NOPR Collection:

Wild edible plant resources used by the Irulas of the Maruthamalai Hills, Southern Western Ghats, Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu

2016-07-20T04:55:36Z

Title: Wild edible plant resources used by the Irulas of the Maruthamalai Hills, Southern Western Ghats, Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu Authors: Sarvalingam, A; Rajendran, A; Sivalingam, R Abstract: A survey of wild edible and food plants was undertaken and identified various species used by the ethnic tribe Irulas and local inhabitants of Maruthamalai hills, located in the Coimbatore district, Southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. Among the species used by these people many are commonly found and eaten throughout India. The local tribal community depends for their dietary requirements since a long time using these plants. Plant species with their family names, vernacular names, habit and plant parts used are tabulated. Page(s): 198-201

Anti-inflammatory studies on Acalypha indica L. leaves by membrane stabilization

2016-07-20T04:54:40Z

Title: Anti-inflammatory studies on Acalypha indica L. leaves by membrane stabilization Authors: Muzammil, M Syed; Manikandan, M; Jafar, A; Sakthivel, P; Geetha, S; Malarkodi, R Abstract: The study was designed to evaluate the phytochemical screening and anti-inflammatory activity of methanolic extract of Acalypha indica L. leaves in HRBC membrane stabilization. The methanolic extract showed significant inhibition by using Diclofenac sodium as a standard drug at doses of 125, 250, 500 and 1000mg/mL and showed a dose dependent inhibition hemolysis of erythrocyte induced by hypotonic solution. Page(s): 195-197

Traditionally used common fibre plants in outer siraj area, Himachal Pradesh

2016-07-20T04:53:10Z

Title: Traditionally used common fibre plants in outer siraj area, Himachal Pradesh Authors: Bhardwaj, Arvind; Rani, Savita; Rana, J C Abstract: An ethonobotanical study was conducted to document the traditional use of fibre yielding plants used by the indigenous people of Outer Siraj area of district Kullu of Himachal Pradesh. Personal interviews and group discussions were conducted to gather information on the indigenous knowledge. A checklist of ‘categories of plant use’ was developed and used to identify, categorize and document fibre plant species in the area. The ethnobotanical fabrics/ articles, viz. Pula, Mandri of this region are rich in traditional practices and people living in the Outr Siraj area of Himachal Pradesh, India use natural fibre plants in various ways for their subsistence. Fifteen plants were identified as most commonly used fibre plants belonging to 10 families of which family Poaceae and Urticaceae are most important. 67.00 % of fibre is obtained from stem and bark. Cannabis sativa L. is used by 92.19 % people followed by Grewia optiva Drumm. (76.56 %). Euphorbia royleana Boiss. is the least used fibre plant (1.56 %). New ethnobotanical uses of Agave cantula Roxb. and Urtica dioica L. are reported for the first time. Page(s): 190-194

Optimization of method for extraction of pectin from apple pomace

2016-07-20T04:52:17Z

Title: Optimization of method for extraction of pectin from apple pomace Authors: Sharma, PC; Gupta, Anil; Kaushal, P Abstract: Method for extraction of pectin from apple pomace-waste generated from apple juice processing industries for commercial adoption was optimized. Fresh pomace yielded 13.3% pectin on dry weight basis (dwb). Blanching of pomace (boiling at 95^oC for 5 minutes followed by cooling) and drying (at 50±2^oC) was found to be a necessary pretreatment before pectin extraction. Among different methods of pectin extraction and precipitation, extraction of apple pomace by using 0.05N HCl at 95^oC for one hour followed by precipitation in 95% ethanol was found optimum with pectin yield of 10.5% on dry weight basis. The resultant pectin was characterized by 59.1% anhydrogalacturonic acid content, 71.2% degree of esterification (DE) and 110 jelly grade. Water and Ammonium Oxalate-oxalic acid extractions on the other hand yielded very low 3.4 and 8.0% pectin, respectively. Sequential combination extractions, viz. water and acid or water and ammonium oxalate-oxalic acid though yielded slightly higher amount of pectin yet the addition of a unit operation along with comparatively low increase in pectin yield was found to limit their use for pectin extraction. Among precipitation methods, precipitation of extract in 95% ethanol resulted in higher pectin yield with comparable quality of the pectin obtained by using aluminium chloride precipitation. The cost of production of pectin calculated on the basis of input used and after adding labour and processing charges worked out to be Rs. 808.30 per kg. The standardized method of pectin extraction and precipitation can be used commercially by the processing industries for utilization of apple pomace. Page(s): 184-189