phenolic Content (TPC), Antioxidant activity and Antibacterial activity of the Ethanolic and Methanolic extracts of Beet root. Methods: In the present work the Total Phenolic Content was determined by using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent methodof the Ethanolic and Methanolic extracts of Beet root ( Beta vulgaris) . The antioxidant scavenging activity of these extracts were determined by applying three different assay methods: (1) (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl) DPPH method, (2) Ferric thio-cyanate (FTC) method and (3) Thio-barbituric acid (TBA). Antibacterial test was examined against gram positive ( B. subtilis, S. aureus ) and gram negative ( E. coli, S. dysenteriae ) bacterial strains. Results: In the present workthe Methanolic extract showed greater TPC value 394.8 mg/g GAE than the Ethanolic extract 316.8 mg/g GAE. A correlation between antiradical capacities of the extracts with TPC value was clearly observed. The Methanolic extract was found to be most effective in all the methods. 50% scavenging power of the Methanolic and Ethanolic extracts were (0.129 mg/ml and 0.254 mg/ml) in DPPH method respectively. Moreover, in TBA and FTC method, both the extracts of Beet root exhibited strong percentage inhibition ranging from 49%-62%. The results of antibacterial test indicated that the Ethanolic and Methanolic extracts of Beet root are significantly effective, both in Gram negative ( E. coli, S. dysenteriae ) and in Gram positive ( B. subtilis, S. aureus ) bacterium. Conclusion: Thus, from the above experimental observations, it can be clearly stated that the Beet root is a promising source of natural antioxidant and antibacterial agent and definitely provides an alternative towards synthetic antioxidant because of its beneficial properties. Keywords : Beet root , Total phenolic content, Antioxidant, Antibacterial

Reena Lawrence

Papers

Antioxidant activity of garlic essential oil (Allium Sativum) grown in north Indian plains

Evaluation of pigments from methanolic extract of Tagetes erecta and Beta vulgaris as antioxidant and antibacterial agent

Anioxidant activity of palmarosa essential oil (Cymbopogon martini) grown in north indian plains

Response of leaves, stems and roots of withania somnifera to copper stress

Evaluation ofpigments as antioxidant and antibacterial agents from beta vulgaris linn