Studies on the Composition and Structure of Palm Oil Glycerides

During the last couple of decades, the oil palm has emerged as the second largest source of edible oil in the world. Recently oil palm has been introduced commercially in India to augment edible oil supply in the country. Currently, about 10,000 hectares are under oil palm cultivation in India, and it is envisaged to cover about 6 lakh hectares in the coming years. Though oil palm is a major commercial oil crop, not much basic information on the lipids of the fruit (the source of palm oil) is available even where oil palm is cultivated in a very large scale. Being a new crop to India, it is of paramount importance to understand the basic chemistry/biochemistry of the lipids, which in turn, may find practical applications in the area of processing and product development. The present investigation entitled "Studies on the Composition and Structure of Palm Oil Glycerides" was designed with a view to elucidate the lipid composition and structure under conditions such as fruit development and processing.

Studies on fish lipases

Lipids constitute a significant portion of the biomass of earth and lipolytic enzymes play a very important role in lipid turn over. Apart from their biological significance, lipolytic enzymes are also very important in the fields of nutrition, food technology, medicine and preparative and analytical lipid biochemistry. Recent developments in the study of proteins and enzymes have largely benefited the study of lipolytic enzymes, that some of these enzymes were isolated in pure form. Even today there is a continuous search for new and potent sources of these lipolytic enzymes. The zest for elucidating the structure and mechanism of action of the enzymes obtained in pure form for biochemist still remains unabated. The literature shows no record of such an effort for the study of lipases from marine sources. The fact that many fishes like oil sardine, mackerel, cat fish, seer etc. contains large amounts of lipid shows the possibility of the existence of lipases in significant amounts necessitating their exhaustive study. Such a study will, not only provide alternate sources for lipase but also will provide methods to curb lipolysis and the resultant rancidity and off flavor development in fish and fishery products.

Studies on the Nature and Chemistry of Sediments and Water of Periyar and Chalakudy Rivers, Kerala, India

The present study is an attempt to address issues related to sediment properties like texture, mineralogy and geochemistry as well as water quality of two important rivers of central Kerala-the Periyar and the Chalakudy rivers. The main objectives of the study are to investigate the textural and mineralogical characteristics as well as transportation and depositional mechanisms of the sediments of Periyar and Chalakudy rivers, to find out the geochemical variability of organic carbon, phosphorus and certain major (Na,K,Ca and Mg) and minor/trace(Mn,Pb,Ni,Cr, and Zn) elements in the bulk sediments and mud fraction of these rivers, to evaluate the status of heavy metal pollution registered in the sediments of these rivers, to assess the physico-chemical characteristics and water quality of Periyar and Chalakudy rivers and to estimate the dissolved nutrient flux through the Periyar and Chalakudy rivers into the receiving coastal waters. The granulometric characteristics as well as statistical parameters of the sediments of Periyar and Chalakudy rivers depend on the flow pattern controlled by the gradient of the terrain. Compared to Periyar, fluctuations in the dispersal of particles are more in Chalakudy river. In Periyar river, the P and Fe in bulk sediments show a positive correlation with C-org, while in Chalakudy river, both the elements are related to THM concentration. In general, C-org, Fe and P Shows an increasing trend downstream. In Periyar river, the P and Fe in bulk sediments show a positive correlation with C-org, while in Chalakudy river, both the elements are related to THM concentration. Among these two rivers, the pollution of water is several fold higher in Periyar river due to influx due to influx of considerable quantity of liquid and solid wastes of industrial/domestic/urban origin. Nutrient analysis reveals 2-3 times increase in N and P during monsoon season whereas SiO2-Si shows a decreasing trend.