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 <pankajoud...@gmail.com>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 < > vikramjitsing...@gmail.com> 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 < >> microminipho...@gmail.com> 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 < >>> vikramjitsing...@gmail.com> 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 >>> =========== >>> >>> >> >
