Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
A US-based Malaysian scientist says the country's tropical forests have many medicinal plants that may be a main source of income for Malaysia. According to Robert K Lee, a professor at the department of brain and cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), some of the useful extracts …
a new technique has been developed to kill the dengue causing Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes. Rays emitting from dried marigold flowers dipped in 100 per cent alcohol and ground into a fine paste can keep the deadly mosquitoes at bay. Arun Patnaik of the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, who has …
TETU LAKDA (Nothatodytes Foetida) a tree found in the rain forests of south India and Sri Lanka is facing a threat from international traders because of its medicinal properties. The extract of this tree is used to make cancer-fighting drugs in Europe. According to a recent World Bank report, twigs …
Peach Berry Clarity: Clear Your Mind: Gotu Kola from India, enhances clarity & meditation, heavenly with peach and blackberry juices - thus reads the label attached to the bottles containing this concoction. Further, the write-up by the California-based Mrs. Wiggles Rocket Juice Company, the producer of this exotic drink, states …
THE home-made concoction that cured your stomach ache may soon be unavailable. More than 150 of the known species of medicinal plants in India have already become extinct due to unsustainable methods of harvesting and many more face the threat of extinction. The loss is great because in India, even …
FROM the state of Gujarat comes one of the more recent examples of innovation in desert reclamation. A private industrial house (the Benzer group) has successfully reclaimed a large chunk of saline wasteland in Bhachau district of Kutch using halophytes, flora which grow in saline habitats. ,The word 'Indian desert' …
MONKEYS have an amazing knowledge of medicinal plants. When they fall ill or get hurt they cure themselves by eating plants commonly found around them. A long-term study undertaken by the author in the 1990s in Delhi to determine the effects of food on the health of monkeys, brings to …
Cultivation costs (Amount in Rs) Land preparation by tractor 28,000 (400 hours x Rs 70 per hour) 28,000 Cultivation by tractor(120 hours x Rs 80 per hour) 9,600 Seed of prime variety(1,000 kg x Rs 200 per kg) 2,00,000 Inter-culture and weeding (600 workingdays at the rate of Rs 40 …
SENNA (Cassia angustifolia 17ahl) a native of Saudi Arabia is now cultivated extensively in western Rajasthan The main advantage of the crop is that it is does not require the application of any fertilisers as it is not devoured by insects or other animals or birds. Further, the plant is …
this book, published by a voluntary group from Bangalore, offers an insight into the world of medicinal plants from the region, and how villagers have been meeting their health needs over generations. A low-priced, yet slick and well-illustrated publication, it offers plant-based cures for common ailments from coughs and eye …
herbal medicines are taking a toll of rare plants in several Asian countries. According to a new study conducted by the British firm McAlpine, Thorpe and Warrier, and supported by botanists, 18 species of plants are facing extinction due to sales of herbal potions, growing by more than 10 per …
A team of researchers from Austria report that the lingering smell from garlic-eaters comes not from the plant, but from the chemicals in the blood produced by a change in the body's metabolism. The researchers led by Werner Lindinger found that of the several volatile compounds
the Himalayan yew (Taxus wallichiana), a rare tree found in the Himalayan foothills, is fast disappearing because of largescale illegal felling for an anti-cancer drug made from its leaves and bark. The tree parts are allegedly smuggled to laboratories in the us, Germany and other Western countries involved in research …
SEABUCKTHORN (Hippophae ramnoides) locally called :mes', is a crop with outstanding values that grows abundantly in higher Himalayan zones. The unique crop can resist temperatures as low as -43'c and as high as 40*c, and prefers sandy and eroded soils. It grows both on acidic and alkaline soils. It is …
V SREERAJ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM in a bid to revitalise local health traditions and dietary habits, the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute ( tbgri ) in Palode, Tiruvananthapuram, has started a grassroots-level programme called "Herbs for all, Health for all, by 2000 ad' . By recognising and scientifically evaluating and validating …
The UFA (Universal Film Studios) Fabrik in the German city of Berlin is a unique experiment in urban living. The former film studio is now home to a community of 50. Having acquired a worldwide reputation as the promoter of an innovative social, cultural and ecological lifestyle, the UFA Fabrik …
To most Indians, turmeric or haldi is a part of growing up, a magic cure-all for the excesses of childhood. A classic "grandmother's remedy", the virulent yellow powder or paste has been applied to the scrapes and cuts of generations of children. But in the US, two scientists were granted …
THE Kani adivasis, living in the Agasthyar hills of southern Kerala, knew about jeevani for centuries. From this tiny medicinal plant Trichopus zeylnicus, they extracted Arogyapazha: a retroactive, immuno enhancing, anti-stress drug. Later, the drug was developed by the Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute Palod, Thiruvananthapuram. Now, a reward …
THE hunt for a commercially valuable wild plant in the Khasi and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya may virtually lead to their extinction. The fern-like creeper which is locally known as Tmain Ala (Lycopodium clavatum), is found in abundance in these hills. The plant is used in fireworks, dusting powder, flashlight …
