It is always good to take second opinion specially in technical issues. regards
Pankaj Oudhia On Tue, May 1, 2012 at 10:04 AM, vikram jit singh < [email protected]> wrote: > Thanks for the clarification, Mr Oudhia. I based my statement on the > following info provided by ushadi in the earlier discussion on this flower: > > > *What i find fascinating is that the tradesmen try to pass the buck and > say the adulteration was accidental... most often its intentional .. since > the Sheyal Kanta oil is very cheap... compared to Mustard oil...* > > > On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 10:54 AM, Pankaj Oudhia <[email protected]>wrote: > >> Thanks for sharing. Worrying about this statement >> >> "Argemone oil is much cheaper than mustard oil." >> >> In fact, there is no Argemone oil as such in market. Argemone seeds are >> adulterated with Mustard seeds due to similarity. Argemone oil is not mixed >> with Mustard oil, its seeds only (with Mustard seeds). >> >> regards >> >> Pankaj Oudhia >> >> >> On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 10:46 AM, vikram jit singh < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> >>> Dear all, >>> >>> I am attaching a scan of my sunday column in the hindustan times, which >>> carried the piece on argemone mexicana. the full text is pasted below for >>> ready reference. >>> >>> Thanks. >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------ >>> >>> >>> *wildbuzz* >>> >>> *Vikram Jit Singh* >>> >>> *Ninny ki prem kahani* >>> >>> >>> ** *Wild creatures suffer when men go to war. The 323 Air Defence >>> Regiment was undertaking a field firing exercise of radar-enabled L70 guns >>> in the famous Pokharan deserts of Rajasthan. When the fire and brimstone >>> eased, soldiers found a terrorised Chinkara fawn. Then C.O. of the >>> Regiment, Col. Prem Kumar, posted a Havildar at the spot to stand guard >>> over the fawn, hoping the mother would return. However, the mother was >>> probably dead and after a full day's wait, the Regiment adopted the fawn >>> and christened him `Ninny'. A string of beads was put around its dainty >>> neck. Ninny took readily to the Regiment and the hardened soldiers' hearts >>> melted when Ninny frequented their tents for a tasty morsel. The fawn's HQs >>> was Col. Kumar's house. Whenever annoyed at his whims not being pandered >>> to, Ninny would slink into the Puja room and sulk for hours! As Ninny grew, >>> the Regiment built a mini zoo with a flock of domesticated geese to >>> keep Ninny company. Such was the camarderie that one one memorable occasion >>> when Col. Kumar was herding the geese, he got a rude butt in his backside. >>> It was Ninny rushing to the defence of his goosey girlfriends! >>> >>> *April phool* >>> >>> ** * A flower of vivid yellow blooms wild in the scrubland forests of >>> the Lower Shiwaliks behind the Sukhna lake. Don't be fooled by its >>> brilliance, though. The Argemone Mexicana (Prickly poppy), which is a plant >>> native to Mexico and the West Indies, has been used by traders >>> to adulterate mustard and rape seed oils. This is because the seeds of >>> Argemone and mustard look very similar. According to botanists of the >>> group, efloraofindia, even if 1g of Argemone seeds are mixed with 100g >>> of oil, it leads to capillary leakage of protein-rich fluids into soft >>> tissues of the human body. The ailment is called Dropsy and it has no >>> specific therapy. There were Dropsy epidemics in India in 1934 (more than >>> 2,000 cases) and in 1998, when 52 died and 2,500 more were hospitalised. >>> This prompted the Government to temporarily ban mustard oil. New cases >>> appeared in the summer of 2003. Efloraofindia botanists say tradesmen try >>> to pass the buck by claiming adulteration was accidental. However, more >>> often than not, adulteration is intentional since Argemone oil is much >>> cheaper than mustard oil. >>> >>> *Snakes evict Minister* >>> >>> ** *Snakes seem to have launched a drive to evict Punjab Cabinet >>> Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike from his sprawling bunglow (956 in Sector 39, >>> Chandigarh). In the last five years, a dozen snakes have surfaced amongst >>> the jittery Ranikes. The latest intrusion came when a 3.5 feet Common krait >>> was rescued by snake-rescue expert Salim Khan from Ranike's back lawns on a >>> midnight emergency call last Thursday. The krait is India's most venomous >>> snake, with a toxicity reckoned to be 15 times that of a cobra. A nocturnal >>> snake, It is encountered frequently in City Beautiful homes, stealing >>> around the kitchens in search of cockroaches and lizards. Two pet dogs of >>> the Minister have died. One dog died after it was bitten by cobra/krait. >>> The other dog, a Bull mastiff, died after it was given wrong veterinary >>> treatment following a bite on its face by the Rat snake, which is a >>> non-venomous species. The mastiff had valiantly battled the snake in the >>> laundry room and defended two trembling pups. The snake invasion is one of >>> the main reasons why Ranike is shifting residence to Sector 2, Chandigarh. >>> >>> *Flights delayed * >>> >>> ** *The highly-endangered Yellow-eyed pigeon has gladdened the hearts >>> of ornithologists by prolonging its stay at the Tal Chhapar wildlife >>> sanctuary in Rajasthan. Tal Chhapar's energetic Range Forest Officer, SS >>> Poonia, reports a 100 of these pigeons in April this year. In previous >>> years, the pigeons flew back to Central Asian breeding grounds from Tal >>> Chhapar by March. Historical records of British ornithologists show that >>> there are few instances where these pigeons have been sighted in April. >>> These include sightings by Hugh Whistler in 1912 at Phillaur; Sirsa >>> in 1896; Delhi in 1876; and by Per Undeland at the Harike Wildlife >>> sanctuary, Punjab, in April-May 1995. Colloquially called the Salara in >>> Punjab, the pigeon was last seen at Harike at the beginning of this decade. >>> The shift from pulses and mustard to the wheat-rice cycle robbed this >>> pigeon of a suitable habitat in Punjab. The pigeon's worldwide population >>> is now between 10,000-20,000 with hunting pressures in its breeding grounds >>> contributing to a drastic decline. Black clouds of thousands of pigeons >>> once frequented the Punjab in the early 20th century. >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -------------------------------------ENDS---------------------------------- >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 10:03 PM, ushadi Micromini < >>> [email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Vikram: If you were to google it... you'll see that the seeds are a >>>> deliberate adulterant of mustard seeds, even as little as 1 gram per >>>> hundred grams of oil leads to capillary leakage of protein rich fluids into >>>> soft tissues of the body and hence the name Dropsy... which has no >>>> specific therapy, once a diagnosis is made ... treatment is only >>>> supportive.... and a definitive diagnosis can be made by detecting the >>>> exact toxin sanguinarine in Urine... such dropsy most recover but >>>> there are instances where death/deaths occur.. and hence is a public >>>> health hazard... >>>> >>>> What i find fascinating is that the tradesmen try to pass the buck and >>>> say the adulteration was accidental... most often its intentional .. since >>>> the Sheyal Kanta oil is very cheap... compared to Mustard oil... >>>> >>>> There is a very strongly put forward argument at this URL , that I >>>> found to the point and very informative >>>> http://www.itg.be/itg/distancelearning/lecturenotesvandenendene/47_Medical_problems_caused_by_plantsp8.htmof >>>> about 4000 pages that show up on google. >>>> >>>> Good luck >>>> and please send us a reprint or scanned article when you do write this >>>> up.... >>>> >>>> Usha di >>>> ============ >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 2:21 PM, vikram jit singh < >>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Dear Mr Garg, >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Could your group of experts please help identify and describe this >>>>> wild flower i photographed in the foothills of chandigarh, ie the Lower >>>>> Shiwaliks. . >>>>> >>>>> I am writing about these flowers in the newspaper and would require >>>>> your expertise. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Regards, >>>>> >>>>> Vikram Jit Singh. >>>>> >>>>> 9814019356 >>>>> >>>>> 215 Sector 19 >>>>> >>>>> Chandigarh. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Columnist and writer for >>>>> >>>>> *The Times of India* >>>>> * >>>>> * >>>>> Columnist for* >>>>> * >>>>> >>>>> *The Dainik Bhaskar* >>>>> * >>>>> * >>>>> *The Hindustan Times.* >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Usha di >>>> =========== >>>> >>>> >>> >> > > > >
