946 resultados para Biochemical engineering


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In the present study on natural antioxidants, the focus has been kept mainly on oil seeds, especially sesame and its by-products. Sesame, which has been under cultivation in India for centuries is called the 'Queen of oil seed crops' because of the high yield of oil obtained and the nutritional qualities of the seed, oil, and meal. Though India is the largest producer of sesame in the world, research on the various health benefits of sesame has been carried out by Japanese Sesame has an important place in the foods and tradit..ional medicine of India from time immemorial. Foreseeing the potential of sesame and its byproducts as an important antioxidant source and its availability in bulk, the present study was focussed on Sesamum species. There are not many reports on the wild species of Sesamum in India, especially of the Kerala region. Hence, in the present study we also included antioxidants of Sesamurnrnalabaricumdistributed throughout the coastal region.The important characteristics of sesame are attributed to the presence of the umquc compounds lignans. Lignans arc a group of natural products of phenyl propanoid ongm, whieh are widely distributed in nature. They display important physiological functions in plants, in human nutrition and medicine, given their extensive health promotive and curative properties. Much interest has been focussed on their effectiveness as antineoplastic agents and research in this area has revealed several modes of action by which they can regulate the growth of mammalian cells. Sesame is an important source of furofuran lignans, of which sesamin and the rare oxygenated derivative sesamoIin are the most abundant. Others include sesamol and glucosides of lignans. Sesarnin and episesamin are reported to have hypocholesterolemic effect, suppressive effect on chemically induced cancer, alleviation of allergy symptoms etc. Sesamol, sesamolin and the lignan glycosides are reported to inhibit lipid peroxidation. Present investigation on sesame and its byproducts have been carried out to explore the possibility of developing a natural antioxidant extract from available resources to be used as a substitute to synthetic ones in vegetable oils and foods. Preliminary analysis showed that sesame cake, a byproduct could still be utilized as a major source of lignans. Sesame cake, which is now used only as a cattlefeed, can be better utilized in the form of a valuable antioxidant source. The present study explains the development of a feasible process for the extraction of antioxidant compounds from sesame cake. The antioxidant extract so prepared from sesame cake has been tested for vegetable oil protection and is found to be effective at low concentration. In addition, studies also include the antioxidant, radical scavenging, anticancer, mosquitocidal and pesticidal activities of extract and individual compounds.

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The constructional activities in the coastal belt of our country often demand deep foundations because of the poor engineering properties and the related problems arising from weak soil at shallow depths.The soil profile in coastal area often consists of very loose sandy soils extending to a depth of 3 to 4 m from the ground level underlain by clayey soils of medium consistency.The very low shearing resistance of the foundation bed causes local as well as punching shear failure.Hence structures built on these soils may suffer from excessive settlements.This type of soil profile is very common in coastal areas of Kerala,especially in Cochin. Further,the high water table and limited depth of the top sandy layer in these areas restrict the depth of foundation thereby further reducing the safe bearing capacity.

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Dept.of Marine Biology,Microbiology & Biochemistry,Cochin University of Science and Technology

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The present study which is the first of its kind in this region is an attempt to generate adequate information on the relative abundances, the seasonal and spatial variations as well as on the source and fate of organic compounds found associated with the dissolved, particulate and sedimentary compartments of Chalakudy river system. The study aimed at investigating variations, the relative proportion of dissolved, particulate and sedimentary fractions of these materials as well as the pollution extent so as to be able to comment on the present condition of this river-estuarine system. This thesis focuses attention on the role of biogeoorganics in modifying the ecological and environmental condition of the dissolved, particuIate and sediment compartments with their minute variability subjected to various physical, chemical and biogeochemical processes. A scheme of study encompassing all these objectives provides the frame work for the present investigation.

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Indian marine engineers are renowned for employment globally due to their knowledge, skill and reliability. This praiseworthy status has been achieved mainly due to the systematic training imparted to marine engineering cadets. However, in an era of advancing technology, marine engineering training has to remain dynamic to imbibe latest technology as well as to meet the demands of the shipping industry. New subjects of studies have to be included in the curriculum in a timely manner taking into consideration the industry requirements and best practices in shipping. Technical competence of marine engineers also has to be subjected to changes depending upon the needs of the ever growing and over regulated shipping industry. Besides. certain soft skills are to be developed and improved amongst the marine engineers in order to alter or amend the personality traits leading to their career success.If timely corrective action is taken. Indian marine engineers can be in still greater demand for employment in global maritime field. In order to enhance the employability of our mmine engineers by improving their quality, a study of marine engineers in general and class IV marine engineers in particular was conducted based on three distinct surveys, viz., survey among senior marine engineers, survey among employers of marine engineers and survey of class IV marine engineers themselves.The surveys have been planned and questionnaires have been designed to focus the study of marine engineer officer class IV from the point of view of the three distinct groups of maritime personnels. As a result of this, the strength and weakness of class IV marine engineers are identified with regard to their performance on board ships, acquisition of necessary technical skills. employability and career success. The criteria of essential qualities of a marine engineer are classified as academic, technical, social, psychological. physical, mental, emergency responsive, communicative and leadership, and have been assessed for a practicing marine engineer by statistical analysis of data collected from surveys. These are assessed for class IV marine engineers from the point of view of senior marine engineers and employers separately. The Endings are delineated and graphically depicted in this thesis.Besides. six pertinent personality traits of a marine engineer viz. self esteem. learning style. decision making. motivation. team work and listening self inventory have been subjected to study and their correlation with career success have been established wherever possible. This is carried out to develop a theoretical framework to understand what leads a marine engineer to his career attainment. This enables the author to estimate the personality strengths and weaknesses of a serving marine engineer and eventually to deduce possible corrective measures or modifications in marine engineering training in India.Maritime training is largely based on International Conventions on Standard of Training. Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers 1995. its associated Code and Merchant Shipping (STCW for Seafarers) Rules 1998. Further, Maritime Education, Training and Assessment (META) Manual was subjected to a critical scrutiny and relevant Endings of thc surveys arc superimposed on the existing rule requirement and curriculum. Views of senior marine engineers and executives of various shipping companies are taken into account before arriving at the revision of syllabus of marine engineering courses. Modifications in the pattern of workshop and sea service for graduate mechanical engineering trainees are recommended. Desirable age brackets of junior engineers and chief engineers. use of Training and Assessment Record book (TAR Book) during training etc. have also been evaluated.As a result of the pedagogic introspection of the existing system of marine engineering training in India. in this thesis, a revised pattern of workshop training of six months duration for graduate mechanical engineers. revised pattern of sea service training of one year duration and modified now diagram incorporating the above have been arrived at. Effects of various personality traits on career success have been established along with certain findings for improvement of desirable personality traits of marine engineers.

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Man uses a variety of synthetic material for his comfortable materialistic life. Thus human interactions may become harmful for various terrestrial and aquatic lives. This is by contaminating their habitat and by becoming a threat to organisms itself. Thus the application and dispersal of several organic pollutants can lead to the development of several mutated forms of the species when exposed to sublethal concentrations of the pollutants. Otherwise, a decrease in number or extinction of these exposed species from earth's face may happen. Pesticides, we use for the benefit of crop yield, but its persistence may become havoc to non-target organism. Pesticides reaching a reservoir can subsequently enter the higher trophic levels. Organophosphorus compounds have replaced all other pesticides, due to its acute toxicity and non-persistent nature.Hence the present study has concentrated on the toxicity of the largest market-selling and multipurpose pesticide, chlorpyrifos on the commonly edible aquatic organism, fish. The euryhaline cichlid Oreochromis mossambicus was selected as animal model. The study has concentrated on investigating biochemical parameters like tissue-specific enzymes, antioxidant and lipid-peroxidation parameters, haematological and histological observations and pesticide residue analysis.Major findings of this work have indicated the possibility of aquatic toxicity to the fish on exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos. The insecticide was found as effective to induce structural alteration, depletion in protein content, decrease in different metabolic enzyme levels and to progress lipid peroxidation on a prolonged exposure of 21 days. The ion-transport mechanism was found to be adversely affected. Electrophoretic analysis revealed the disappearance of several protein bands after 21days of exposure to chlorpyrifos. Residue, analysis by gas chromatography explored the levels of chlorpyrifos retaining on the edible tissue portions during exposure period of 21days and also on a recovery period of 10 days.

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The present study indicate that prior administration of taurine is effective in minimizing all the deleterious effects induced by isoproterenol, thereby justifying its use as a potent cytoprotective agent. The overall cardioprotective effect of taurine is probably related to its antioxidant property evidenced by its ability to reduce lipid peroxidation and to maintain the activities of free radical enzymes and nonenzymatic antioxidants, its membrane stabilizing action and to its hypolipidemic property.

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The present investigation was envisaged to determine the prevalence and identify the different Salmonella serovar in seafood from Cochin area. Though, the distribution of Salmonella serovars in different seafood samples of Cochin has been well documented, the present attempt was made to identify the different Salmonella serovars and determine its prevalence in various seafoods. First pan of this investigation involved the isolation and identification of Salmonella strains with the help of different conventional culture methods. The identified isolates were used for the further investigation i.e. serotyping, this provides the information about the prevalent serovars in seafood. The prevalent Salmonella strains have been further characterized based on the utilization of different sugars and amino acids, to identify the different biovar of a serovar.A major research gap was observed in molecular characterization of Salmonella in seafood. Though, previous investigations reported the large number of Salmonella serovars from food sources in India, yet, very few work has been reported regarding genetic characterization of Salmonella serovars associated with food. Second part of this thesis deals with different molecular fingerprint profiles of the Salmonella serovars from seafood. Various molecular typing methods such as plasmid profiling, characterization of virulence genes, PFGE, PCR- ribotyping, and ERIC—PCR have been used for the genetic characterization of Salmonella serovars.The conventional culture methods are mainly used for the identification of Salmonella in seafood and most of the investigations from India and abroad showed the usage of culture method for detection of Salmonella in seafood. Hence, development of indigenous, rapid molecular method is most desirable for screening of Salmonella in large number of seafood samples at a shorter time period. Final part of this study attempted to develop alternative, rapid molecular detection method for the detection of Salmonella in seafood. Rapid eight—hour PCR assay has been developed for detection of Salmonella in seafood. The performance of three different methods viz., culture, ELISA and PCR assays were evaluated for detection of Salmonella in seafood and the results were statistically analyzed. Presence of Salmonella cells in food and enviromnental has been reported low in number, hence, more sensitive method for enumeration of Salmonella in food sample need to be developed. A quantitative realtime PCR has been developed for detection of Salmonella in seafood. This method would be useful for quantitative detection of Salmonella in seafood.

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Information and communication technologies are the tools that underpin the emerging “Knowledge Society”. Exchange of information or knowledge between people and through networks of people has always taken place. But the ICT has radically changed the magnitude of this exchange, and thus factors such as timeliness of information and information dissemination patterns have become more important than ever.Since information and knowledge are so vital for the all round human development, libraries and institutions that manage these resources are indeed invaluable. So, the Library and Information Centres have a key role in the acquisition, processing, preservation and dissemination of information and knowledge. ln the modern context, library is providing service based on different types of documents such as manuscripts, printed, digital, etc. At the same time, acquisition, access, process, service etc. of these resources have become complicated now than ever before. The lCT made instrumental to extend libraries beyond the physical walls of a building and providing assistance in navigating and analyzing tremendous amounts of knowledge with a variety of digital tools. Thus, modern libraries are increasingly being re-defined as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many sources.The research was conducted in the university libraries in Kerala State, India. lt was identified that even though the information resources are flooding world over and several technologies have emerged to manage the situation for providing effective services to its clientele, most of the university libraries in Kerala were unable to exploit these technologies at maximum level. Though the libraries have automated many of their functions, wide gap prevails between the possible services and provided services. There are many good examples world over in the application of lCTs in libraries for the maximization of services and many such libraries have adopted the principles of reengineering and re-defining as a management strategy. Hence this study was targeted to look into how effectively adopted the modern lCTs in our libraries for maximizing the efficiency of operations and services and whether the principles of re-engineering and- redefining can be applied towards this.Data‘ was collected from library users, viz; student as well as faculty users; library ,professionals and university librarians, using structured questionnaires. This has been .supplemented by-observation of working of the libraries, discussions and interviews with the different types of users and staff, review of literature, etc. Personal observation of the organization set up, management practices, functions, facilities, resources, utilization of information resources and facilities by the users, etc. of the university libraries in Kerala have been made. Statistical techniques like percentage, mean, weighted mean, standard deviation, correlation, trend analysis, etc. have been used to analyse data.All the libraries could exploit only a very few possibilities of modern lCTs and hence they could not achieve effective Universal Bibliographic Control and desired efficiency and effectiveness in services. Because of this, the users as well as professionals are dissatisfied. Functional effectiveness in acquisition, access and process of information resources in various formats, development and maintenance of OPAC and WebOPAC, digital document delivery to remote users, Web based clearing of library counter services and resources, development of full-text databases, digital libraries and institutional repositories, consortia based operations for e-journals and databases, user education and information literacy, professional development with stress on lCTs, network administration and website maintenance, marketing of information, etc. are major areas need special attention to improve the situation. Finance, knowledge level on ICTs among library staff, professional dynamism and leadership, vision and support of the administrators and policy makers, prevailing educational set up and social environment in the state, etc. are some of the major hurdles in reaping the maximum possibilities of lCTs by the university libraries in Kerala. The principles of Business Process Re-engineering are found suitable to effectively apply to re-structure and redefine the operations and service system of the libraries. Most of the conventional departments or divisions prevailing in the university libraries were functioning as watertight compartments and their existing management system was more rigid to adopt the principles of change management. Hence, a thorough re-structuring of the divisions was indicated. Consortia based activities and pooling and sharing of information resources was advocated to meet the varied needs of the users in the main campuses and off campuses of the universities, affiliated colleges and remote stations. A uniform staff policy similar to that prevailing in CSIR, DRDO, ISRO, etc. has been proposed by the study not only in the university libraries in kerala but for the entire country.Restructuring of Lis education,integrated and Planned development of school,college,research and public library systems,etc.were also justified for reaping maximum benefits of the modern ICTs.

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Fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) is a dramatic and challenging syndrome in clinical medicine. Although an uncommon disorder, it is usually fatal and occurs in previously healthy person. While the causes of FHF remain unclear, viral hepatitis and drug-induced liver injury account for the majority of cases. Hepatitis E causes large-scale epidemics of hepatitis in the Indian subcontinent, involving hundreds of thousands of cases with high mortality. FHF is associated with several clinical features like jaundice, shrunken liver, easy bruising, low levels of serum proteins, fatigue, multi-organ failure etc and metabolic derangements like hypoglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hyponatremia, defective protein synthesis, reduced energy production, decreased rate of urea production etc. These disturbances are predominantly attributed to oxidative stress, membrane destabilization and osmolytic imbalances. The options available for these patients are quite minimal with liver transplantation being one of them. But the procedure is ridden with issues causing it to find less favor among the patients and the caregivers. Use of hepatoprotective and cytoprotective drugs, is being considered to be a more acceptable alternative as a strategy to enhance liver regeneration. In this regard use of taurine a naturally occurring amino acid that plays a crucial role in many physiological processes would prove to be effective. In the present study, hepatoprotective effect of taurine on a rat model of induced FHF was studied. Taurine supplementation has effectively counteracted the metabolic and structural aberrations in the liver caused by D-galactosamine intoxication.

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Studies reveal the presence of enzymes and different proteins in the venom of S.argus. The present study detected the presence of phosphodiesterase in S. argus venom. S. argus venom has displayed the presence of micromolar concentration of acetylcholine. Phospholipase activity in S. argus venom shows values below the detection threshold indicating that the venom does not possess this enzyme. The proteolylic activity of S. argus venom on casein and gelatin were assayed due to the probable involvement of proteases in causing the instability of biological activities of the fish venom. Caseinase and gelatinase enzymes were detected in S. argus venom. Though exact relationships of these enzymes and proteins in envenomation are not traced, the involvement of enzymes in envenomation cannot be ruled out. Further studies are required to find the mechanism of action of these enzymes and proteins present in S. argus venom. The present study opens new dimensions for isolation of the lethal compound present in S. argus venom. The preliminary study carried out here shows the presence of a lethal factor between 6.5 KDa - 68 KDa. Studies conclude that fish venom possesses many bioactive substances, especially peptides, proteases and enzymes that bind with high affinity to physiological targets and can be trapped for therapeutic purposes in the near future. Even though this study reveals the conundrums of S. argus venom, it opens new vistas of research on the venom components and the application and design of the venom as a drug.

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Department of Physics, Cochin University of Science & Technology

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Vibrio are important during hatchery rearing. aquaculture phase and post-harvest quality of shrimps. Vibrio spp are of concern to shrimp farmers and hatchery operators because certain species can cause Vibriosis. Vibrio species are of concern to humans because certain species cause serious diseases.With the progress in aquaculture, intensive systems used for shrimp aquaculture create an artificial environment that increases bacterial growth. To maintain the productivity of such an intensive aquaculture, high inputs of fish protein have to be employed for feeding together with high levels of water exchange and the massive use of antibiotics/ probiotics / chemicals. It seems that the combination of these conditions favours the proliferation of vibrios and enhances their virulence and disease prevalence. The risk of a microbial infection is high, mainly at larval stages. The effect and severity are related to Vibrio species and dose, water, feed, shrimp quality and aquaculture management.Consumption of seafood can occasionally result in food-bome illnesses due to the proliferation of indigenous pathogens like Vibrio.Of the l2 pathogenic Vibrio species, 8 species are known to be directly food associated. Strict quality guidelines have been laid by the importing nations, for the food products that enter their markets. The microbiological quality requirement for export of frozen shrimp products is that V.cholerae, V.parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus should be absent in 25g of the processed shrimp (Export Inspection Council of India, 1995). The mere presence of these pathogenic Vibrios is sufficient for the rejection of the exported product.The export rejections cause serious economic loss to the shrimp industry and might harm the brand image of the shrimp products from the countiy.There is a need for an independent study on the incidence of different pathogenic vibrios in shrimp aquaculture and investigate their biochemical characteristics to have a better understanding about the growth and survival of these organisms in the shrimp aquaculture niche. PCR based methods (conventional PCR, duplex PCR, multiplex-PCR and Real Time PCR) for the detection of the pathogenic Vibrios is important for rapid post-harvest quality assessment. Studies on the genetic heterogeneity among the specific pathogenic vibrio species isolated from shrimp aquaculture system provide; valuable information on the extent of genetic diversity of the pathogenic vibrios, the shrimp aquaculture system.So the present study was undertaken to study the incidence of pathogenic Vibrio spp. in Penaeus monodon shrimp hatcheries and aquaculture farms, to carry out biochemical investigations of the pathogenic Vibrio spp isolated from P. monodon hatchery and. aquaculture environments, to assess the effect of salt (NaCl) on the growth and enzymatic activities of pathogenic Vibrio spp., to study the effect of preservatives, and chemicals on the growth of pathogenic Vibrio spp. and to employ polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods for the detection of pathogenic V ibrio spp.Samples of water (n=7) and post-larvae (n=7) were obtained from seven Penaeus monodon hatcheries and samples of water (n=5), sediment (n=5) and shrimp (n=5) were obtained from five P. monodon aquaculture farms located on the East Coast of lndia. The microbiological examination of water, sediment, post-larvae and shrimp samples was carried out employing standard methods and by using standard media.The higher bacterial loads were obtained in pond sediments which can be attributed to the accumulation of organic matter at the pond bottom which stimulated bacterial growth.Shrimp head. (4.78 x 105 +/- 3.0 x 104 cfu/g) had relatively higher bacterial load when compared to shrimp muscle 2.7 x 105 +/- 1.95 x 104 cfu/g). ln shrimp hatchery samples, the post-larvae (2.2 x 106 +/- 1.9 x 106 cfu/g) had higher bacterial load than water (5.6 x 103 +/- 3890 cfu/ml).The mean E.coli counts were higher in aquaculture pond sediment (204+/-13 cfu/g) and pond water (124+/-88 cfu/ml). Relatively lower Escherichia coli counts were obtained from shrimp samples (12+/-11 to 16+/-16.7 cfu/g). The presence of E.coli in aquaculture environment might have been from the source water. E.coli was not detected in hatchery waters and post-larvae.

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With a seacoast of 8,1 18 km, an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 2 million square km, and with an area of about 30,000 square km under aquaculture, lndia produces close to six million tonnes of fish, over 4 per cent of the world fish production. While the marine waters upto 50m depth have been fully exploited, those beyond, remain unexplored. There is an ever increasing demand for fishery resources as food. The coastal fishery resources of the country are dwindling at a rapid pace and it becomes highly imperative that we search for alternate fishery resources for food. The option we have is to hunt for marine fishery resources. Studies pertaining to proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid composition are essential to understand the nutraceutical values of these deep sea fishery resources. The present study was aimed to carry out proximate composition of deep sea fishery resources obtained during cruises onboard the FORV Sarise Sampada, to identify fishery resources which have appreciable lipid content and thereby analyse the bioactive potentials of marine lipids, to study the amino acid profile of these fishery resources, to understand the contents of SPA, MUFA and PUFA and to calculate the n3/n6 fatty acid contents. Though the presence of nutraceuticals was identified in the marine fishery resources their use as potential food resources deserve further investigation. So the study were carried out to calculate the hepatosomatic indices of sharks & chimaeras and conduct biochemical characterisation of liver oils of Apristurus indicus, Cenlrophorus scalprams, Centroselachus crepidater, Neoharriotta raleighana, and Harriotta pinnata obtained during cruises onboard the FORV Sugar Sampada.Therapeutic use of shark liver oil is evident from its use for centuries as a remedy to heal wounds and fight flu (Neil er al. 2006). Japanese seamen called it 'samedava' or "cure all". Shark liver oil is being promoted worldwide as a dietary supplement to boost the immune system, fight infections, to treat cancer and to lessen the side effects of conventional cancer treatment. These days more emphasis is laid on the nutritive benefits of shark liver oils especially on the omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ( PUFAs) (Anandan er al. 2007) and alkylglycerols (AKGs) (Pugliese er al. I998) contained in them due to the high rise of inflammatory disorders such as arthritis, asthma and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Schizophrenia. So the present study also evaluate the pharmacological properties with respect to analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti pyretic and anti-ulcer effects of four different liver oils of sharks belonging to the Indian EEZ and to identify the components of oil responsible for these activities.The analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of liver oils from Neoharriotra raleighana (NR), Centrosymnus crepidater (CC), Apristurus indicus (AI), and Centrophorus sculpratus (CS) sharks caught from the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean were compared. The main objectives also include determination of the cholesterol lowering effects of liver oils of Neoharriotra raleighana (NR) and Centrophorus sculpratus (CS) on the high fat diet induced dyslipidemia and to compare the impact of four isolipidemic diets, on levels of serum diagnostic marker enzymes, on lipid profile of blood and liver and antioxidant status of heart in male Albino rats. And also to study the efficacy of Centrophorus sculpratus (CS) liver oil against Complete Freund’s Adjuvant-induced arthritis and to compare the anti-inflammatory activity of this oil with a traditionally used anti-inflammatory substance gingerol (oleoresin extracted from ginger.). The results of the present study indicated that both (Centrophorus sculpratus liver oils as well as gingerol extracts proved to be effective natural remedies against CFA-induced arthritis in Albino rats.