Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

Lipid containing medicinal plants -1 In proximate analysis everyone reports the alcohol solubles in a sample. This fraction contains almost all water insoluble compounds- named lipids. Let me introduce lipids with an anecdote. Once in one of my biochemistry classes, after finishing Carbohydrates and Proteins which are water soluble components (and thus useful in foods), I started with water insoluble topic, lipids. In the middle of my lecture, one smart boy interrupted me and asked. “Sir, if they are not water soluble why should we need (to study) them?” I fumbled for a moment but regained my composure shortly and said “My dear friend, if we do not have lipids, while bathing you pour water on your head, you will be flowing down through drainage”. Well that explained the importance of lipids around us. It is the lipids that define us, our cells, tissues, organs etc or our shape !!!! (I am sure that, after a bath, all of you will be thanking your lipids!!) Lipid is a term de...

Lignans- the active principles of Bhumi Amla, flax seed etc. (Photos: Secoisolariciresinol, Phyllanthus and Sesame)               Many students get confused between lignan and lignin. Lignin(the main hydrophobic cell wall component of all vascular plants) is a polymer of hundreds of C9 phenyl propanes having very high molecular weight while Lignans are dimers formed by linking two cinnamic acids/cinnamyl alcohols, through the -carbons of their aliphatic side chains. The total number of lignans identified is 500 and more. The aromatic rings are often oxygenated and additional rings are also formed in the molecule. Optical activity is exhibited by many lignans. Once considered as typical heartwood constituents associated with lignin (so the name lignans), these compounds are located in leaves, fruits and in exudates of many plants. The richest source of lignans are the knots of Norway spruce (Picea abies) containi...

Acanthospermum hispidum: new (but actually old) uses against malaria, Jaundice and cephalgias. Acanthospermum hispidum is a known as “Gokhru/Goksura, because of two divergent spines like the horns of a cow and it is used as a substitute for Tribulus terrestris (Cchotta Gokhru) and Pedalium murex (Bada Gokhru) for kidney stones and as a diuretic. In Gujarat it is used for swellings, mild fever, leprosy and other skin diseases. But actually the plant is a migrant from Brazil, which spread to many parts of North India. But now another migrant weed Alternanthera ficoidea, destroyed most of the habitat of Acanthospermum and the plant is now almost restricted to certain areas of Dangs.  (please remember my request for a few leaves of this plant in Facebook on 26th March, 2022)) Acanthospermum hispidum DC is a medicinal plant present in America, Africa, Australia, Hawaii, and Brazil.is used in those places as a traditional medicine for the treatment of jaundi...

“Charismatic carbon” : Seaweed farming, a new frontier of high rewards “Charismatic carbon” or Carbon offset projects are the projects to fix carbon released due to the release of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, having a “golden touch” of benefits which improve the livelihood of people involved or around the world. The term ‘charismatic carbon’: a term coined by Scientific American in 2006 refers to accessing carbon from grassroots projects , or carbon that is stored in trees or in other organic matter that are rare and valuable. By supporting Charismatic carbon/carbon offset projects, you can offset emissions that are currently unavoidable and hence reduce your overall environmental impact. The proponents of 'charismatic carbon,' look for 'small scale, cute and cuddly carbon projects' to increase the appeal of carbon credits’ marketing. Charismatic carbon projects tell stories about the reduction of carbon emissions and social co-benefits...

Caesalpiniaceae-2; Biofuels, Natural Dyes and Biopesticides A. Biofuels 1. Kingiodendron pinnatum Harms. This is a large tree an endangered species sparsely distributed in the evergreen forests of Western Ghats of India. A healthy tree of 3 m girth yields about 12 gallons of oleoresin. The maximum yield reported is 40 gallon. The tapping is done by boring a hole of 2cm diam-in trees of 2 m or more in girth. The hole which reaches the pith is placed 1m above the ground and slopes down wards from the pith to the bark. The exudate is collected and the hole is plugged with a piece of wood. The tree is rested for 10 years before tapping again. The main constituent of oleoresin is β-caryophyllene (84%) and cadinene. The resin left after the volatile oil distilled is a greenish yellow hard brittle mass. The resin is highly inflammable and causes wild fire when the drilled hole is left uncovered after extraction. (Illegal extraction is rampant in forests co...