Pranic Healing for Partially Blind- A case study

Objectives: Fourteen year-old boy was diagnosed with visual impairment in his right eye since birth. Other symptoms included blurred vision, dry eyes, and headache. Pranic Healing (PH) as a complementary therapy to heal eye aliments was applied on the subject..PH is an ancient science and art of healing people. It is considered as a natural, drugless, non-touch complimentary technique using prana to treat illness.Methods: Fifty PH sessions of 20 minutes each was applied on the subject.Results: On completion of 50 PH sessions, it was found that his unaided visual acuity improved in both eyes with the right eye showing significant improvement. The dryness in the eye, eye pain and headache were healed.Conclusions:Observing his visual improvement, he was advised to be transferred to the conventional school. PH as adjuvant therapy can assist for patients with visual impairment. Further studies are warranted to study the impact of PH on larger  populations of visually impaired subjectsKey words: Prana, Pranic healing, Blurred Vision, Visual Acuity, Complementary therap

Growth, yield and nutritional content of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) as influenced by pranic energy application

Pranic agriculture (PA) is an ancient farming method where pranic energy improves crop production. Finger millet or Ragi (Eleusine coracana. L) is a major staple millet consumed in India, particularly Karnataka and is a rich source of protein and nutrients. A field study in half-acre was carried out with pranic energy treatment to seed, land and crop and along with control (without energy treatment). The traits of finger millet like plant height (26%), number of productive tillers (35%), no of panicle (54%), number of fingers (13%) and grain yield (44%) were statistically (p < .05) higher over control. Protein content in finger millet straw (4.38 %) and grain (6.13%) was higher in pranic treatment than control (3.5 and 4.75%). Nitrogen and zinc content in millet grain was higher in pranic treatment (980 and 1.96 mg/100g) than control (760 and 1.63 mg/100g). The increase in protein, nitrogen and zinc content of the millet grain and straw will help to improve the quality of produce for consumption by cattle and humans.  Increase in straw and grain yield will help to improve the economy of the farmer.  Further studies are needed to know the actual mechanisms involved in the growth and yield improvement of finger millet. And, also in-depth studies are necessary to address the reasons behind the variation in nutrients accumulation in straw and grain.

Antioxidant activity and production of secondary metabolites of adult plant and in vitro calli of Anodendron paniculatum

The members of the family Apocynaceae are the rich in alkaloids, terpinoids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds and hydrocarbons. Anodendron paniculatum Roxb. is an woody climber, the roots of which have been used to control vomiting and cough. In the present study, adult plant and tissue culture plant extracts of A. paniculatum collected from Eastern Ghats, Araku, Andhra Pradesh were used for the production of their secondary metabolites and antioxidant activity. Methanol extracts of calli showed high contents of total phenol and alkaloid with 25.53 and 25.98 mg/g respectively. Methanol extract of tissue culture plant at higher concentrations showed better antioxidant activity with reference to standard ascorbic acid.  For this study different concentrations (12.5, 25, 50, 100 and 200 µg/ml) of extracts were prepared by using four different solvents. Tissue culture extracts from methanol showed maximum scavenging activity with 231.9±1.39 % at 200 µg/ml of concentration, while that of adult plant extracts showed the scavenging activity of 189.1±0.74% only. These results on high antioxidant activity of the methanol extract of A. paniculatum calli can be attributed to the presence of high phenolic and alkaloid contents in calli when compared to that of adult plant extract

Bioactive substance contents and antioxidant capacity of raw and blanched vegetables.

Five commonly consumed vegetables in Malaysia namely, four-angled bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus D.C.), French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), long bean (Vigna sesquipedalis L.), snow pea (Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon L.) and snap pea (Pisum sativum) were blanched in boiling water for 10 min. The contents of total phenolics, ascorbic acid and β-carotene, and the antioxidant capacity as typified by β-carotene and free radical scavenging activity (DPPH) assays were determined for the raw and blanched vegetables. The study revealed that blanching caused a significant (p < 0.05) increase in β-carotene content [fresh (389–539 µg/100 g), blanched (510–818 µg/100 g)], except in snow pea. Conversely, there was a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in ascorbic acid content [fresh (1.2–7.8 mg/100 g), blanched (0.67–3.8 mg/100 g)]. After blanching, the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity either decreased or increased depending on the type of vegetables. The total phenolic content was positively correlated with the antioxidant activity of the studied vegetables to some extent, but not with ascorbic acid or β-carotene

Changes in nitrate and nitrite levels of blanched amaranthus during refrigeration storage.

Changes in nitrate and nitrite contents (leaves and stem) of Amaranthus gangeticus (AG) and Amaranthus paniculatus (AP), resulting from blanching, storage time (0-4 days), storage temperature (0 and 4ºC), and reheating were analysed. Results showed that fresh AG (1859 ± 7.07 mg/kg) had higher nitrite content than AP (1262 ± 2.12 mg/kg). Nitrites content was 506 ± 2 and 825 ± 3.5 mg/kg for AG and AP, respectively. Reheating and storage times significantly increased the conversion of nitrate to nitrite in AG and AP. Storage at 0 and 4oC exhibited a significant change (P < 0.05) in nitrate and nitrite contents for both samples. Higher nitrite content was found in AP when stored at 4oC and 0oC. The present study indicated that storage time and temperature affected the nitrite contents in blanched AG and AP when stored in low temperatures. Apart from that reheating was also found to increase the formation of nitrite

Nutritional composition and antioxidant properties of Canarium odontophyllum Miq. (dabai) fruits.

The present study sought to determine the nutritional composition and antioxidant properties of Canarium odontophyllum Miq. (dabai) fruits from different districts in Malaysia, namely Kanowit, Sarikei, Kapit and Song in Sarawak. Two varieties of the fruits were investigated. Lipid (21.16 ± 4.71 to 25.76 ± 3.03 g/100 g FW) was the major macronutrient in dabai fruits, while the predominant minerals were calcium, sodium and potassium. The fruit protein was rich in aspartic and glutamic acids which accounted for 45–49% of total amino acids. Purple dabai fruits from Kapit were found to contain the highest total phenolic levels, flavonoids and anthocyanin contents (p < 0.01) and to exhibit the most significant antioxidant activities (p < 0.01), using trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and ferric reducing ability (FRAP) assays. Antioxidant activities were highly correlated with total phenolic and flavonoid contents of dabai fruits

Determination and optimization of flavonoid and extract yield from brown mango using response surface methodology.

The optimum extraction conditions to obtain the highest flavonoid content and extract yield from Mangifera pajang pericarp (MPP) were analyzed using response surface methodology (RSM). A full factorial central composite design was used to investigate the effects of ethanol concentration (20-80%), temperature (30-65°C) and liquid to solid ratio (20-50 mL/g) on the recovery of extract yield and flavonoids. A second order polynomial model produced a satisfactory fitting of the experimental data with regard to extract yield (R 2 = 0.9890, p < 0.0001) and flavonoids (R 2 = 0.9652, p < 0.0001). The optimum conditions to obtain higher extract yield, were 54%, 50°C, and 42.4 mL/g, while for flavonoids were 68%, 57°C, and 20.2 mL/g, respectively. The experimental values agreed with those predicted with 99% and 96% confidence interval for extract yield and flavonoids respectively. This indicates the suitability of RSM in optimizing the extraction of flavonoids and extract yield from MPP

PHYSICO CHEMICAL STUDIES ON SOAP NUT [SAPINDUS TRIFOLIATUS] OIL FOR SOURCE AS BIODIESEL

Sapindus trifoliatus is a small tree belongs to the family Sapindaceae. Soap nut powder is a very good antibacterial and antifungal agent. It is mostly used in the cosmetic and contraceptive creams.It has a number of health benefits besides the famous benefit of keeping the hair long and healthy. It is useful in the treatment of lice's and dandruff. It is also used as detergent, bio-surfactant and remedial for organic soil pollution in the modern science. In this present study .The Physico- Chemical Properties of the Soap nut oil was analyzed by blending with conventional diesel at 10% (B10) and 20% (B20) proportions. The properties assessed in the physical parameters include, pH, Density Salinity, Viscosity, Specific gravity, Conductivity, Total dissolved oxygen and Total dissolved solid. The significant biodiesel characters like   flash point, fire point, smoke point, pour point, cloud point and carbon residue were analysed. The ultrasonic characters like ultrasonic velocity, adiabatic compressibility, acoustic impedance, relaxation time were also assessed. The chemical parameters estimated such as Acid value, Iodine value and Saponification value. The values of the parameters were compared with the ASTMT standards of biodiesel. The biodiesel blend B20 is found to be within the ASTM standard and it can serve as a potential source for biodiesel.Keywords: Soap nut, Sapindus trifoliatus, Conductivity, Ultrasonic velocity, Saponification

Development of bioconjugated nano-molecules against targeted microbial pathogens for enhanced bactericidal activity

The study reports development of bio-conjugated nano-molecules (BCM's) for enhanced antibacterial activity against targeted pathogens of global concern. The conjugation was achieved with biomolecular interaction of silver clusters with 3-Dichloro-5, 6-dicyano-1, 4-benzoquinone (DDQ) which was purified and characterized with TLC which displayed prominent band at R-f 0.5 and HPLC analysis displayed chromatographic peak eluting at (t(R)) 6-8 min. The LC-MS analysis displayed single major peak at t(R) = 4.610 corresponding to molecular ion peak at m/z = 227.19. The developed BCM molecule was determined with UV-Visible spectroscopy which displayed the absorbance peaks of conjugated molecules with shoulder peak observed and morphological characteristics were well defined with TEM analysis which showed cluster formation. The size ranged from 20 to 80 nm in size with majority of the BCM displaying spherical in size. The process of bio-conjugation was further studied with FTIR analysis which corresponded with different vibrational stretches owing to the presence of amide, carbonyl alkynes, nitriles and carboxylic acid groups. The presence of functional moieties was also studied using H-1 and C-13 NMR spectra. The crystalline characteristics was confirmed with XRD analysis which displayed Bragg's intensities along with additional peaks occurring at 2 theta angle corresponds to (111), (200), (220), (311) face centric cube of silver planes. The antibacterial activity of BCM's was profound against all the test pathogen which was validated and compared with standard antibiotics. Among the test pathogens, highest activity was conferred against Staphylococcus epidermidis (MTCC 435) with 29 mm. The minimal inhibition concentration of BCM's was in the range of 0.97-3.12 mu g/ml. The results of MIC were in accordance with well diffusion assay indicating the Gram + ve test pathogen Staphylococcus epidermidis to be the most sensitive. In addition, the broth dilution assay resulted in decrease in the optical density measured at 600 nm against the increase in the concentration of BCM's. The outcome of the present investigation revealed the role of bio-conjugation chemistry to increase fold activity against pathogens which can act as alternative tool to combat drug resistant menace across the globe

Health benefits of flavanoids in nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics perspectives

Flavonoids are the largest and most studied group of plant phenolics. Epidemiological studies suggest that the consumption of flavonoid-rich foods may protect humans against oxidative stress related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, hyperlipidemia and diabetes. This chapter aims to review the occurrence of flavonoids from various sources. Additionally, this chapter also highlights the interactions among flavonoids, genes and diseases in nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics perspectives. Clinical studies related to health effects of flavonoids on osteoporosis, menopausal symptoms, obesity, hypertension, hyperlipedemia and cardiovascular health are also discussed in this chapter. Taken together, this chapter intends to provide a new insight for the development of nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics in near future