EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF TRISHNAHARA (THIRST RELIEVING) PROPERTY OF TAKRABHEDA (BUTTERMILK) MENTIONED IN BHAVAPRAKASHA IN GREESHMARITU

Takra is one of the important Paniya (drinks) in Indian culture. It is common drink used abundantly especially during the summer season. The main reason for its ample usage as a drink during summer might be the sudden relief it provides to the thirst and fatigue due to extreme heat. Literature review on the Ayurvedic concept of Takra shows it possesses Ushna Veerya and Amla Vipaka, which in turn increases the Pitta inside the body and will leads to thirst rather than decreasing thirst especially in Greehma Ritu. Thus, there exist a paradox in the literature and practice. Thus a study was conducted to find out the Trishnahara property of Takrabheda in Greeshma Ritu. In the experiment total intake of water by each group after administering specific variety of buttermilk were calculated. The study was conducted during Greeshmaritu in wistar albino rats. Numbers of groups were six which included Ghola, Matita, Takra, Udasvit Caccika and Control. statistical analysis was done by ANOVA followed by Dunnet multiple comparison as post hoc test, if p<0.05 using graph pad instant software and by ANOVA followed by Tukey Kramer as post hoc test, if p<0.05 using graph pad instant software. It is concluded that Takrabheda is not having Trishnahara property when compared with the control group in Greeshma Ritu because of its Ushna, Ruksha Guna of Takrabheda. But in Vasanta Ritu, Acarya advised the intake of Dipana, Laghu and Ruksha Ahara. So, Takra can be an effective Paniya during Vasanta Rithu

SCIENTIFIC EVALUATION OF SEASONAL DIETARY PRACTICES IN KERALA – KARKITAKA KANJI, MUKKUDI, PATTILA CURRY

Following a seasonal dietary regimen is an age old practice amongst the mankind which enabled them to survive and adapt according to the environmental needs. But the urbanization took away most of such culturally bound time tested practices from the society which played a key role in maintaining good health and immunity. Karkitaka Chikitsa – (a systematically following dietary and therapeutic regimens during the month of Karkidam (June-July)- is one such practice which is still prevailing in the south Indian states especially in Kerala. The month of Karkidaka is in the transition phase from rainy season to autumn characterized with debilitated health and lack of employment due to climatic conditions. According to Ayurveda the strength of body is considerably compromised during the months of summer and rainy season. Poor digestive power (Agni bala) and aggravation of Vata dosha happens during the rainy season. Hence specific diet and therapeutic regimens that can mitigate or balance the Vata and thereby rejuvenate the health and immunity is followed. The dietary plans include Karkkidaka kanji (rice gruel processed with herbs), Mukkudi, Pattila curry (dish made with ten varieties of leaves) etc. This article is an attempt to scientifically analyze the special monsoon dietetics of Kerala

Cluster Based Analysis and Consumption of Food Products in Targeted Public Distribution System

The Public Distribution System in India is 50 years old. At present it is being carried on as an anti-inflationary and antipoverty system. Tamil Nadu, the southernmost State in the country, is adopting the Universal Public Distribution System covering its entire population and supplying regularly rice, wheat, sugar, kerosene and other products like pulses, edible oil etc. The PDS is a centrally sponsored scheme that entitles beneficiaries to subsidized food grains every month. Several challenges have been identified in the implementation of PDS like (i) Targeting errors (ii) Large leakages or diversion (iii) The elimination of bogus cards and (iv) The problems in Fair Price Shops. This paper analyses and evaluates the problems and finds the possible solutions using the data mining techniques based on preprocessing and clustering. The K-means and K-harmonic means algorithms are combined to cluster the data based on the type of food commodities for rice and wheat

Plant-Derived Polysaccharide Supplements Inhibit Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis in the Rat

Several plant-derived polysaccharides have been shown to have anti-inflammatory activity in animal models. Ambrotose complex and Advanced Ambrotose are dietary supplements that include aloe vera gel, arabinogalactan, fucoidan, and rice starch, all of which have shown such activity. This study was designed to evaluate these formulations against dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in rats and to confirm their short-term safety after 14 days of daily dosing. Rats were dosed daily orally with vehicle, Ambrotose or Advanced Ambrotose. On day six groups of rats received tap water or 5% Dextran Sulfate sodium. Ambrotose and Advanced Ambrotose significantly lowered the disease scores and partially prevented the shortening of colon length. An increase in monocyte count was induced by dextran sulfate sodium and inhibited by Ambrotose and Advanced Ambrotose. There were no observable adverse effects after 14-day daily doses. The mechanism of action of the formulations against DSS-induced colitis may be related to its effect on monocyte count

Connective Tissue Growth Factor Overexpression in Cardiomyocytes Promotes Cardiac Hypertrophy and Protection against Pressure Overload

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a secreted protein that is strongly induced in human and experimental heart failure. CTGF is said to be profibrotic; however, the precise function of CTGF is unclear. We generated transgenic mice and rats with cardiomyocyte-specific CTGF overexpression (CTGF-TG). To investigate CTGF as a fibrosis inducer, we performed morphological and gene expression analyses of CTGF-TG mice and rat hearts under basal conditions and after stimulation with angiotensin II (Ang II) or isoproterenol, respectively. Surprisingly, cardiac tissues of both models did not show increased fibrosis or enhanced gene expression of fibrotic markers. In contrast to controls, Ang II treated CTGF-TG mice displayed preserved cardiac function. However, CTGF-TG mice developed age-dependent cardiac dysfunction at the age of 7 months. CTGF related heart failure was associated with Akt and JNK activation, but not with the induction of natriuretic peptides. Furthermore, cardiomyocytes from CTGF-TG mice showed unaffected cellular contractility and an increased Ca2+ reuptake from sarcoplasmatic reticulum. In an ischemia/reperfusion model CTGF-TG hearts did not differ from controls

A Duplication CNV That Conveys Traits Reciprocal to Metabolic Syndrome and Protects against Diet-Induced Obesity in Mice and Men

The functional contribution of CNV to human biology and disease pathophysiology has undergone limited exploration. Recent observations in humans indicate a tentative link between CNV and weight regulation. Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS), manifesting obesity and hypercholesterolemia, results from a deletion CNV at 17p11.2, but is sometimes due to haploinsufficiency of a single gene, RAI1. The reciprocal duplication in 17p11.2 causes Potocki-Lupski syndrome (PTLS). We previously constructed mouse strains with a deletion, Df(11)17, or duplication, Dp(11)17, of the mouse genomic interval syntenic to the SMS/PTLS region. We demonstrate that Dp(11)17 is obesity-opposing; it conveys a highly penetrant, strain-independent phenotype of reduced weight, leaner body composition, lower TC/LDL, and increased insulin sensitivity that is not due to alteration in food intake or activity level. When fed with a high-fat diet, Dp(11)17/+ mice display much less weight gain and metabolic change than WT mice, demonstrating that the Dp(11)17 CNV protects against metabolic syndrome. Reciprocally, Df(11)17/+ mice with the deletion CNV have increased weight, higher fat content, decreased HDL, and reduced insulin sensitivity, manifesting a bona fide metabolic syndrome. These observations in the deficiency animal model are supported by human data from 76 SMS subjects. Further, studies on knockout/transgenic mice showed that the metabolic consequences of Dp(11)17 and Df(11)17 CNVs are not only due to dosage alterations of Rai1, the predominant dosage-sensitive gene for SMS and likely also PTLS. Our experiments in chromosome-engineered mouse CNV models for human genomic disorders demonstrate that a CNV can be causative for weight/metabolic phenotypes. Furthermore, we explored the biology underlying the contribution of CNV to the physiology of weight control and energy metabolism. The high penetrance, strain independence, and resistance to dietary influences associated with the CNVs in this study are features distinct from most SNP–associated metabolic traits and further highlight the potential importance of CNV in the etiology of both obesity and MetS as well as in the protection from these traits

A physical map of Brassica oleracea shows complexity of chromosomal changes following recursive paleopolyploidizations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evolution of the Brassica species has been recursively affected by polyploidy events, and comparison to their relative, <it>Arabidopsis thaliana</it>, provides means to explore their genomic complexity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A genome-wide physical map of a rapid-cycling strain of <it>B. oleracea </it>was constructed by integrating high-information-content fingerprinting (HICF) of Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) clones with hybridization to sequence-tagged probes. Using 2907 contigs of two or more BACs, we performed several lines of comparative genomic analysis. Interspecific DNA synteny is much better preserved in euchromatin than heterochromatin, showing the qualitative difference in evolution of these respective genomic domains. About 67% of contigs can be aligned to the Arabidopsis genome, with 96.5% corresponding to euchromatic regions, and 3.5% (shown to contain repetitive sequences) to pericentromeric regions. Overgo probe hybridization data showed that contigs aligned to Arabidopsis euchromatin contain ~80% of low-copy-number genes, while genes with high copy number are much more frequently associated with pericentromeric regions. We identified 39 interchromosomal breakpoints during the diversification of <it>B. oleracea </it>and <it>Arabidopsis thaliana</it>, a relatively high level of genomic change since their divergence. Comparison of the <it>B. oleracea </it>physical map with Arabidopsis and other available eudicot genomes showed appreciable 'shadowing' produced by more ancient polyploidies, resulting in a web of relatedness among contigs which increased genomic complexity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A high-resolution genetically-anchored physical map sheds light on Brassica genome organization and advances positional cloning of specific genes, and may help to validate genome sequence assembly and alignment to chromosomes.</p> <p>All the physical mapping data is freely shared at a WebFPC site (<url>http://lulu.pgml.uga.edu/fpc/WebAGCoL/brassica/WebFPC/</url>; Temporarily password-protected: account: pgml; password: 123qwe123.</p