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Jou is an integral part of the socio-cultural life of the Boros. The Boro has an old age tradition of preparing Jou from fermented cooked rice (jumai) with locally prepared yeast cake called Amao. Jou is traditionally used in marriage, worship and in all social occasions and it is of three kinds Jou- bidwi, finai and gwran (distilled alcohol from jumai). Amao is traditionally prepared from seven plants species- Oryza sativa L., Scoparia dulcis L., Musa paradisiaca, Artocarpus heterophyllus Lamk., Ananas comosus (L). Merr., Clerodendron infortunetum L., Plumbago zeylancia L. Boro, an ethnic tribe in Kokrajhar district of Assam state, Northeast India is the material of the present study where elderly men and women were exclusively selected for the interview. The research included participatory approach of unstructured and semi-structured interviews and group discussions. The paper describes indigenous methods of preparation of Amao and harvesting of Jou. The used of different components as distilling unit for obtaining alcohol have also been emphasized. Present study has established Amao as a potential source of yeast medium used for fermenting rice and preparing Jou. Besides commercial exploitation of these plants as yeast media may be explored and encourage.

The roots of Morus species are well described in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China (ChP) for its traditional use in treating liver fibrosis due to its hepatoprotective property. However, little is known about the hepatoprotective effect of the roots of Morus indica L. (RoMi), and the pharmacological mechanism(s) are uncertain due to its intricacy. Therefore, this study evaluates the hepatoprotective activity of the ethanolic extract of RoMi (eRoMi) against the CCl4-induced in-vivo animal model at different dosages (100 and 200 mg/kg BW) in comparison with silymarin as a positive control. The hepatoprotective activity of eRoMi was evaluated by measuring the levels of serum biomarkers, hepatic antioxidant enzymes and was verified by histological studies. Interestingly, 1,2-bis(trimethylsilyl) benzene, 1,4-phenylenebis (trimethylsilane), 2,4,6-cycloheptatriene-1-one, 3,5-bis-trimethylsilyl and α-amyrin were the active components found in eRoMi as detected by GC–MS. Oral administration of eRoMi (200 mg/kg BW) to rats significantly protected serum biochemical parameters (increased ALT, AST, LDH, bilirubin and GGT as well as depletion of antioxidant enzymes and hepatic GSH) and elevation in hepatic lipid peroxidation as compared to CCl4-treated rats. The hematological indices such as erythrocytes, hemoglobin, monocytes and lymphocytes were also normal in eRoMi-treated rats. The histopathological evaluation indicated a significant restoration of liver structure as compared to silymarin. This study is the first scientific validation for the traditional use of eRoMi to understand its hepatoprotective activity.

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