Feeding trials of green seaweed Ulva fasciata

For the nutritional evaluation of green seaweed Ulva fasciata, a feeding trial was performed in albino rats. The results indicated that the 20% replacement of seaweed U. fasciata instead of carrot or lettuce in rad diet causes no harmful effects, as evident by a non-significant change in blood constituents and serum enzyme levels. The weight gain observed in rats with U. fasciata diet was same as that of control diet. The true digestibility ratio of U. fasciata was 80.20% with carrot and 83.4% with lettuce. The data suggest that the green seaweed U. fasciata could be used as an alternative dietary component in animal fodder.

Preservation of Bombay duck (Harpodon nehereus) and Rohu (Labeo rohita) by gamma irradiation

The gamma irradiation procedures for preservation of Bombay duck and rohu were studied in collaboration with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay. Irradiation at 0.1 M rad extended the storage life of Bombay duck to 20-22 days at 0-2°C due to partial destruction of spoilage organisms as against rapid deterioration of un-irradiated samples within 5-6 days. In the case of the fresh water fish, rohu, the storage life was enhanced by about 7-10 days by the same dose of irradiation over the control under identical storage condition. In all the cases, empirical relations were worked out between organoleptic rating and total volatile nitrogen.