Soo-Jong Um, Ji-Cheon Jeong and colleagues describe previous studies indicating that piperine reduces fat levels in the bloodstream and has other beneficial health effects. Despite the fact that black pepper has been around for so long scientists have never really studied its properties. Their laboratory studies and computer models found that piperine interferes with the activity of genes that control the formation of new fat cells. In doing so, piperine may also set off a metabolic chain reaction that helps keep fat in check in other ways.

The group suggests that the finding may lead to wider use of piperine or black-pepper extracts in fighting obesity and related diseases. The study has been published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

The new findings suggest that curcumins may reduce such risks when added to traditional drug treatments. The results need to be confirmed through further research, said Wanwarang Wongcharoen from Chiang Mai University in Thailand, who led the study, the American Journal of Cardiology reported. Researchers at the Thai university studied 121 patients who had non-emergency bypass surgery between 2009 and 2011. Half the patients were given one-gram curcumin capsules to take four times a day, starting three days before their surgery and continuing for five days afterwards. The other half took the same number of drug-free placebo capsules.

Read more on the topic here.

Chiang Mai University which led the research.

Click here to view the embedded video.

According to a report on the published work by Dr. Patrick B. Massey of the Alexian Brothers Hospital Network, “RA patients taking curcumin for eight weeks had a 44 percent reduction in pain symptoms, while those taking diclofenac had a 42 percent reduction. It may not seem like there is a big difference between curcumin and diclofenac, but the difference was significant. Interestingly, the curcumin group also had a greater reduction in overall inflammation (RA may have slightly improved) compared to the diclofenac group. There also were no adverse events with curcumin.”

Read his complete report here.

Understanding  rheumatoid arthritis.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The park in Jodhpur was inaugurated by Mr. Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Mr. Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan. The park has common infrastructure and processing facilities for the seed spices especially cumin and coriander. A public-private partnership is ensured with 17 exporters to set up state of the art processing lines, cold storage facilities and also facilities to produce oils and oleoresins from seed spices. The machineries are capable of processing other seed spices like fennel and fenugreek, which are quite ample in this region.

Mr. Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, said, “We will be focussing on technological development, with foreign direct investments, establishment of cold storages across the country so that the farming population will be benefited through fair prices.  The country is facing nearly 40 percent loss of fruits and vegetable as they perish without proper storing facilities.” He cited the example of how farmers in Maharashtra sell onion in the mandies at Rs 2 per kg while ultimate consumer in the terminal markets ends up paying Rs 18 per kg.  This practice should go and the Government will take necessary actions to check the   disparity in prices to ensure better returns to the farmer. He lauded Spices Board for commissioning the project in record time.

Mr Ashok Gehlot, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, announced that any extra land available in the vicinity of the park will be provided for the expansion of the Park and orders were issued to the Revenue Department on the same. He exhorted the farmers to make use of the facilities in the Park to the fullest. He stressed on the importance of drip irrigation and said 80 percent subsidies were being given for this initiative by the farmers.  Mr Gehlot said the Rajasthan Government had waived off interest on the loans taken by farmers to the extent of Rs 8000 crore.  Farmers can now avail interest free loan upto Rs 1 lakh.

The Commerce Minister and the Chief Minister together unveiled the stone to mark the inauguration of the Spices Park and switched on the processing facility.  The meeting was attended by a huge crowd of over 3000 people consisting of farmers, villagers, exporters, officials of various departments, trade associations and chambers of commerce and industry.

The Spice processing facilities available at Spice Park are at par with the international standards. A full line processing facility with a capacity to turn out two tonnes per hour has inbuilt facilities for pre-cleaning, grading, colour sorting, grinding and can perform both bulk and consumer packing ranging from 100 g to 50 Kg. The Board is establishing sterilization facility too in the Park with a capacity of 250 Kg per hour in batch process. The Board also allots individual slots for exporters on lease for developing their own processing plants in the Park and there was good response from the exporters.

The Spices Board has set up facilities like compound walls, roads, drains, water distribution system, power station, weighing bridge, common parking area, truck yard, warehouses, preliminary quality testing facility, bank counter, training center, conference hall and canteen facility as well in the Park. To ensure storing of raw materials for processing and to take care of the processed materials, the Park will have warehouses exclusively devoted for various seed spices. Two raw material warehouses for coriander and two for other seed spices, each having a storing capacity of 800 sq mtr are set up. The Parks are being provided with a 33 KVA substation with transformer and 250 KVA D.G. sets for ensuring an uninterrupted power supply. The Park is also equipped with a full fire fighting system.

The Board’s regional and zonal offices will start functioning from the Spice Park with more orientation towards the spices growing villages. The other facilities include conference hall, training hall, and space for establishing mini QC lab, Bank and for Customs.

More Photographs from the Launch, courtesy Spices Board Website.

Curcumin, a compound found in the spice turmeric, is proving effective at preventing clumping of a protein involved in Parkinson’s disease, says a Michigan State University researcher.

A team of researchers led by Basir Ahmad, an MSU postdoctoral researcher, demonstrated earlier this year that slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins are the cause of clumping, or aggregation, which is the first step of diseases such as Parkinson’s. A new study led by Ahmad, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, shows that curcumin can help prevent clumping.

“Our research shows that curcumin can rescue proteins from aggregation, the first steps of many debilitating diseases,” said Lisa Lapidus, MSU associate professor of physics and astronomy who co-authored the paper with Ahmad. “More specifically, curcumin binds strongly to alpha-synuclein and prevents aggregation at body temperatures.”

Lapidus’ lab uses lasers to study protein folding. Proteins are chains of amino acids that do most of the work in cells. Scientists understand protein structure, but they don’t know how they are built – a process known as folding. Lapidus’ team is shedding light on the process by correlating the speed at which protein folds with its tendency to clump or bind with other proteins.

When curcumin attaches to alpha-synuclein it not only stops clumping, but it also raises the protein’s folding or reconfiguration rate. By bumping up the speed, curcumin moves the protein out of a dangerous speed zone allowing it to avoid clumping with other proteins.

Finding a compound that can fix a protein when it first begins to misfold can lead scientists to identify drugs that can treat certain diseases. Doctors won’t be prescribing curcumin pills any time soon, though, Lapidus said.

“Curcumin’s usefulness as an actual drug may be pretty limited since it doesn’t go into the brain easily where this misfolding is taking place,” she said. “But this kind of study showcases the technique of measuring reconfiguration and opens the door for developing drug treatments.”

Michigan State University, which led the research,  has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

Curcumin, the Turmeric OR attains a new-found aura and a signature personality at Jupiter Leys. Curcuma longa L, commonly known as Turmeric, is a member of the ginger family. The root plant, native to India, is widely used by locals to spice and tint food and has gained popularity in the West in products such as curry powder. The primary pigment in turmeric is curcumin. Turmeric is greenish yellow by nature and is typically used to color products such as beverages, ice cream and confectionery. Turmeric-based colors are also very tolerant of heat and pH extremes.

Obtained by solvent extraction of dried rhizomes of Curcuma longa L. (Family : Zingiberaceae), which are  gathered from the finest Indian produce, we give the repeated purification by crystallization followed by drying and fine grinding processes, our own unique, certified enhancements, giving our Curcumin, its signature “Sunshine Happy” soul. Primarily in demand to color products such as beverages, ice cream and confectionery, the pigment curcumin also displays antioxidant characteristics.

The latest in our Products bouquet, Curcumin from Jupiter Leys become the preferred choice of  a list of global clientele, growing by the day.

Check out our Products List of Oleoresins and Essential Oils.

The Magic of Turmeric.

Click here to view the embedded video.

FI Europe, the global meeting place for all stakeholders in the food ingredients industry, is celebrating its 25 years of successful operations, having over 500,000 people  attended their shows over the years, and billions of euros of business has been done as a result. Fi Europe is held once every two years in a major European city and brings together the world’s leading food and beverage suppliers, R&D, production and marketing specialists and showcases the most diverse range of new and innovative ingredients and services.

Along with Fi Europe, there is also Ni ( Natural Ingredients Exhibition), considered to be THE place to show off your natural ingredients to every manufacturer, company or brand involved in the food and beverage industry. It is a must-attend event for suppliers that offer natural ingredients. Held alongside Food ingredients (Fi) Europe 2011, Ni promises to  attract thousands of food & beverage industry professionals all who have an  interested in the huge potential of natural ingredients.

Jupiter Leys will be at Booth 3F106.

FiE & Ni 2009 : An Overview.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Jupiter Leys was fortunate enough to leverage its three core, distinctive attributes that distinguish Jupiter Leys from its competitors – the  unique technology, strong customer relationships and extensive product range to a great extent at the trade interactions with its peers in Moscow.

Encouraged by the success in forging new business relationships and buoyed at the high rate of conversion to lasting agreements, Jupiter Leys will be attending the next trade conclave of Ingredients Russia,2010 to be held in Moscow from 23 – 26 November 2010.

You could visit the official site for the event, Ingredients Russia, 2010, here.

To be held at the Hyatt Regency, and the Inaugural Address expected to be from none other than Mr. Jyotiraditya. M.Scindia, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, participation in this world forum would be another  step in the direction towards exploring, enhancing and strengthening possible synergy and viable business opportunities of products in the Jupiter Leys portfolio.

As far as the topics already been decided for panel discussions, the ones on The Crop Report on Black and White Pepper, 2010, Seed Spices and the Prospects in Turmeric would be of renewed interest to the trade in general and Jupiter Leys in particular, as our product portfolio (existing and proposed) would be in close alignment  with the same.

Any perspectives on  progress of these core issues would be of considerable interest to us as we look forward in consolidating and exploring new frontiers in the Global Spice Market.

View the complete program list for the WORLD SPICE CONGRESS, 2010  here.

Use

The oleoresins are used mainly as a flavouring agent in the food processing industry. They are more economical to use, easier to control for quality and cleaner than the equivalent ground spices. Oleoresins are more stable when heated. The main products in a spice oleoresin plant is oleoresins of chilli, pepper, ginger and turmeric. The co-products are the corresponding spice oils, which are widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Process

The volatile oil is distilled out from the ground spices. The wet powdered spice free from volatiles are dried and then extracted with suitable solvent systems to remove the fixed oil and resineous / gummy materials. The solvent is removed from the miscella, dried and the extract is mixed with the dry spice oil to the required level and the product is suitably packed in containers.