NISCAIR Online Periodicals Repository Collection: NPR Vol.3(1) [January-February 2004]

Vegetable

Title: Vegetable

Abstract: In rural Vietnam, vitamin A deficiency is a concern. Among the indigenous fruit and vegetables, Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng. (Gac) fruit has been identified as having the highest β-carotene concentration. It is a large, bright-red fruit rich in β-carotene and lycopene.

Page(s): 39

Food and Fruit

Title: Food and Fruit

Abstract: Food-The yellow to orange berries of Seabuckthorn are now-a-days used for making commercial beverage and for many medicinal purposes. The leaves of this abundantly growing shrub are used as animal feed and can be used as a source of unconventional protein for human food. Li & Wardle at Pacific Agri Food Research Centre, British Columbia studied the effect of harvest period on the protein content in Hippophae rhamnoides Linn.subsp. sinensis which are reported to contain an average of 17.1 and 16.2gprotein 100g-1 dried leaf.

Fruit-Muscadine grapes, Vitis rotundifolia Michx. are grown primarily in the southern United States and grown on a small extent in India. The fruits are generally free of injury, decay and sunscald and are fully bronze or black in colour. Harvesting and marketing for fresh muscadines, manual harvesting, sorting and packaging are required. Muscadine grapes are normally marketed as individual berries because the fruit is easily separated from the stem during picking. Broken stem ends are usually evident, however, rendering the berries more susceptible to spoilage.

Page(s): 30

Beverage and Condiment

Title: Beverage and Condiment

Abstract: Beverage-The sap of Agave plant has nowbeen found to be a mainstream sweetenerwith organic credentials. In Germany it hasbeen marketed at health food shops as‘natural sweetener’.The sap of wild Agave has beenidentified as 100% natural sweeteningagent having less calories than sugar butgreater sweetening power. In CentralAmerica people (pre-Columbian) obtainthe juice by boiling leaves of Agave. Dueto its low water content (23-25%) theAgave juice has a good life under cool anddry storage conditions.

Condiment-The northern hilly regions of India are full of attractive coloured plums during summer season. Plum fruit is rich in carbohydrate and minerals. Being soft in texture and having less storage life, huge losses occur during various post-harvest operations. To overcome the losses converting this fruit into processed products particularly in the form of leather just like mango leather is advisable.

Page(s): 27-28

Therapeutics

Title: Therapeutics

Abstract: A number of medicinal plants exist that are used in traditional and folk medicines of Iran and some other parts of the world, which are known as stimulants of uterus, menstruation inducers or abortive herbs. Some herbs and their fruits are being widely used as food additives or as herbal remedies for various diseases but there is no report on their effect as uterus stimulants. Therefore, Sadraei and others investigated the potential effect of these putative stimulants for induction and/or potentiation of uterus contraction in vitro and to look for a relaxant effect essential oil of Zataria multiflora Boiss. and Carum carvi Linn. and hydro-alcoholic extracts of Passiflora incarnata Linn., Berberis integerrima Bunge and Crocus sativus Linn. on rat isolated uterus contractions in vitro.

Page(s): 33-38