A balanced diet is important for the overall wellbeing of an individual. Pulses are an important part of a nutritive diet. Pulses have been consumed for at least 10,000 years and are among the most extensively used foods in the world. They are a rich source of protein and fiber, as well as a significant source of vitamins and minerals, such as iron, zinc, and magnesium. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of two pulses, horse gram and black gram, on inflammatory mediators and the antioxidant enzymes. Two sets of experiments were conducted in rats which were fed with boiled and unboiled horse gram and black gram, at a dose of 100 mg/100 g body weight, for 21 days and 60 days. The results showed that horse gram supplementation for 21 days and 60 days significantly increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and showed no significant changes in the activities of the inflammatory mediators such as cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase, myeloperoxidase, nitric oxide synthase, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1-beta (IL-1β), etc. However, the black gram (with skin and without skin) supplementation significantly increased activities of the inflammatory mediators and showed a significant decrease in the antioxidant enzymes in both the 21-day and 60-day experiments. Thus, these preliminary results demonstrate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential of horse gram and the proinflammatory effects of black gram in rats. This is in accordance with the dietary regime advised by Ayurveda practitioners, where horse gram is to be included and black gram is to be excluded from the diet for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. Further studies are to be conducted to validate the same.

Abstract:Silkworm Bombyx mori L. is prone to be attacked by pathogen and more notably Beauveria bassiana L. Bed disinfectant Kavach was inoculated in different dosages (0.2%-1.6%) to IV and V instar silkworms of both bivoltine and cross breeds. Potency of disinfectant was assessed for the parameters such as survivability, larval duration, physiological, chemo and bio-assay tests. It was revealed that, bivoltine (NB 4 D 2 ) silkworms were highly susceptible to diseases compared to cross breeds (PMxNB 4 D 2 ). In bivoltine silkworms, survivability was found to be 61.15% at 1.6% of Kavach, when dusted twice during IV and V instar and crossbreed silkworms exhibited better resistance of 63.10% with the same treatments. Kavach treated silkworms showed decreased larval duration compared to control worms. Crossbreed silkworms were capable of maintaining high level of soluble proteins in spite of infection on 3 rd day (17.40%), 4 th day (20.50%) and 5 th day (21.55%) whereas in bivoltine silkworms soluble protein level was brought down on 3 rd day (19.30%), 4 th day (22.40%) and 5 th day (23.40%). Total soluble sugars varied from third day till fifth day in both the races. Kavach dusted twice at 1% proved to be very useful in the improvement of various commercial cocoons characters.

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