BIOCHEMISTRY - KSRCAS

Chromium: Is It Essential and Is It Safe?

Elemental chromium (Cr) was discovered in crocoite, a mineral with a deep-orange red color, by Vaquelin in 1798. Schwartz and Mertz in 1959 were the first to report Cr was an essential element in rats while in 1977 Jeejebhoy et al.showed it was essential in humans. Many research studies were conducted with Cr over the years  but the main focus was its relationship with diabetes mellitus. While the evidence supporting an anti-diabetic role for Cr appeared strong it was still far from definitive. The two main forms of chromium are the trivalent CrIII (chromium III) and the hexavalent form CrVI (chromium VI). Of these, CrIII is the most stable oxidation state found in living organisms but unable to cross cell wall membranes easily.

The Fresh Petal of Persian Musk Rose (Rosa moschata Hermm) as Sources of Nutraceutical Foods

The Rosaceae family is one of the largest flowering plant families with more than 100 genera and 2000 species of trees, shrubs and herbs. The genus Rosa that comprises approximately 200 Species and thousands of cultivars is commercially important for its essential oil fragrance and for its rosewater, which is used traditionally as flavoring agent. R. moschata commonly known as Persian musk rose, Nastrana in Persian, is native to Iran and is widely grown in Iran as a landscape plant or for essence and related products. Its flowers have been traditionally used for ‘attar of roses’ and ‘rose water’ production. As a medicinal plant, the flowers, leaves, fruits of Persian musk rose is used for eyes’ disorders, diarrhea, wounds healing, stomach disorders, gout, hydronephrosis delivery cases and in bilious diseases. An antimicrobial effect of the Persian musk rose essential oil has been recently reported. Hence, the current study was conducted to determine the effect of harvest time on total phenol, ascorbic acid and some mineral elements of Persian musk rose flowers.

By
Chandrasekhar

III B.Sc.,

Department of Biochemistry