A PHARMACEUTICAL ANALYTICAL STUDY OF MURCHITA GO-GHRITAM & CHAGALADYA GHRITAM

Ghee known as Ghritam, sarpish & Ajya, was used in ancient India as early as 1500 B.C. Rigveda, the oldest collection of Hindu hymns, contains numerous references to ghee, showing its importance in the Indian diet. The health benefits from ghee can be fundamentally categorized as those that are obtained from consuming ghee as food and those are obtained by using ghee as a medicine. Clarified milk fat or butterfat is known as ghrita. It is prepared by heating butter or cream to just over 100°C to remove water content. Goghrita is the best choice for food and medicinal purposes. So, in Ayurvedic classics and tradition, if not specified, the word ghrita always applies to goghrta. Chagaladya ghrita is one such classical, potent, unexplored, herbal preparation having properties of Jwara-prashamana (Antipyretic action), Dhatu-vriddhikara (Nourishes the Body tissues), improves mainly Mamsa dhatu, where dhatu kshaya is noticed in Rajyakshama Rogi by consuming of this Aja-Mamsa can restore the Mamsa dhatu kshaya (Mamsena Mamsa vruddhihi), also Increases body weight (Brimhanakaraka), Ojoskara (Immune- booster) indicated in the management of Rajyakshama presenting with predominant of Shwasa and Kasa. It contains mainly Chagamamsa (goat’s meat), Ashwagandha, Vasapanchanga, Chagadugdha and Goghrita and other Prakshepaka dravyas. Ghrita is one among the best Ajasrika Rasayanas. and is supreme in Snehana Dravyas. By its Yogavahitva, as per its ingredients, the medicated Ghrita will be attaining properties of the ingredients without forfeiting its properties. Keywords: Murchita Go-ghrita, Chagaladya Ghrita, Snehapaka, TLC

Performance of rainfed chilli crop in Tamil Nadu under climate change in RCP4.5

Dry chilli, which stands third in production from the spice industry, has influenced the Indian diet to a greater extent . The impact of climate change conditions on chilli crop could, in turn, impart the economy deeply. Hence, the future projection of dry chilli production will surely enrich knowledge about crop performance. Climate data from CCSM4 being downscaled from RegCM 4.4 was used in yield projection till the end of 21st century through DSSAT crop simulation for two major cultivars of chilli in Tamilnadu viz., TNAU chilli hybrid CO1 and K1 variety under rainfed conditions. TNAU chilli hybrid CO1 and K1 varieties have shown negative yield deviations for all the agroclimatic zones of Tamilnadu under variable time scales. However, southern zone was exclusive in exhibting positive yield by 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively, during the end of century.

Knowledge and consumption of probiotics and prebiotics in India: a narrative review

In this narrative review, we discuss existing literature on the knowledge, consumption, and factors influencing the consumption of probiotics and prebiotics in India. We also examined the current nature of the probiotics and prebiotics market in the country. There were only a handful of studies on the knowledge and consumption of probiotics and prebiotics among Indians, mainly conducted in urban areas and middle to high-income households. Limited research showed that the knowledge of probiotics had increased appreciably in the past decade, while there is still poor technical knowledge among Indians. Simultaneously, prebiotics is an unfamiliar concept to the general public. Younger individuals are more aware than their older counterparts. The probiotics market in India offers several milk-based beverages, yogurt, and curd, while few non-dairy beverages are available from overseas. The prebiotics market in India has several powder formulas and some chewable tablets. The consumption of probiotics and prebiotics is limited to popular foods like curd, probiotic drinks, buttermilk, and milk, wheat, onion, tomatoes respectively. The modern Indian diet lacks traditional probiotic and prebiotic sources despite their presence in several regional cuisines. Furthermore, awareness of these foods and the knowledge and belief in their health benefits are the most influential factors in their consumption. Contrarily, the perception of not requiring these foods for the maintenance of good health prevents their consumption. Improving awareness and knowledge while offering diverse gut-healthy foods in all strata of Indian society can increase the utilization of these foods and improve general health and prevent chronic diseases.

The role of serotonin and diet in the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review

Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)- a neurotransmitter of both the Enteric Nervous System and the Central Nervous System is synthesized by the hydroxylation of L- tryptophan to 5-hydroxytryptophan.Serotonin has been associated with gut functions like assimilation and absorption, alongside the regulation of particle transport and fluid discharge in the gastrointestinal tract and its deficiency is found to be a prominent factor in the prevalence of gut disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome.For this review, we assessed the conventional treatment methods of common drugs, with the recently accredited treatment options like dietary regulation, exercise, meditation, and acupuncture. Having found that the most commonly used drugs exhibited various side effects like nausea, fatigue, rash, and dizziness, an in-depth evaluation of different Indian dietary patterns and their respective effects on tryptophan levels has been highlighted to formulate an ideal diet for patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). This review seeks to explore the numerous studies conducted to link IBS with the lack of serotonin production in the body, alongside exploring the evidence associating certain foods with raised tryptophan levels to hypothesize a suitable Indian diet.This review, in its essence, stresses the crucial need for further research on the dietary implications of common Indian foods and their FODMAP (Fermented Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, And Polyols) contents, while underscoring the benefits of using unconventional and natural methods for the treatment of tryptophan-related gut disorders.

Emerging Trends for High-Value Agricultural Products in India: Production, Consumption and the Nutritional Fallout

High-value agricultural products (HVAP) have been gaining importance in India recently owing to their contribution towards improving farmers’ income and consumers’ health awareness. The study empirically examined the changing trends in the production and consumption of HVAP and the nutritional fallout in rural and urban India during 2000-2019 using regression analysis and calculation of growth rates. The results showed a growth rate of 4.3 percent in the production of HVAP and 9 percent for that per capita expenditure on food. However, the growth of per capita availability was 2.3, and 80 percent of the population had a nutritional intake lower than the recommended diet levels. The study pointed at the price effect, inadequate availability and nutritional gaps in the Indian diet.

Economics and Profitability of Blackgram Production in Andhra Pradesh

Blackgram is one of the important pulse crops grown throughout India, resistant to adverse climatic conditions. It is good source of vegetable protein which is three times more than the cereals. It plays an important role in Indian diet. Andhra Pradesh is one of the major blackgram producing states in India. The present study was taken up with an objective to find out the economics and profitability of blackgram in Andhra Pradesh. The data regarding cost of cultivation for combined Andhra Pradesh for different years were obtained from the Directorate of Economics and statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. The results revealed that blackgram cultivation is profitable and rice fallow pulses cropping pattern can be encouraged in the state. The comparison of the gross returns and cost of cultivation revealed positive returns indicating that blackgram cultivation is profitable.

DOSE ASSESSMENT OF NATURAL TERRESTRIAL RADIONUCLIDES IN COMMONLY CONSUMED FOODS IN NORTH INDIA

The present study aimed to record natural radionuclide content in branded food samples representative of a typical North Indian diet. Forty samples of various food items falling into three categories namely, cereal grains, pulses and beverages were collected from the local markets of Punjab. The radiometric analysis was performed using NaI(Tl) scintillator detector. The activity concentrations ranged between 10 ± 1 and 20 ± 5 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra, Below Detectable Limit (BDL) and 10 ± 2 Bq kg−1 for 232Th and 440 ± 56 and 562 ± 70 Bq kg−1 for 40K. The radium equivalent (Raeq) varied from 55 Bq kg−1(corn) to 70 Bq kg−1 (tea) with an average of 62 Bq kg−1. Internal hazard index (HI) was also calculated (0.18–0.24), which was well below the prescribed threshold of one (24). Age-specific annual effective doses were estimated for infants, children and adults. Children were the most sensitive group of population to radionuclide doses from cereal grains. The annual effective doses were further used to calculate the lifetime cancer risk which exceeded the world average of 2.9$\times$10−4 (24). However, the overall results showed that the intake of these dietary products by the general public did not pose any serious health risk.