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அன்பர்களே சஹாரா பாலைவனத்தின் செடிகளை அறிவீர்களா?

Gum Arabic      

அரேபிக் கம்

 Also known as acacia gum, chaar gund, char goond, or meska, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree; Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal. The gum is harvested commercially from wild trees throughout the Sahelfrom Senegal and Sudan to Somalia, although it has been historically cultivated in Arabia and West Asia.

Gum arabic is a complex mixture of glycoproteins and polysaccharides. It was historically the source of the sugars arabinose and ribose, both of which were first discovered and isolated from it, and are named for it.

Gum arabic is used primarily in the food industry as a stabilizer. It is edible and has E number E414. Gum arabic is a key ingredient in traditional lithography and is used in printing, paint production, glue, cosmetics and various industrial applications, including viscositycontrol in inks and in textile industries, although less expensive materials compete with it for many of these roles.

While gum arabic is now produced mostly throughout the African Sahel, it is still harvested and used in the Middle East. For example, Arab populations use the natural gum to make a chilled, sweetened, and flavored gelato-like desseGum arabic's mixture of saccharides and glycoproteins gives it the properties of a glue and binder which is edible by humans. Other substances have replaced it in situations where toxicity is not an issue, as the proportions of the various chemicals in gum arabic vary widely and make it unpredictable. Still, it remains an important ingredient in soft drink syrups, "hard" gummy candies such as gumdrops,marshmallows, M&M's chocolate candies and edible glitter, a very popular, modern cake-decorating staple. For artists, it is the traditional binder used in watercolor paint, in photography for gum printing, and it is used as a binder in pyrotechnic compositions. It has been investigated for use in intestinal dialysis. Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics also use the gum as a binder, emulsifying agent and a suspending or viscosity increasing agent. Gum arabic has been used in the past as a wine fining agent.

It is an important ingredient in shoe polish, and can be used in making homemade incense cones. It is also used as a lickable adhesive, for example on postage stamps andcigarette papers. Lithographic printers employ it to keep the non-image areas of the plate receptive to water. This treatment also helps to stop oxidation of aluminium printingplates in the interval between processing of the plate and its use on a printing press.

Powdered gum arabic for artists, one part gum arabic is dissolved in four parts distilled water to make a liquid suitable for adding to pigments.

A selection of gouaches containing gum arabic

Gum arabic is used as a binder for watercolor painting because it dissolves easily in water. Pigment of any color is suspended within the acacia gum in varying amounts, resulting in watercolor paint. Water acts as a vehicle or a diluent to thin the watercolor paint and helps to transfer the paint to a surface such as paper. When all moisture evaporates, the acacia gum binds the pigment to the paper surface. After the water evaporates, the acacia gum in the paint film increases luminosity and helps prevent the colors from lightening. Gum arabic allows more precise control over washes, because it prevents them from flowing or bleeding beyond the brush stroke. In addition, acacia gum slows evaporation of water, giving slightly longer working time.

Photography

The historical photography process of gum bichromate photography uses gum arabic mixed with ammonium or potassium dichromateand pigment to create a coloured photographic emulsion that becomes relatively insoluble in water upon exposure to ultraviolet light. In the final print, the acacia gum permanently binds the pigments onto the paper.

Printmaking

Gum arabic is also used to protect and etch an image in lithographic processes. Ink tends to fill into white space on photosensitivealuminum plates if they do not receive a layer of gum. In lithography, the gum etch is used to etch the most subtle gray tones.Phosphoric acid is added in varying concentrations to the acacia gum to etch the darker tones up to dark blacks. Multiple layers of gum are used after the etching process to build up a protective barrier that ensures the ink does not fill into the whitespace of the image being printed.

It is also possible to print from black and white photocopies using a 50% Gum arabic solution. This is carefully sponged onto the photocopy, and oil-based ink of any colour is rollered over the photocopy. The ink can be removed fairly easily from the white areas by carefully wiping with a damp sponge and the "paper plate" used to print using an etching press.

Pyrotechnics

Gum rabic is also used as a water-soluble binder in fireworks composition.

Physical properties

Effect on surface tension in liquids

Acacia gum reduces the surface tension of liquids, which leads to increased fizzing in carbonated beverages. This can be exploited in what is known as a Diet Coke and Mentos eruption.

Production

Acacia senegal from Paul Hermann Wilhelm Taubert's Leguminosae, in Engelmann (ed.): Natürliche Pflanzenfamilien. Vol. III, 3., 1891

Acacia seyal from Paul Hermann Wilhelm Taubert's Leguminosae, in Engelmann (ed.): Natürliche Pflanzenfamilien. Vol. III, 3., 1891

While acacia gum has been harvested in Arabia, Egypt, and West Asia since antiquity, sub-Saharan acacia gum has a long history as a prized export. The gum exported came from the band of acacia trees which once covered much of the Sahel region: the southern littoral of the Sahara Desert running from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. Today, the main populations of gum-producing Acacia species are harvested in Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya andTanzania. Acacia senegal is tapped for gum by cutting holes in the bark, from which a product called kordofan or Senegal gum is exuded. Seyal gum, from Acacia seyal, the species more prevalent in East Africa, is collected from naturally occurring extrusions on the bark. Traditionally harvested by seminomadic desert pastoralists in the course of their transhumance cycle, acacia gum remains a main export of several African nations, including Mauritania, Niger, Chad, and Sudan. The hardened extrusions are collected in the middle of the rainy season (harvesting usually begins in July), and exported at the start of the dry season (November). Total world gum arabic exports are today (2008) estimated at 60,000 tonnes, having recovered from 1987–1989 and 2003–2005 crises caused by the destruction of trees by the desert locust. Sudan, Chad, and Nigeria, which in 2007 together produced 95% of world exports, have been in discussions to create a producers' cartel.^[4]

Political aspects

Senegambia

In 1445, Prince Henry the Navigator set up a trading post on Arguin Island (off the coast of modern Mauritania), which acquired acacia gum and slaves for Portugal. With the merger of the Portuguese and Spanish crowns in 1580, the Spaniards became the dominant influence along the coast. In 1638, however, they were replaced by the Dutch, who were the first to begin exploiting the acacia gum trade. Produced by the acacia trees of Trarza and Brakna, and used in textile pattern printing, this acacia gum was considered superior to that previously obtained in Arabia. By 1678, the French had driven out the Dutch and established a permanent settlement at Saint Louis at the mouth of the Senegal River, where the French Company of the Senegal River (Compagnie Française du Sénégal) had been trading for more than fifty years.^[5]

Moorish tribes meet to trade gum arabic at Bakel on the Senegal river, 1890 (illustration from "Côte occidentale d'Afrique du Colonel Frey", pl. en reg. p. 100)

For much of the 19th century, gum arabic was the major export from French and British trading colonies in modern Senegal and Mauritania. France in particular first came into conflict with inland African states over the supply of the commodity, providing an early spur for the conquest of French West Africa. As the Atlantic slave trade weakened in the early 19th century, The Emirate of Trarza and its neighbors, in what is today southern Mauritania, collected taxes on trade, especially gum arabic, which the French were purchasing in ever-increasing quantities for its use in industrial fabric production. West Africa had become the sole supplier of world acacia gum by the 18th century, and its export at the French colony of Saint-Louis doubled in the decade of 1830 alone. Taxes, and a threat to bypass Saint-Louis by sending gum to the British traders at Portendick, eventually brought the Emirate of Trarza into direct conflict with the French. In the 1820s, the French launched the Franco-Trarzan War of 1825. The new emir, Muhammad al Habib, had signed an agreement with the Waalo Kingdom, directly to the south of the river. In return for an end to raids in Waalo territory, the Emir took the heiress of Waalo as a bride. The prospect that Trarza might inherit control of both banks of the Senegal struck at the security of French traders, and the French responded by sending a large expeditionary force that crushed Muhammad's army. The war incited the French to expand to the north of the Senegal River for the first time, heralding French direct involvement in the interior of West Africa. Gum Arabic continued to be exported in large quantities from the Sahel areas of French West Africa (modern Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger) and French Equatorial Africa (modern Chad) until these nations gained their independence in 1959-61.

Sudan

Although from the 1950s to the early 1990s, Sudan accounted for roughly 80% of gum arabic production, today, that figure is under 50%. Hundreds of thousands of poor Sudanese are dependent on gum arabic for their livelihoods. It is, however, still the world's largest single producer, and the production of gum arabic is heavily controlled by the Sudanese government.

The connection between Sudan and Osama bin Laden brought the otherwise innocuous gum to public consciousness in 2001, as an urban legend arose that bin Laden owned a significant fraction of the gum arabic production in Sudan, and therefore one should boycott products using it.

This story took on somewhat significant proportions, mostly due to an article in The Daily Telegraph a few days after the September 11 attacks, which echoed this claim. Eventually, the State Department issued a release stating that while Osama bin Laden had once had considerable holdings in Sudanese gum arabic production, he divested himself of these when he was expelled from Sudan in 1996.

In a press conference held at the Washington Press Club on 30 May 2007, John Ukec Lueth Ukec, Sudan's ambassador to the United States, threatened to stop exportation of gum arabic from his country if sanctions were imposed. The sanctions proposed by the United States were a political response from the United States to the alleged connection between the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed militia group. Ukec made his speech surrounded by Coca-Cola products, although other sodas use acacia gum as an emulsifier, as well.

Ukec was quoted at the Washington press conference, "I want you to know that the gum arabic which runs all the soft drinks all over the world, including the United States, mainly 80 percent is imported from my country," which he said after raising a bottle of Coca-Cola. According to the Washington Post, a reporter then asked if Sudan was threatening to "stop the export of gum arabic and bring down the Western world." To which Ukec replied, "I can stop that gum arabic and all of us will have lost this," and gestured to the Coke bottle.
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www.malaysianherbals.com- (46)DURIAN- THE KING OF FRUITS

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DURIAN-- OUR COUNTRY'S GIFT OF GOD

The durian is grown intensively and commercially for its fruit only in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

  In India, there are no large orchards or commercial plantings of Durian, but for some trees in and around Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu) and West Coast. 

The durian is a seasonal fruit, unlike some other non-seasonal tropical fruits such as the papaya, which are available throughout the year. In Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, the season for durians is typically from June to August, which coincides with that of the mangosteen. Prices of durians are relatively high as compared with other fruits. For example, in Singapore, the strong demand for high quality cultivars such as the D24, Sultan, and Mao Shan Wang has resulted in typical retail prices of between S$8 to S$15 (US$5 to US$10) per kilogram of whole fruit. With an average weight of about 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb), a durian fruit would therefore cost about S$12 to S$22 (US$8 to US$15). The edible portion of the fruit, known as the aril and usually referred to as the "flesh" or "pulp", only accounts for about 15-30% of the mass of the entire fruit. Many consumers in Singapore are nevertheless quite willing to spend up to around S$75 (US$50) in a single purchase of about half a dozen of the favoured fruit to be shared by family members.

In-season durians can be found in mainstream Japanese supermarkets, while in the West they are sold mainly by Asian markets.

[edit]Flavour and odour

Durian tree begins to bear fruits within 5 to 7 years. Trees grow up to 50 metre tall. Grafted clones about 20 metres. Young tree bears about 50 fruits. Mature tree between 15 and 25 year old have as many as 100 or more.

The fruit takes about 16 weeks to develop.  A 50 year old tree can produce between 200 and 400 fruits during good season. If dry season is too short or absent altogether (raining season) it may occasionally not bear fruit for 1 to 2 years.

Young trees do not need excessive amount of fertilizers as the roots system is not elaborate enough to absorb excess nutrients. Durian trees need high amount of Potassium, Magnesium, Manganese and copper.

Prunning of branches lower than 2 meters from ground in young budded trees can reduce i

nfection.

Nutritional and medicinal

Durian (Durio zibethinus)

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	615 kJ (147 kcal)
Carbohydrates	27.09 g
- Dietary fiber	3.8 g
Fat	5.33 g
Protein	1.47 g
Water	65g
Vitamin C	19.7 mg (24%)
Potassium	436 mg (9%)
Edible parts only, raw or frozen. Refuse: 68% (Shell and seeds) Source: USDA Nutrient database[53] Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.

Durian fruit contains a high amount of sugar, vitamin C, potassium, and the serotonergic amino acid tryptophan, and is a good source of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. It is recommended as a good source of raw fats by several raw food advocates, while others classify it as a high-glycemic food, recommending to minimise its consumption.

In Malaysia, a decoction of the leaves and roots used to be prescribed as an antipyretic. The leaf juice is applied on the head of a fever patient. The most complete description of the medicinal use of the durian as remedies for fevers is a Malay prescription, collected by Burkill and Haniff in 1930. It instructs the reader to boil the roots of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis with the roots of Durio zibethinus,Nephelium longan, Nephelium mutabile and Artocarpus integrifolia, and drink the decoction or use it as a poultice.

In the 1920s, Durian Fruit Products, Inc., of New York City launched a product called "Dur-India" as a health food supplement, selling atUS$9 for a dozen bottles, each containing 63 tablets. The tablets allegedly contained durian and a species of the genus Allium from India and vitamin E. The company promoted the supplement saying that it provides "more concentrated healthful energy in food form than any other product the world affords"

Customs and beliefs

Southeast Asian traditional beliefs, as well as traditional Chinese medicine, consider the durian fruit to have warming properties liable to cause excessive sweating. The traditional method to counteract this is to pour water into the empty shell of the fruit after the pulp has been consumed and drink it.An alternative method is to eat the durian in accompaniment with mangosteen, which is considered to have cooling properties.

 Pregnant women or people with high blood pressure are traditionally advised not to consume durian.

Another common local belief is that the durian is harmful when eaten with coffee or alcoholic beverages.

 The latter belief can be traced back at least to the 18th century whenRumphius stated that one should not drink alcohol after eating durians as it will cause indigestion and bad breath. In 1929, J. D. Gimlette wrote in his Malay Poisons and Charm Cures that the durian fruit must not be eaten with brandy. In 1981, J. R. Croft wrote in his Bombacaceae: In Handbooks of the Flora of Papua New Guinea that "a feeling of morbidity" often follows the consumption of alcohol too soon after eating durian. Several medical investigations on the validity of this belief have been conducted with varying conclusions, though a study by the University of Tsukuba finds the fruit's high sulphur content caused the body to inhibit the activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase, causing a 70% reduction of the ability to clear toxins from the body.

The Javanese believe durian to have aphrodisiac qualities, and impose a set of rules on what may or may not be consumed with it or shortly thereafter.

 A saying in Indonesian,durian jatuh sarung naik, meaning "the durian falls and the sarong comes up", refers to this belief. The warnings against the supposed lecherous quality of this fruit soon spread to the West—the Swedenborgian philosopher Herman Vetterling commented on so-called "erotic properties" of the durian in the early 20th century.

RED DURIAN

Even westeners are crazy for Durians.

A durian falling on a person's head can cause serious injuries

 because it is heavy, armed with sharp thorns, and can fall from a significant height. Wearing a hardhat is recommended when collecting the fruit. Alfred Russel Wallace writes that death rarely ensues from it, because the copious effusion of blood prevents the inflammation which might otherwise take place. A common saying is that a durian has eyes and can see where it is falling because the fruit allegedly never falls during daylight hours when people may be hurt. A saying in Indonesian, ketiban durian runtuh, which translates to "getting a fallen durian", means receiving an unexpected luck or fortune.^[66] Nevertheless, signs warning people not to linger under durian trees are found in Indonesia.

A

A naturally spineless variety of durian growing wild in Davao, Philippines, was discovered in the 1960s; fruits borne from these seeds also lacked spines. Since the bases of the scales develop into spines as the fruit matures, sometimes spineless durians are produced artificially by scraping scales off immature fruits.^[4] In Malaysia, a spinesless durian clone D172 is registered by Agriculture Department on 17 Jun 1989. It was called "Durian Botak" (Bald Durian).^[14] In Indonesia, Professor Ir Sumeru Ashari MagrSc PhD, Head of Durian Research Centre, Universitas Brawijaya reported spinesless durian from Kasembon, Malang. Another cultivar is from Lombok, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia.,

Other than humans, animals such as Sumatran elephants are known to consume durian. Curiously, carnivorous Sumatran tiger are also known to consume durian occasionally.^[70]The strong odour of the fallen fruits in the jungle probably attracted the tiger to inspect the fruit and lick it.^[71]

[edit]Cultural influence

Singapore's Esplanade building, nicknamed "The Durian"

The durian is commonly known as the "King of the Fruits", a label that can be attributed to its formidable look and overpowering odour. In its native southeastern Asia, the durian is an everyday food and portrayed in the local media in accordance with the cultural perception it has in the region. The durian symbolised the subjective nature of ugliness and beauty in Hong Kong director Fruit Chan's2000 film Durian Durian (榴槤飄飄, lau lin piu piu), and was a nickname for the reckless but lovable protagonist of the eponymous Singaporean TV comedy Durian King played by Adrian Pang. Likewise, the oddly shaped Esplanade building in Singapore is often called "The Durian" by locals, and "The Big Durian" is the nickname of Jakarta, Indonesia.

One of the names Thailand contributed to the list of storm names for Western North Pacific tropical cyclones was 'Durian', which was retired after the second storm of this name in 2006. Being a fruit much loved by a variety of wild beasts, the durian sometimes signifies the long-forgotten animalistic aspect of humans, as in the legend of Orang Mawas, the Malaysian version of Bigfoot, and Orang Pendek, its Sumatran version, both of which have been claimed to feast on durians. Thanks WIKIPEDIA

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Wil