Adsorption‐desorption behaviors of karingda (Citrullus lanatus (Thumb) Mansf) seed, kernel and hull for nine equilibrium relative humidities (ERH) ranging between 11 and 96% at temperatures of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50C were studied following a static equilibriation technique using saturated solutions of various salts. Under both the adsorption and desorption processes, the equilibrium moisture contents (EMC) of the hull were found to be highest followed by those of the seed and the kernel at all the corresponding temperatures and ERH values. Analysis of these data using four sorption models (modified Henderson, modified Halsey, modified Chung‐Pfost and Guggenheim‐Anderson‐de Boer) and taking the temperature dependence of the respective coefficient into consideration, it revealed that both the Chung‐Pfost and the GAB models were acceptable in describing EMC‐ERH relationships for karingda seed, kernel and hull over the entire range of temperatures. The excess heat of sorption of all the samples, estimated from the Clausius‐Clapeyron equation, decreased exponentially with the increase in moisture content of the same.
Guggulsterone, a hypolipidemic natural agent, is produced in resin canals of the plant Commiphora wightii. In this study, the stimulatory effects of growth retardants [ALAR (N,N-dimethylaminosuccinamic acid) and CCC (chlormequat chloride)] and fungal elicitor on guggulsterone accumulation in cell cultures of C. wightii are reported. CCC at 1 mg l -1 enhanced guggulsterone content (*123 lg l -1 ) when added on the fifth day after inoculation, while ALAR at 2.5 mg l -1 increased guggulsterone content (*116 lg l -1 ) when added on the tenth day. In a two-stage fed-batch process, combined treatment with fungal elicitor and growth retardant caused a significant increase (*353 lg l -1 ) in guggulsterone content in cell cultures after 17 days of growth. This represents an approximately fivefold increase over the guggulsterone contents in initial cultures of this plant.
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