Synthetic food colors are widely used in different types of food stuffs in India as well as in the world. Changing lifestyles across the globe have transformed food habit patterns. The instant and processed foods (junk foods) are mainly used in a variety of attractive “Synthetic food colors” by its manufacturers. The natural food pigments were extracted from the Mirabilis jalapa flowers, and leaf of Nyctaginaceae family. The extracted natural food pigments were exposed to different pH, temperature and various quality analysis. The result showed that the different parameters express as Mirabilis jalapa pigment as high stability natural food colouring agent. In the present study also an attempt has been aimed to study the Extraction, Titrable acidity, Ascorbic acid content, Phytochemical analysis and adulteration by Chromatographic methods.

As our understanding of the science and functions of color in food has increased, the preferred colorants, forms of use, and legislation regulating their uses have also changed. Natural Colorants for Food and Nutraceutical Uses reflects the current tendency to use natural pigments. It details their science, technology, and applications as well as t

Medicinal Foods as Potential Therapies for Type-2 Diabetes and Associated Diseases: The Chemical and Pharmacological Basis of their Action focuses on active pharmacological principles that modulate diabetes, associated risk factors, complications and the mechanism of action of widely used anti-diabetic herbal plants—rather than just the nutritional composition of certain foods. The book provides up-to-date information on acclaimed antidiabetic super fruits, spices and other food ingredients. Sections cover diabetes and obesity at the global level, the physiological control of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, the pathophysiology of type-2 diabetes, the chemistry and pharmacology of a variety of spices, and much more. This book will be invaluable for research scientists and students in the medical and pharmaceutical sciences, medicinal chemistry, herbal medicine, drug discovery/development, nutrition science, and for herbal practitioners and those from the nutraceutical and pharm industries. - Provides background knowledge on type-2 diabetes and its pathophysiology and therapeutic targets down to the molecular level - Explores, in detail, the chemistry or secondary metabolites of the indicated foods that potentially modify diabetes and/or associated diseases - Examines the pharmacological findings on medicinal foods, including available clinical trials

About neglected crops of the American continent. Published in collaboration with the Botanical Garden of Cord�ba (Spain) as part of the Etnobot�nica92 Programme (Andalusia, 1992)

Senescence Signalling and Control in Plants discusses the studies showing the importance of hormone action on developmental senescence. It shows the involvement of various signaling components (such as EIN2, LOX2) and transcription factors (such as oresara1 or ORE1) in controlling hormonal activity during senescence. Further, the involvement of various micro RNAs (miR164, miR319) in regulating leaf senescence are discussed. Through this book, the authors throw light on all the reverse and forward genetic approaches to reveal the role of various other phytohormones regulating plant senescence and the molecular mechanisms involved. Chapters on relevant topics are contributed by experts working in the area, making this a comprehensive treatise designed to provide an in-depth analysis on the subject matter. - Throws light on the involvement of hormones (other than the well- known hormones cytokine and ethylene) in plant senescence - Shows the underlying mechanisms on the hormonal actions during senescence - Exhibits the involvement of microRNAs during this important plant developmental process

Early anthropological evidence for plant use as medicine is 60,000 years old as reported from the Neanderthal grave in Iraq. The importance of plants as medicine is further supported by archeological evidence from Asia and the Middle East. Today, around 1.4 billion people in South Asia alone have no access to modern health care, and rely instead on traditional medicine to alleviate various symptoms. On a global basis, approximately 50 to 80 thousand plant species are used either natively or as pharmaceutical derivatives for life-threatening conditions that include diabetes, hypertension and cancers. As the demand for plant-based medicine rises, there is an unmet need to investigate the quality, safety and efficacy of these herbals by the “scientific methods”. Current research on drug discovery from medicinal plants involves a multifaceted approach combining botanical, phytochemical, analytical, and molecular techniques. For instance, high throughput robotic screens have been developed by industry; it is now possible to carry out 50,000 tests per day in the search for compounds which act on a key enzyme or a subset of receptors. This and other bioassays thus offer hope that one may eventually identify compounds for treating a variety of diseases or conditions. However, drug development from natural products is not without its problems. Frequent challenges encountered include the procurement of raw materials, the selection and implementation of appropriate high-throughput bioassays, and the scaling-up of preparative procedures. Research scientists should therefore arm themselves with the right tools and knowledge in order to harness the vast potentials of plant-based therapeutics. The main objective of Plant and Human Health is to serve as a comprehensive guide for this endeavor. Volume 1 highlights how humans from specific areas or cultures use indigenous plants. Despite technological developments, herbal drugs still occupy a preferential place in a majority of the population in the third world and have slowly taken roots as alternative medicine in the West. The integration of modern science with traditional uses of herbal drugs is important for our understanding of this ethnobotanical relationship. Volume 2 deals with the phytochemical and molecular characterization of herbal medicine. Specifically, It will focus on the secondary metabolic compounds which afford protection against diseases. Lastly, Volume 3 focuses on the physiological mechanisms by which the active ingredients of medicinal plants serve to improve human health. Together this three-volume collection intends to bridge the gap for herbalists, traditional and modern medical practitioners, and students and researchers in botany and horticulture.