Morphological characterization of sali rice accessions of North East India

Rice is a major cereal crop of Assam, North East India. The local rice accessions grown in this region possess unique traits of breeder’s choice i.e., tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present investigation, 712 sali rice accessions of Assam were characterized using 20 qualitative and 13 quantitative traits. Among these, 19 qualitative traits showed distinct polymorphism except for the ligule colour. The maximum polymorphism was observed for apiculus colour followed by the colour of lemma palea and sterile lemma. The significant variation for the quantitative traits was recorded among the accessions. Lakhi Bilash and Borkamal were identified as the high yielding genotypes, which may be used further in breeding programmes. The cluster analysis using morphological traits based on the Euclidean distance matrix classified the accessions into the two distinct sub-groups. The high yielding accessions were grouped together in one cluster. A significant positive correlation was observed among the grain yield with the various panicle associated traits therefore, these may be used as selection criteria for development of high yielding rice varietiies

Morphological characterization of sali rice accessions of North East India

838-845Rice is a major cereal crop of Assam, North East India. The local rice accessions grown in this region possess unique traits of breeder’s choice i.e., tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present investigation, 712 sali rice accessions of Assam were characterized using 20 qualitative and 13 quantitative traits. Among these, 19 qualitative traits showed distinct polymorphism except for the ligule colour. The maximum polymorphism was observed for apiculus colour followed by the colour of lemma palea and sterile lemma. The significant variation for the quantitative traits was recorded among the accessions. Lakhi Bilash and Borkamal were identified as the high yielding genotypes, which may be used further in breeding programmes. The cluster analysis using morphological traits based on the Euclidean distance matrix classified the accessions into the two distinct sub-groups. The high yielding accessions were grouped together in one cluster. A significant positive correlation was observed among the grain yield with the various panicle associated traits therefore, these may be used as selection criteria for development of high yielding rice varietiies

Green Tea Leaves Extract with Low Concentration of EGCG Can Provide Health Benefits without Causing Renal Damage

Green tea or its concentrated extract is coveted for its health promoting catechin-like polyphenols, especially epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). However, its amicable efficacy is now being doubted considering the recent occurrence of several cases of hepato- and nephrotoxicity, after the ingestion of EGCG-fortified (≥85–90%) nutritional supplements. Therefore, the current study was carried out to ascertain the effect of green tea leaves extract (GTE), having low EGCG content (73.8%), on liver and kidney functions of male Wistar rats using various in vivo experiments and in vitro radical scavenging activity. In terms of acute toxicity, GTE was observed to be safe when delivered at a dosage of 2000 mg kg-1 body weight (BW). Oral delivery of GTE for 28 days at a concentration of 200 mg kg-1 BW/day did not trigger sub-acute toxicity to the liver and kidneys, as per serum biochemical analyses and histopathological examination. In contrast, GTE counteracted the effects of carbon tetrachloride (a potent hepato-degenerative compound) on the liver. Furthermore, increase in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol with concomitant lowering of serum triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol were noticed in GTE-treated rats. These findings suggest that low EGCG containing GTE, with appreciable antioxidant activity (IC50 = 53.18–71.28 µgmL-1), can serve as a hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, and hypocholesterolemic ingredient

Catechin and Catechin Fractions as Biochemical Markers to Study the Diversity of Indian Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. KUNTZE) Germplasm

The heterogeneous Indian tea germplasm includes 'China', 'Assam', 'Cambod', and their hybrids which were evaluated using biochemical markers viz., total catechin and their fractions, for varietal identification and characterization. Principal component analysis (PCA) of biochemical characters showed that the total catechin and trihydroxylated catechin has higher eigenvalues. The first two principal components (PCs) could differentiate more than 90% of the clones studied. This grouping based on first two principal component matrices differentiated 'China', and their hybrids with 'Assam' and 'Cambod' variety. Morphologically indistinct large-leaved 'Cambod' variety and 'Assam' varieties could not be differentiated using biochemical markers, since both varietal types taxonomically belong to a single species. Clones of 'China' type showed low total catechin content and catechin ratio which are distinctly grouped. The 'China-Assam' and 'China-Cambod' hybrids formed intermediate groups between 'China' PC group and 'Cambod'/'Assam' PC groups, providing evidence for genetic control of catechin ratio variation. Tea clones which are differentially positioned in the PC group could be explained based on the genetic contribution by other varietal type as parents. This biochemical characterization will be a useful tool in the development of quality-tea clones with different proportion of total catechin and their fractions