Glaciological investigations were carried out in 1994 on the glaciers in Hidden Valley, Mukut Himal, Nepal Himalayas, in order to make a comparison with observations made in 1974. Most of the glaciers were found to have retreated by 30–60 m in terminus elevation over the 20 years between the two studies. Rikha Samba Glacier, the longest glacier in the valley, has retreated by about 200m. The areal average of the amount of surface lowering and the volume loss of the glacier was estimated to be 12.6 m ice equivalent and 13% of the total mass, respectively. The annual mass balance of −0.35 m a−1water equivalent was obtained as an average for 20 years, which is one of the largest negative values amongst small glaciers of the world.

Glaciological investigations were carried out in 1994 on the glaciers in Hidden Valley, Mukut Himal, Nepal Himalayas, in order to make a comparison with observations made in 1974. Most of the glaciers were found to have retreated by 30–60 m in terminus elevation over the 20 years between the two studies. Rikha Samba Glacier, the longest glacier in the valley, has retreated by about 200m. The areal average of the amount of surface lowering and the volume loss of the glacier was estimated to be 12.6 m ice equivalent and 13% of the total mass, respectively. The annual mass balance of −0.35 m a−1 water equivalent was obtained as an average for 20 years, which is one of the largest negative values amongst small glaciers of the world.

More than 65% of all human bacterial infection are associated with biofilm. Bacteria in such biofilms are 10 to 1000-fold more resistant to antibiotics than free living bacteria cells. Organisms such as S. aureus and P. aeruginosa are responsible for a significant number of biofilm related infections. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity of C. longa L. rhizome extract against biofilm producing S. aureus and P. aeruginosa isolates. The results of MIC and MBC demonstrated promising antibacterial activity of the rhizome extract. TLC and column chromatography detected various curcuminoids while phytochemical analysis also reveals presence of number of bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, terpenoids, etc. Micro titer plate assay indicated significant inhibition of biofilm formation in clinical isolates treated with turmeric extract. Thus, on basis of our results turmeric extracts can be considered as natural antibiofilm and antibacterial agent.

Chyawanprash, a polyherbal formulation, is popular for its nutritional value and is widely used as a tonic, rejuvenator, immunomodulator, and enhancer. This study aimed to evaluate the quality profile of five different brands of Chyawanprash marketed in Nepal. Proximate analysis, estimation of heavy metal, physicochemical analysis, determination of microbial contamination, estimation of vitamin C, and detection of heavy metals were carried out to assess the therapeutical values and compare the quality control parameters. All the analyses were carried out based on standard procedures. The data analysis revealed that the presence of moisture content (11.83 ± 1.61%–19.90 ± 0.92%), ash content (1.2–2.3%), energy (316.12 ± 1.96–363 ± 11.90 Kcal/100g), acid-insoluble ash content (0.12 ± 0.05–1.47 ± 0.26%), pH (5.12–5.34), vitamin C (9.92–28.58 mg/100g), and heavy metals was not detected in ppm in any of the brands. Chyawanprash holds tremendous amounts of nutritional value suitable for treating different types of illness. Thus, stringent quality control parameters should be implemented from the government level for product consistency and to reduce variation among different brands.

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