What is acceptable adulteration in the packaged food industry?
Mammalian faeces can be a polished way to say rodent poop is an ingredient in pepper. Just as the cockroach parts in chocolate, the Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for taking care of public health, sets the standard for every packaged food item available in the market. It also takes care of biological…
Who doesn’t like chocolate? I personally love all kind of chocolate, especially the dark ones. But what if I tell you that you have probably consumed cockroach parts? Guess what? It is totally fine with the FDA. The Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency that looks after the health and human services. The…
While we are reading about various defense mechanisms that plants adopt when fighting herbivores, we must explore one of the interesting traits used by some plants is to mimic dead plants or decrease in size. Some plants have attained the ability to decrease the appearance, i.e. stay hidden from the eyes of herbivores. Instead of…
An effective method to reduce being attacked by herbivores is to develop reduced plant palatability. This method of defense is more direct and practical to stop not just the current attacker but also deter any future attempt. Induction of trichomes in response to insect damage has been reported in many plants. This increase in trichome…
Why do you think plants have some special characteristics that make them physically impossible to touch? Interactions between plants and herbivores are necessary to continue the food chain. However, when herbivores eat their tissues, these tissues can get severely injured. Some plants have adapted themselves to tolerate these damages and reproduce again, whereas other plants…
Plants have been successful in colonizing most environments and when doing so they have to face tough competition not just from other plants but also from animals! So how do plants protect themselves from herbivores? Interactions between plants and insect herbivores are important determinants of plant productivity. In response to the attack, plants have evolved…
How would you review a hand sanitiser? All of them say they clean up to 99% of the germs. All say you would experience a cleansing like never before. And, all of them say the best price. Now how would you differentiate a great hand sanitiser with a good one? Here we go. 1. Check…
One of nature’s finest gifts to us is – the neem plant. With several incredible health benefits, the Neem plant is often considered nature’s pharmacy plant. No wonder Neem plant’s parts feature in many medicines. Here we explore five benefits of the Neem plant. 1. Anti-fungal and anti-bacterial: Neem leaves are used to treat fungal…
In Hinduism, tulasi is worshipped as a goddess and every part of the tulasi plant is revered and considered sacred, including the leaves, stem, flower, root, seeds, and oil. Even the surrounding soil, which has recently been found to harbor beneficial endophytic fungi, is considered an aspect of the divine. Here we examine, the benefits…
