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42 Pages·2013·3.45 MB·English

05-09 September 2013
AGRI Titbits
….in this issue
spices
breakthrough
climate change
success stories
innovations
general

Agri Titbits
is an effort to collect and
preserve agricultural
news, especially spices,
appearing in newspapers
and online media

published by
Dr. M Anandaraj
compiled & prepared by
Dr. Sushama Devi C K
asJl ayarajan K
Riyas K P

Indian Institute of Spices Research
(Indian Council of Agricultural Research)
Calicut-673012, Kerala, India
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AGRI Titbits
CONTENT
Spices
Tingling Sensation Caused by Asian Spice Could Help Patients with Chronic Pain
Cilantro, That Favorite Salsa Ingredient, Purifies Drinking Water
How Spice Tickles Your Lips
Spicy Solution? Cinnamon May Help Diabetes Patients
Spices Board contests US’s impurity claim
Indian spices under regulatory scanner in US
Breakthrough
The Secret Life of Underground Microbes: Plant Root Microbiomes Rule the World
Making Plants' Inner Qualities Visible
Anti-fungal molecule with medicinal properties found
Climate change
Climate panel: warming ‘extremely likely' man-made
Despite the hiatus, global warming is unequivocal
Predicting vector-borne diseases in climate change era
Success stories
Backyard vegetables for Onam feast
Bid to promote safe vegetables
Innovations
Merits of mechanisation on agriculture show
Setting an example in harnessing the full potential of jackfruit
General
Sharp decline in areca nut production in Wayanad
Scientists meet for collaborative projects
Mutation breeding of oil seeds, pulses and cereals
Call to protest against anti-farmer policies
KAU to seek three-year tax holiday for Neera
Pest-Eating Birds Mean Money for Coffee Growers
Urban Agriculture: The Potential and Challenges of Producing Food in Cities
India ready to share agro info with ASEAN
India Plans a 4-Gigawatt Solar Farm to Double C Project to promote liming of farmland
Malayalam

IISR in print

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AGRI Titbits
T S C A
INGLING ENSATION AUSED BY SIAN
S C H P C
PICE OULD ELP ATIENTS WITH HRONIC
P
AIN

Science Daily/10 September 2013

The science behind the tingling sensation caused by eating a popular Asian spice has
been explained by researchers at UCL. he study, which is published in the journal
Proceedings of the Royal Society B, helps shed light on the complex interactions
between the senses of taste and touch, and could lead to a greater understanding of the
causes of the tingling sensations experienced by many chronic pain patients.

Widely used in Asian cooking, the Szechuan pepper was found to mimic the sense of
touch in the brain. It chemically activates light-touch fibres on the lips and tongue and
sends the equivalent of 50 light taps to the brain per second.

Dr Nobuhiro Hagura (UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience), lead author of the study,
said: "This is the first time that we've been able to show how chemicals activate touch
fibres, inducing a measureable frequency. We know that natural products like chilli,
mustard oil and menthol can activate the thermal and pain fibres in the skin, but we
wanted to find out why Szechuan pepper specifically works on the light-touch fibres,
producing a conscious sensation of touch and that distinctive tingling feeling."

After Szechuan pepper was applied to the lips of volunteers, participants were asked to
match the frequency of the resulting tingling sensation by adjusting a vibrating
stimulus, either higher or lower, on their fingertips. The team was able to show that an
active ingredient in the peppers stimulates specific RA1 fibres in the lips and tongue.
These fibres are responsible for transmitting touch sensation, and send the equivalent
of a light tap on the skin to the brain at the rate of 50 times per second.

Dr Hagura said: "What we found was that a unique active ingredient in the pepper,
called sanshool, activates these fibres, sending a highly specific signal to the brain.
Szechuan peppers and physical touch sensations share this same pathway to the brain.

"We hope that laboratory studies of the tingling sensations caused by sanshool could
help to clarify the brain processes underlying these sensations, and how they are
related to pain in some cases." The team also hopes to investigate the reasons why
people enjoy eating Szechuan pepper and how touch sensation can boost the taste of
food.

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AGRI Titbits
C , T F S
ILANTRO HAT AVORITE ALSA
I ,
NGREDIENT
P D W
URIFIES RINKING ATER
Science Daily/12 September 2013
Hints that a favorite ingredient in Mexican,
Southeast Asian and other spicy cuisine may
be an inexpensive new way of purifying
drinking water are on the menu today at the
246th National Meeting & Exposition of the
American Chemical Society.
Reporting on research done by
undergraduate students at a community
college, Douglas Schauer, Ph.D., said that
cilantro -- also known as coriander and Thai parsley -- shows promise as a much-
needed new "biosorbent" for removing lead and other potentially toxic heavy metals
from contaminated water.

"Cilantro may seem too pricey for use in decontaminating large amounts of water for
drinking and cooking," Schauer said. "However, cilantro grows wild in vast amounts in
countries that have problems with heavy-metal water pollution. It is readily available,
inexpensive and shows promise in removing certain metals, such as lead, copper and
mercury, that can be harmful to human health."

Conventional methods for removing heavy metals from water such as treatment with
activated carbon (used in the filters in home water purification pitchers) or more
advanced technology like ion-exchange resins are very effective. However, they can be
too expensive for use in developing countries, especially in rural areas. The need for
lower-cost, sustainable alternatives has fostered research on biosorbents. These natural
materials, which range from microbes to plants, latch on to heavy metals in ways that
include both absorption and adsorption.

"Our goal is to find biosorbents that people in developing countries could obtain for
nothing," Schauer explained. "When the filter in a water purification pitcher needs to be
changed, they could go outside, gather a handful of cilantro or some other plant, and
presto, there's a new filter ready to purify the water."
Schauer, who is with Ivy Tech Community College here, enlisted his students in that
quest, and they worked with scientists at the Universidad Politécnica de Francisco I.
Madero in Hidalgo. Mexico does not have a system to filter out heavy metals, said
Schauer, noting that cilantro grows wild there. Their small-scale experiments suggested
that cilantro may be more effective than activated carbon in removing heavy metals
such as lead.

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AGRI Titbits
Cilantro's secret may lie in the structure of the outer walls of the microscopic cells that
make up the plant. They have an architecture ideal for sorption of heavy metals. Other
plants, including cilantro's cousins, parsley and culantro, have similar features and
could potentially work as biosorbents, he added. Schauer thinks that biosorbents like
cilantro could be packed into tea-bag-like packets, reusable water filter cartridges or
even tea infuser balls and used to remove heavy metals.
Schauer and his team cited a grant through the Lilly Foundation for instrumentation and
a Perkins grant in support of the Chemical Technology and Biotechnology Programs,
also used for instrumentation. Six students traveled to the University in Mexico to
collect and investigate samples. Funding for this was provided largely by the Louis
Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation.
H S T Y L
OW PICE ICKLES OUR IPS
National Geographic/ 10 September 2013
A COMPOUND IN SZECHUAN PEPPER ACTIVATES THE SAME NERVES AS A LIGHT TOUCH.

Researchers at the University College
London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience
found that people experienced the same
sensation when either Szechuan pepper—a
spice used in many types of Asian cuisine—
or a machine vibrating at a particular
frequency was placed on their lips.

"The pepper is sending the same
information to the brain as having a buzzer
on your lips," the study's lead author,
Nobuhiro Hagura, said in an email.

The study, published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B with the wry headline
"Food Vibrations," delves into the little-known field of psychophysics, which "describes
the relation between physical reality and what we actually perceive," Hagura said.

"Our research shows just one interesting example of a case where we perceive
something quite different than what is actually there," he said. "In many cases, the
difference between perception and reality can be explained by understanding how the
nervous system transmits information about the outside world to the brain."

Previous studies have shown that other spicy ingredients, such as chili peppers and
mustard oils, activate the nerve fibers associated with pain and physical heat. And
studies in animals indicated that the spicy chemical in Szechuan pepper—sanshool—
acts on the nervous system's "light touch" fibers. So Hagura and his colleagues wanted
to find out whether sanshool produces a conscious sensation of touch in humans.
For that, they needed some brave volunteers.

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AGRI Titbits
What a Sensation
Twenty-eight participants were asked to describe what they felt when a liquid solution
of the ground pepper was applied to their lips. "Tingling" was the most common
adjective, followed by "burning."

Next, they were asked to place their finger on a machine and compare various vibration
speeds (measured in hertz, or cycles per second) to the tingling on their lips. People
reported that these two sensations seemed to match each other when the machine was
running at an average frequency of 50 Hz.

Armed with this knowledge, the researchers then placed the machine against the
participants' lips and set it to vibrate at 50 Hz. Sure enough, people said it felt like they
had Szechuan pepper on their lips. This suggested that the tingling sensation was linked
to the light-touch nerve fibers, but the researchers wanted to be sure, said Hagura.
So for the final phase of the study, they placed the machine against the volunteers' lips
for a longer period to desensitize the nerve fibers, making it feel like the vibrations had
slowed down as the nerves eventually "tired out." Then they applied the pepper,
predicting that if it was really activated by the same fibers—now made less sensitive—it
would seem less spicy.

"That's exactly what we found," Hagura said. "Thus, the Szechuan pepper and physical
touch sensation share the same pathway to the brain." The research could lead to
further studies about how the senses of touch and taste are connected, or even help
scientists decipher the causes of some types of chronic pain, Hagura said. "Tingling
sensations are part of many chronic pain conditions, but remain poorly understood," he
said. "We hope that [our work] could help to clarify the brain processes underlying
these sensations."
S S ? C M H
PICY OLUTION INNAMON AY ELP
D P
IABETES ATIENTS
Livescience/09 September 2013

Cinnamon might improve not only the taste of
apple pie and oatmeal but also the health of
people with diabetes, a new review study
suggests.

Researchers found that people with type 2
diabetes who took cinnamon supplements had
lower fasting plasma glucose levels compared
with people who didn't take cinnamon.

The review also found that cinnamon benefited several important measures of heart
health: It reduced total cholesterol, LDL "bad" cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and
increased HDL "good" cholesterol. In the review, researchers looked at data collected
from 10 randomized control led trials involving 543 patients with type 2 diabetes.
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AGRI Titbits
These studies compared people who took cinnamon in a pill form, in doses ranging from
120 milligrams to 6 grams a day, for a period of four to 18 weeks, to people who did not
take cinnamon.
The most popular form of the supplement, which was used in six out of 10 trials, was
Cinnamomum cassia, which participants were advised to take before, during or after
their meals. [9 Healthy Habits You Can Do in 1 Minute (Or Less)]

"When we combined the results of all the trials, we found that in patients with type 2
diabetes, there was a benefit on blood glucose and cholesterol levels," said study
researcher Olivia Phung, an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Western
University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif. The study is published online today
(Sept. 9) in the journal The Annals of Family Medicine.
Better glucose control
Previous studies of cinnamon's effect on blood sugar have shown mixed results. In fact,
when these same researchers published a review study of the supplement in 2008, they
found it had no effect on blood sugar or cholesterol levels. But in their latest analysis,
they included data from the most recent trials of cinnamon in diabetes patients.
Preliminary studies have suggested that the compound in cinnamon that's responsible
for its health effects is a substance known as cinnamaldehyde. Although it's not clear
how cinnamon may work to improve blood sugar, researchers suspect this substance
may stimulate the release and effect of insulin. "By enhancing insulin activity, it's
assumed there'd be better control of blood glucose," Phung told LiveScience.
In the study, people who took cinnamon supplements — usually in addition to their
diabetes medication — lowered their fasting glucose levels by nearly 25
milligrams/deciliter. This is less than the reduction people typically achieve by taking
the diabetes drug metformin (58 mg/dL), but slightly better than the reductions seen in
patients who take some of the newer drugs, such as sitagliptin (16 to 21 mg/dL), the
researchers said.
More research needed
The researchers said they don't know the exact dose of cinnamon that may be helpful
for people with type 2 diabetes, or the length of time or frequency the supplement
should be taken. And it's still unclear which patients may benefit the most from taking
the cinnamon, or exactly how cinnamon might fit best into diabetes treatment options.
Phung said more research is needed to determine whether there is a true cause-and-
effect relationship between cinnamon intake and improved diabetes control, or if the
results found in this review study were just an association seen when the findings from
a bunch of smaller studies were combined.
However, she said that based on this current analysis, it looks like cinnamon may be
useful for diabetes. Nonetheless, "It's not going to replace your diabetes medications,"
Phung said, "so if you're thinking about taking cinnamon [for diabetes control],
definitely talk to your doctor or a pharmacist about it."
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AGRI Titbits
S B US’
PICES OARD CONTESTS S IMPURITY

CLAIM
Hindustan Times/ 01 September 2013
The Spices Board of India has denied the charge of a section of the US media that Indian
spices are a major source of a variety of bacteria that causes typhoid and other stomach
diseases.
The board said India had given priority to quality and met all food-safety standards and
did the mandatory checks before shipment, and 98.5% of all varieties, especially black
pepper, were found to be without salmonella (as alleged), and that was above the
international standards.
“Most of the claims are misleading and they would damage the credentials of one of the
largest spice-producing countries like India,” said board marketing director KC Babu.
A report in the New York Times had said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a US
agency, found around 7% of India’s shipment contaminated with salmonella. Around
15% of the supply of coriander, 12% of oregano (a variety of mint) and 4% of black
pepper were found contaminated, the report said.
I
NDIAN SPICES UNDER REGULATORY SCANNER
US
IN
Hindustan times/ 01 September 2013
Many spices from India, the largest exporter of these cooking ingredients to the US, have
come under scanner of the health watchdog FDA for being susceptible to Salmonella
bacteria contamination. Salmonella germs are said to have been behind many food
poisoning outbreaks in the US, while the food products that can get such contaminations
include spices, fish, beef, poultry, milk, eggs and vegetables.
The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has put nearly 200 India-based firms on its 'red
list' due to presence of Salmonella bacteria in the spices and other food products
exported by them to the US between 2009 and 2013. The products being brought into
the US by the companies on the FDA's red-list can face "detention without physical
examination".
According to the FDA red-list import alert, the contaminated spices include capsicum,
cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, celery, basil and pepper. Amid growing concerns
about Salmonella, the FDA initiated a research to characterise the prevalence of
Salmonella in imported spices.
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AGRI Titbits

The study, whose findings are yet to be made public in full, focussed on over 20,000
food shipments that arrived in the US between 2007 and 2009 and found that around 7
% of spices were contaminated with salmonella. Spices from India were found to be the
second-most contaminated after Mexico in this study, based on which the FDA is likely
to soon initiate the necessary remedial and precautionary actions.

According to available results of the study, a larger proportion of shipments of spices
derived from fruit/seeds or leaves of plants were contaminated than those derived from
the bark/flower of spice plants. Besides, Salmonella prevalence was larger for
shipments of ground/cracked capsicum and coriander than for shipments of their whole
spice counterparts.

Over one million people annually in the US are affected by salmonella, a common cause
of food-borne sickness. Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever,
and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. India exported nearly 7 lakh
tonnes of spices and spice products valued at over Rs. 11,100 crore in FY'13 against
5.75 lakh tonnes valued at over Rs. 9,700 crore in FY'12, however the share of the US in
total exports could not be ascertained.
The FDA has been conducting various programmes to promote safety of food products
among the Indian suppliers. Experts from the FDA's Centre for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition partnered with the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
(JIFSAN) and the Indian Spices Board in September, 2012 to present a week-long
training program in Cochin, India. FDA's India operations comprise of a team of 12
inspectors based in New Delhi and Mumbai. The team is soon to be expanded to 19
members.

JIFSAN is administered by FDA and the University of Maryland. More than 70
participants from India's government, industry, universities and trade groups gathered
to learn about effective methods for ensuring food safety for spices and botanicals
(plant parts and extracts).
Last year in March, the FDA had narrowed down on a manufacturer in India while
investigating the source of a Salmonella outbreak in the US. Subsequently, the Indian
government cancelled the manufacturer's license after the FDA inspection concluded
that the tuna product implicated in the outbreak came from its facility.

Besides food products, many Indian drug makers have found themselves on wrong side
of American rules as FDA said it found contaminants like filth, pesticides and insect
parts in drugs manufactured here. The agency has taken strict action against drug
manufacturers who did not adhere to rules.
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T S L U
HE ECRET IFE OF NDERGROUND
M : P R M
ICROBES LANT OOT ICROBIOMES
R W
ULE THE ORLD
ScienceDaily/18 September 2013
We often ignore what we cannot see, and yet organisms below the soil's surface play a
vital role in plant functions and ecosystem well-being. These microbes can influence a
plant's genetic structure, its health, and its interactions with other plants. A new series
of articles in a Special Section in the American Journal of Botany on Rhizosphere
Interactions: The Root Microbiome explores how root microbiomes influence plants
across multiple scales -- from cellular, bacterial, and whole plant levels to community
and ecosystem levels.
Plants are teeming with microbial organisms; not only are they in plant cells, but they
are also found in between the cells (intercellular spaces) and in a small layer of soil
surrounding plant roots. This area of soil, the rhizosphere, is an especially important
zone of activity as it contains microbes that are intricately involved in the molecular,
genetic, and ecological components of a plant, and it also influences plant community
composition and soil health. The importance of this "unseen majority" led Marnie Rout
(University of North Texas Health Science Center) and Darlene Southworth (Southern
Oregon University) to gather together a series of works highlighting some of the
significant advances that have been made in the last decade in understanding the
integrative and far-reaching impacts plant root microbiomes have not only on the
organisms themselves, but globally as well.
"Until recently," Rout commented, "the microbiome had been easy to ignore in plant
science because soil was considered a 'black box' for so long. But microbial research
approaches and molecular techniques are illuminating this unknown -- essentially,
shining light on the microbiome."
By bringing together works by a diverse set of authors in this special section, Rout and
Southworth's intentions are to illustrate the wide spectrum of impacts that
microbiomes have on plant performance, and they emphasize that these interactions
transcend several scales, from genes to ecosystems.
"Microbiomes play a significant role in the health of their hosts, and microbiome
community composition can inform us about the spectrum of healthy-to-diseased host
state," said Rout.
Indeed, the papers in this section demonstrate that the microbiome is metabolically
diverse and communicates through the rhizosphere, which enables the microbiome to
serve as a genomic reservoir for plants and other microbes. The papers also highlight
the complex communication exchange that occurs between plants and their
microbiomes.
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