Five commercially important spices, namely cinnamon, clove, cardamom, nutmeg and mace, were subjected to gamma‐irradiation using a dose of 10 kGy, which is recommended for microbial decontamination. Various phenolic acids present in these spices were analysed by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In clove and nutmeg, quantitatively significant changes were noted in some of the phenolic acids upon irradiation. The content of gallic and syringic acids in irradiated clove increased by 2.2‐ and 4.4‐fold respectively, whereas in irradiated nutmeg many of the phenolic acids showed wide increases and decreases in the range of two‐ to sixfold compared with the control samples. No qualitative and major quantitative changes were, however, observed in the phenolic acids of cinnamon, cardamom and mace upon irradiation. The possibility that gamma‐radiation induced breakdown of tannins could be responsible for the changes in phenolic acids content of clove and nutmeg is discussed.

Problem statement:No specific antiviral therapy is currently available despite an emergence and resurgence of Japanese encephalitis in South-East Asian Countries. There are only few recent studies, which were aimed to treat Japanese encephalitis with newer drugs. There is thus a real need for study on antiviral agents that can reduce the toll of death and neurological sequelae resulting from infection with this virus. Approach: Optimum dilution of the JE virus was determined which could produce significant number of pocks on Chorioallantoic Membrane (CAM). Then ultradiluted belladonna preparations were used to see their inhibitory action on JE virus infection in CAM. Results: Ultradiluted belladonna showed significantly decreased pock count in CAM in comparison to JE virus control. Conclusion: Ultradiluted belladonna could inhibit JE virus infection in CAM, which may be mediated through glycosidase inhibitory role of calystegines present in belladonna.

GTP-cyclohydrolase I (GTP-CH I) is the initial and rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin, which regulates melanin biosynthesis. GTP-CH I is therefore a candidate gene for vitiligo. We have carried out DNA sequencing of all six exons and the promoter region of this gene, comprising 1759 base pairs, in 25 nonsyndromic vitiligo patients. However, contrary to an earlier report in which mutations were found in syndromic patients (vitiligo with dopa-responsive dystonia) belonging to two unrelated families, no mutation in the GTP-CH I gene was found.

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