Salutary value of haruan, the striped snakehead Channa striatus – a review

Murrel namely Channa striatus or haruan contains all essential elements to maintain good health and to recover the lost energy after prolonged illness. The fatty acid composition (% of total fatty acid) indicated the abundant presence of C16:0 fatty acid as 30% and the other major fatty acids were C22:6 (15%), C20:4 (19%), C18:1 (12%) and C18:0 (15%). Haruan contains arachidonic acid (C20:4) as 19.0%, a precursor for prostaglandin and thromboxane biosyntheses. Both fatty and amino acids are important components for wound healing processes. Both the fillet and mucus extracts of haruan were found to exhibit a concentration dependent antinociceptive activity. In vitro antioxidant activity was higher in Channa roe protein hydrolysate than in Labeo roe protein hydrolysate in both DPPH radical scavenging and ferric reducing power. Protein content of roe concentrates (RPC) was found to be 90.2% (Channa) and 82.5% (Lates). Water absorption, oil absorption, foam capacity, stability and emulsifying capacity were found to be higher in Channa RPC than in Lates RPC. Characterization of protein hydrolysates from muscle and myofibrillar samples of haruan showed different kinetic and proteolytic activities. The skin extract of haruan influences the serotonergic receptor system thus they can function as an anti-depressant. Thus, haruan is the best example for food as medicine

Diversity of Sodium Transporter HKT1;5 in Genus Oryza

Asian cultivated rice shows allelic variation in sodium transporter, OsHKT1;5, correlating with shoot sodium exclusion (salinity tolerance). These changes map to intra/extracellularly-oriented loops that occur between four transmembrane-P loop-transmembrane (MPM) motifs in OsHKT1;5. HKT1;5 sequences from more recently evolved Oryza species (O. sativa/O. officinalis complex species) contain two expansions that involve two intracellularly oriented loops/helical regions between MPM domains, potentially governing transport characteristics, while more ancestral HKT1;5 sequences have shorter intracellular loops. We compared homology models for homoeologous OcHKT1;5-K and OcHKT1;5-L from halophytic O. coarctata to identify complementary amino acid residues in OcHKT1;5-L that potentially enhance affinity for Na+. Using haplotyping, we showed that Asian cultivated rice accessions only have a fraction of HKT1;5 diversity available in progenitor wild rice species (O. nivara and O. rufipogon). Progenitor HKT1;5 haplotypes can thus be used as novel potential donors for enhancing cultivated rice salinity tolerance. Within Asian rice accessions, 10 non-synonymous HKT1;5 haplotypic groups occur. More HKT1;5 haplotypic diversities occur in cultivated indica gene pool compared to japonica. Predominant Haplotypes 2 and 10 occur in mutually exclusive japonica and indica groups, corresponding to haplotypes in O. sativa salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant landraces, respectively. This distinct haplotype partitioning may have originated in separate ancestral gene pools of indica and japonica, or from different haplotypes selected during domestication. Predominance of specific HKT1;5 haplotypes within the 3 000 rice dataset may relate to eco-physiological fitness in specific geo-climatic and/or edaphic contexts