Physical properties of large cardamom cultivated in north eastern Himalayan region of Sikkim, India

The large cardamom is one of the most important spice crops grown in Himalayan region of Sikkim, India.  The capsules of the harvested large cardamom are dried before consumption.  The paper presents the physical properties of  freshly harvested and dried large cardamom capsules.  The geometrical mean diameter, sphericity, bulk density and mean values of angle of repose of the freshly harvested large cardamom capsules were observed to be 18.53±1.73 mm, 0.76, 332.21±14.24 kg m-3 and 28.74±4.04°, respectively.  Whereas for dried large cardamom capsules the values were found to be 11.113±0.92 mm, 0.56, 393.109±9.622 kg m-3 and 29.84±2.93°, respectively.  The peak static coefficient of friction of freshly harvested large cardamom over mild steel, plywood and plastic film surfaces were 0.386, 0.463 and 0.359, respectively.  However, for dried large cardamom capsules, the observed values were 0.436, 0.394 and 0.155, respectively.   Keywords: large cardamom, spice crop, physical propertie

Estrogen inhibits GH signaling by suppressing GH-induced JAK2 phosphorylation, an effect mediated by SOCS-2

Oral estrogen administration attenuates the metabolic action of growth hormone (GH) in humans. To investigate the mechanism involved, we studied the effects of estrogen on GH signaling through Janus kinase (JAK)2 and the signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) in HEK293 cells stably expressing the GH receptor (293GHR), HuH7 (hepatoma) and T-47D (breast cancer) cells. 293GHR cells were transiently transfected with an estrogen receptor-α expression plasmid and luciferase reporters with binding elements for STAT3 and STAT5 or the β-casein promoter. GH stimulated the reporter activities by four- to sixfold. Cotreatment with 17β-estradiol (E2) resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in the response of all three reporters to GH to a maximum of 49-66% of control at 100 nM (P < 0.05). No reduction was seen when E2 was added 1-2 h after GH treatment. Similar inhibitory effects were observed in HuH7 and T-47D cells. E2 suppressed GH-induced JAK2 phosphorylation, an effect attenuated by actinomycin D, suggesting a requirement for gene expression. Next, we investigated the role of the suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) in E2 inhibition. E2 increased the mRNA abundance of SOCS-2 but not SOCS-1 and SOCS-3 in HEK293 cells. The inhibitory effect of E2 was absent in cells lacking SOCS-2 but not in those lacking SOCS-1 and SOCS-3. In conclusion, estrogen inhibits GH signaling, an action mediated by SOCS-2. This paper provides evidence for regulatory interaction between a sex steroid and the GH/JAK/STAT pathway, in which SOCS-2 plays a central mechanistic role

<i style="">In vitro</i> antiviral activity of plant extracts on goatpox virus replication

120-127Four plants having known medicinal properties were screened for inhibition of goatpox virus (GTPV) replication in vitro. Of the 4 plants, extract of Acacia arabica (Babul) and Eugenia jambolana (Jamun) leaves had inhibition (%) 99.70 and 99.92 at their maximum non toxic concentrations, 99.93±0.38 and 1999.73±0.50 mg/ml, respectively in all cytopathic effect (CPE) inhibition assays. Inhibition of GTPV virus replication was further confirmed by PCR and SYBR Green based quantitative real-time QPCR assays specific for GTPV. Results indicated that the extract of Acacia arabica and Eugenia jambolana leaves inhibited GTPV replication in vitro