No abstract

The nuts are invariably sun-dried in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and adjoining areas of China and USSR. Their oils are generally kept in the unrefined form, being exposed to light during subsequent handling or marketing and consequently undergo changes in colour, flavour and chemical changes. Light induced reactions have been found to damage the quality and stability of edible oils, fats and fat containing food products [l, 21. Oil characteristics of walnuts [3], and oxidation of almond and walnuts oils during heating have been studied [4]. Influence of clear flexible pouches and amber-colour bottles on storage behaviour of groundnut oils was reported by MAHADEVAIAH et al. [5] and NASIRULLAH et al.[6]. Dry nut oils are generally sold in clear glass bottles in Pakistan and several other countries but their stability to fluorescent light in relation to different packages has not been tested, which is the object of these studies. Materials and methodsThe almond, peanut, pinenut and walnut oils were extracted by the Soxhlet using petroleum ether (b. p. 40-60 "C). The solvent was initially removed with the help of a rotary evaporator at 40 "C and then in an air oven at 40-50 "C. Lighting consisted of two 20 watt Philips cool white fluorescent tubes. The oils in 1 cm thick layers were placed in clear and amber coloured glass containers at a light intensity of 540 lux which was measured by means of a General Electric type-214 light meter. Control samples were kept for corresponding time-temperature conditions in the dark. The spectral transmission (200-1 100 nm) measurements of glass containers were made with a UV-visible recording Shimadzu spectrophotometer UV-160. Oxidation rates of oils were followed by determining the peroxide value [7]. The fatty acids were determined by employing the trans-esterification method of SHEHATA et al. [8]. The resulting methyl esters were analyzed with a Perkin Elmer model-3920 gas chromatograph (conditions: column, SE-30 Scot. 50 feet x 0.5 mm; carrier gas, nitrogen 30 ml/min, air 50 Psi (3.4 . Id Pa); H, 20 Psi (1.4 . lo5 Pa); detector (FID) temperature 250 "C; column temperature 200 "C and injector temperature 300 "C). Results and discussionOn the basis of 7 weeks exposure, light induced oxidation rates (POV/day) of these oils in relation to different packages were calculated as shown in Table 1. Relative peroxidation of nut oils is shown in Fig. 1.The results revealed significant (P < 0.05) differences in the peroxidation of different oils. The rate of peroxidation was profoundly decreased by the amber glass or complete elimination of light (unexposed control). Determination of CV revealed striking differences in the peroxide values. Previously amber glass was found to be better in protecting the quality of liquid milk than clear glass bottles and Tetrapak package 191.

Background – Gilgit-Baltistan, the Northeast region of Pakistan, is well known for its floristic diversity, including members of the genus Artemisia. Artemisia is a large, taxonomically complex genus including ~500 species of both herbs and shrubs. This study was conducted to determine the phylogenetic position of ten undescribed Artemisia taxa from northern Pakistan, using nrDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS), external transcribed spacer (ETS) and cpDNA intergenic spacer (psbA-trnH) regions.Methods – The phylogenetic relationships of 28 taxa of Artemisia using separate and combined data sets of sequences of three markers (ITS, ETS and psbA-trnH) were analysed with maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian approaches. Key results – The results resolve northeastern Pakistani Artemisia, which represent five morphologically defined subgenera, into ten major clades. Subgenera Artemisia and Absinthium are shown to be polyphyletic, while Dracunculus, Pacifica and Tridentatae appear monophyletic. All species of subgenus Seriphidium are retrieved in a single clade that also includes annual species from subgenus Artemisia. In the Flora of Pakistan, Seriphidium is described as a separate genus but in this study, Seriphidium fell within the genus Artemisia. In addition, on the basis of phylogenetic analysis, we present evidence that ten as-yet undescribed taxa are present in northeastern Pakistan based on newly recognized three groups (Groups I, II and III) of taxa within the genus Artemisia. One undescribed taxon from group I was placed within the subgenus Dracunculus clade and the remaining nine taxa from groups II and III were placed in the subgenus Absinthium clade. Morphological studies coupled with modern molecular techniques may lead to a new infrageneric classification of the genus Artemisia. It will also clarify and characterize the undescribed taxa reported in this study.

Livestock industry of Pakistan is expanding day by day. To meet its growing demand high fodder yielding and nutritious varieties of fodder crops are needed. Pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum L.) is an excellent choice for this purpose. In order to explore the possibility of the better yield potential varieties of pearl millet performed in a good manner under agro ecological conditions of Faisalabad during the year 2012. A field experiment was conducted at Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Randomized complete block design was used with three replications; the net plot size was 1.8 m × 6 m. The experiment was comprised of nine millet varieties named Cholistani Bajra, Barani Bajra, MB-87, Sargodha Bajra 2011, 18-BY, Super Bajra-1, PARC-MS-2, 86-M-52 and FB-822. All other agronomic practices were kept normal and constant. Data on yield and yield components were recorded by standard procedure. Significant results were recorded among the varieties for forage growth and yield. The variety 86-M-52 produced maximum forage and dry matter yield because of more number of leaves (14), leaf area (3540.1 cm 2 ) followed by Sargodha Bajra-2011. All cultivars have statistically significant differences in respect of quality characteristics. However, non-significant differences were observed among cultivars regarding ash contents. The cultivar Sargodha Bajra-2011 has the highest crude protein (10.347%) and the cultivar FB-822 has the minimum crude protein percentage (6.733%). While PARC-MS-2 has the highest crude fiber percentage (34.667%) but variety MB-87 has the minimum crude fiber (24.333%). Variety 86-M-52 proved better for getting higher forage yield followed by Sargodha Bajra-2011 than all other varieties. Sargodha Bajra-2011 is the best cultivar that performed well in respect of quality parameters under irrigated conditions of Faisalabad. * Corresponding author. M. Hassan et al. 2216

This study was accomplished to scrutinize the pollen morphology of 15 species of the genus Artemisia of the family Asteraceae from Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results revealed pollen grains of Artemisia species with tricolporate shape, and characterized by globular symmetry (ellipsoid ball shaped from equatorial side and three lobed rounds from polar view) with few exceptions. Additionally, the pollens are marked with reduced spinules on their surfaces which are diagnostic character for the genus Artemisia. In this study, seven micromorphological characters of pollen grains of 15 Artemisia species viz. shape of pollen, arrangement of spinules, exine sculpture, spinules base, equatorial width and polar length, were employed to construct a dendrogram following the consequential cluster analyses. In the dentrogram, four groups within the studied Artemisia species have been recognized. The pollen morphology of Artemisia could be a good taxonomic marker to cope with its taxonomic delimitations in combination with other floral and molecular attributes.