The specific activities and transcript levels of glycolytic enzymes were examined in shoots of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars, Pusa362 (drought tolerant) and SBD377 (drought sensitive), subjected to water-deficit stress 30 days after sowing. Water-deficit stress resulted in decrease in relative water content, chlorophyll content, plant dry weight, and NADP/NADPH ratio and increase in NAD/NADH ratio in both the cultivars. A successive decline in the specific activities of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (aldolase), 3-phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), and NADP-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (NADP-GAPDH) and elevation in the specific activities of phosphoglycerate mutase (PGM) and triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) was observed in both the cultivars under stress as compared to their respective control plants. The specific activities of hexokinase, fructose-6-phosphate kinase (PFK), and NAD-GAPDH were least affected. The transcript levels of PGK and NADP-GAPDH decreased and that of glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI), PGM, and PFK increased in response to water-deficit stress while water-deficit stress had no effect on the steady-state transcript levels of hexokinase, aldolase, TPI, and NAD-GAPDH. The results suggest that under water-deficit stress, the activities and transcript levels of most of the glycolytic enzymes are not significantly affected, except the increased activity and transcript level of PGM and decreased activities and transcript levels of PGK and NADP-GAPDH. Further, the glycolytic enzymes do not show much variation between the tolerant and sensitive cultivars under water deficit.

Aspergillus wentii showed maximum growth and lipase production at 30°C in 3 days at pH 6.0, when cultivated on a shaker. The medium supplemented with glucose showed maximum production of lipase followed by mannitol, fructose, galactose, sucrose, lactose, and maltose. Amongst the nitrogen sources tested, lipase yield was maximum with peptone at the 2% level. Calcium and sodium citrates (Ol.%) increased the yield of lipase. Synthetic and natural lipids when added to the growth medium reduced the growth and lipase production.

Bovine milk cream (40% fat) was ripened under different time/temperature/inoculum conditions with Streptococcus lactis subsp. diacetilactis DRC-1 before converting by heat treatment into ghee (Indian clarified butterfat). Biochemical changes in cream, in terms of titratable acidity, volatile acids, diacetyl and acetaldehyde and flavour changes in the ghee made from it in terms of free fatty acids (FFA), total carbonyls (TC) and flavour score, were studied. Of the different combinations of ripening conditions, 30 °C, 18 hand 3 % inoculum produced optimum changes in the cream which resulted in the development of the most desirable flavour in the ghee, being comparable to that of desi ghee (made by the indigenous method). The flavour characteristics as determined by FFA (% oleic acid), TC (/^mol/g fat) and flavour score (out of 10) of the best ripened cream ghee were found to be 0-54, 6-756 and 8-83 respectively. The flavour of ghee became impaired after a particular level of acidity developed in cream after 18 h incubation. The optimum conditions of ripening standardized under laboratory conditions were also extended to a semiindustrial scale.In India, ghee is by far the most popular indigenous milk product, obtained by clarification of milk fat at a temperature above 100 °C. The consumer acceptability of ghee is based mainly on its flavour and aroma. These attributes are influenced by a number of factors, mainly temperature of clarification and method of preparation. There are three basic methods used for ghee preparation: the desi (indigenous) method (milk->curd-»• ghee); the creamery butter (CB) method (cream->butter-*• ghee) and the direct cream (DC) method (creamsghee). The desi method, unlike the other methods, involves the addition of microorganisms to sour the milk, and gives a product with the most desirable flavour. Commercial dairies in India, which are rapidly taking over the manufacture of ghee from home industry, manufacture this product by the cream based methods DC and CB, those methods being reportedly more economic than the traditional

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