Mucuna pruriens commonly known as cow-age or cowitch or velvet bean or Alkushi, is a medicinal plant traditionally used in Indian medicine belongs to the family Leguminosae. M. pruriens seed is a natural source of the amino acid L-3,4-dihydroxy phenyl alanine (L-DOPA), the direct precursor to the neuro transmitter dopamine which is used widely in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Serotonin, oxitriptan, nicotine, N,N-DMT, and bufotenine are the other chemicals found in M. pruriens in addition to L-DOPA. According to Ancient Ayurvedic literature Mucuna is used as a potent aphrodisiac, geriatric tonic and vermifuge. It is also used for the treatment of menstruation disorders, constipation, edema, fever, tuberculosis, etc. In addition, Mucuna is also grown as food crop, ornamental plant, living mulch and green manure crop. The reviews summarize the botany, uses, phyto constituents and pharmacological activities of M. pruriens.

Effect of gamma irradiation (0.25 to 1.0kGy) on antioxidant properties of ber fruit was studied. Antioxidant properties of ber fruits were determined by Scavenging DPPH radical activity, reducing power assay, super oxide anion radical activity, TBARS, total phenolic content and total flavonoid content. Gamma irradiation treatment up to 1.0kGy elevated the Scavenging DPPH radical activity (9 %), super oxide anion radical activity (26 %) and total flavonoid content (208 %) compared to fresh ber fruit. On the other hand it brought down the reducing power activity (65 %) and total phenolic content (18 %) as compared to raw fruit. The TBARS activity statistically increased upon irradiation of ber fruit. It indicated that total antioxidant activity decreased as TBARS value increased. Therefore 0.25 to 0.5kGy is better dose to retain the natural antioxidant in fruit.

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The pumpkin pulp contains a greater composition of edible polysaccharides and has reported with excellent biological applications. This research pertains to optimize the extraction of polysaccharides from the fleshy portion of the pumpkin using aqueous assisted extraction (AAE). The result showed that the optimal extraction condition of pumpkin polysaccharide was as follows: extraction temperature at 55 °C, pH 4.5, and enzyme concentration of 4000 µ/g for 80 min. Under the optimal extraction condition, the yield of pumpkin polysaccharide via AAE (15.4) was significantly higher. The biological activities of extracted polysaccharide including α-amylase inhibition (57.41% at 1000 µg/mL) and anti-inflammatory (50.41% at 25 µg/mL) activity increased significantly. Additionally, the antioxidant activities of extracted pumpkin polysaccharides including IC 50 values of DPPH and ABTS were 59.87% and 58.74%, respectively. The pumpkin polysaccharide has maximum inhibitory effects against bacterial strains especially for Escherichia coli than that of fungal strains. It is suggested that the aqueous assisted extraction of is a cost-effective promising method to decrease the processing time as well as enhancing extracted polysaccharide yield – times.

Background: Grape is one of the important cash crops cultivated in India. The grape bunches during growth stages are adversely affected by various biotic and abiotic factors which in turn affects the yield and quality. In addition, high usage of agrochemicals in grape cultivation increased concern over pesticide residues among consumers. Therefore, an alternative technique of fruit bagging to enhance the yield and quality as well as to minimize pest and disease infestation is emphasized. Bagging of grape bunches also aids in preventing the agrochemicals entry into the fruits. Methods: A field experiment was conducted to study the impact of fruit bagging on yield attributes in grape cv. Muscat Hamburg at Coimbatore during winter (August - December, 2018) and summer seasons (January - May, 2019). The grape clusters were covered with non-woven UV stabilized polypropylene bags of different colours viz., blue, white, yellow, red and green immediately after fruit set and were removed before harvest. The unbagged clusters were treated as control. Result: In the present study, the grape clusters covered with white colour non-woven UV stabilized polypropylene bags was found to be superior for yield attributes viz., bunch weight (255.03 g and 294.80 g), berry diameter (15.39 mm and 15.97 mm), berry weight (4.30 g and 4.85 g), pulp weight (3.88 g and 4.44 g), peel weight (0.28 g and 0.31 g) and yield per vine (7.7 kg and 8.8 kg) in both summer and winter season crops respectively. Hence, the present study emphasizes that fruit bagging improves the yield attributes in grapes.