Purple my tea

Purple my tea

Originally from Assam, purple tea has a low caffeine content, and filled with medicinal properties

Author(s): Amarjyoti Borah

Assam is set to emerge as the second place in the world, after Kenya, to produce the much sought after purple tea, which according to tea scientists is known for its rich health benefits. Purple tea’s high antioxidant effects also provide anti-cancer benefits, and improves vision, cholesterol and blood sugar meta-bolism. Produced from Camellia assamica, purple tea has often been described as the tea of the future, as far as health benefits are concerned.

“The tea is rich in anthocyanins, a pigment which impart the purple colour to the tea leaves, and comes with all the goodness of tea. Besides, it has a lower caffeine content, compared to the normal black or green teas,” says Pradip Baruah, senior advisory officer (principal scientist) at the Tocklai Tea Research Institute, the oldest tea research station in the country.

Baruah, who is researching on purple tea, says it offers an excellent new diversified product to tea consumers around the world. “Purple tea can be manufactured both as black and green teas,” adds Baruah.

Tea scientists are also working on other by-products of purple tea, including extracted catechins, anthocyanins, anthocyan--idinins (which are used as drug supplements and preservatives), tea polyphenol extracts for pharmacological and industrial uses.

“Research studies and human clinical trials suggest that purple tea possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties that prevent cardiovascular diseases and obesity, and diabetes,” says Baruah. He adds that anthocyanins appear to control cholesterol levels and blood sugar metabolism, as well as fight oxidative stress (a process known to play a key role in heart disease). Research from Kenya and Uganda shows that flavovoids in purple tea can pass through the blood-brain barrier and act as a neuro-protective agent.

There are other reasons that attract people towards this tea variety-purple tea has a stronger flavour than other traditional tea varieties, and its taste is also influenced by locations and temperatures.

Tracing its roots

The purple tea, which Kenya is presently producing, traces its origins to Assam. Tea plants made their way to Kenya in 1903 when a Britisher, G W L Caine, brought the first tea plants from Assam, and planted a handful of the shrubs on the forested hills of Limuru. “Those first tea bushes have grown into large trees on what is now Unilever’s Mabroukie tea estate,” says Baruah.

The clone was refined over a 25-year period by the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya and released as TRFK 306 in 2011 for commercial cultivation with an eye on exports. The clone was developed in response to the Kenyan government’s Vision 2030 and Medium-Term Plan 2008-2012 targeting new tea products diversification and value addition to enhance productivity, as well as to boost economic growth in the agricultural sector. Baruah says that of the 51 tea clones released in Kenya so far, 41 were originally from Assam, and six were Assam-China hybrids. “Wild purple teas were recently discovered in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam and the Longai area of Cachar in the Barak Valley,” says Baruah. 

Economic potential

Tea experts point out that the purple tea variety has the potential to fetch more revenue, and it has already generated tremendous curiosity and hope among the tea planters and small tea growers of eastern India. Purple tea has been found to fetch three to four times the price of black tea. “This proves that once purple tea finds its place in Assam, even the tea planters are likely to benefit immensely,” adds Baruah.

Tea growers approached by Down To Earth say that they are eager to try out plantation of purple tea in their gardens. “We are confident that purple tea will become popular both in the domestic as well as in the international market, provided its health benefits are adequately publicised,” says Pankaj Gogoi, director, Khuwa Tea Garden, Sibsagar district, Assam.

“We conducted a survey among tea drinkers and found that a majority of the respondents among the younger generation want something new in their tea, and they are very health conscious,” adds Gogoi. “We are confident that once purple tea is introduced and its health benefits are widely publicised, people will prefer this new variety,” says Rajib Das, who owns a cafe in Sonitpur, a major tea producing location. 

The author is a senior journalist based in Assam

Artificial ‘plants’ could fuel cars in future

Artificial ‘plants’ could fuel cars in future

Author(s): Sugandh Priya Ojha

The newly-created fuel can be stored for months or years and distributed through existing energy infrastructure

A group of scientists in the US have created artificial “plants” that will use sunlight to make gasoline and natural gas through synthetic photosynthesis.The products can be used by cars in future as fuel.

The research, conducted by Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute at the University of California, was led by Peidong Yang, professor of chemistry at the same university.

Photosynthesis, a natural process, turns water and carbon dioxide into sugar, thus storing sun’s energy for plants. But these artificial plants will produce liquid fuels, instead of sugar. The fuels can be stored for months or years and distributed through existing energy infrastructure.

Researchers have also created an artificial leaf that produces methane, the primary component of natural gas, using acombination of semiconducting nanowires and bacteria. Their first system employs long nanoscale filaments–nanowires–to turn sunlight into electrons, which bacteria use to convert carbon dioxide and water into complex chemicals. In the second system, nanowires generate electricity that splits water (H2O) into hydrogen and oxygen. Bacteria then combine the hydrogen with carbon dioxide to form methane, the largestcomponent of natural gas.

“We’re good at generating electrons from light efficiently, but chemical synthesis always limited our systems in the past. One purpose of this experiment was to show we could integrate bacterial catalysts with semiconductor technology. This lets us understand and optimise a truly synthetic photosynthesis system,” said Yang.

Burning of fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide faster than the natural photosynthesis that can absorb it.This system will pull every carbon that is burnt and convert it into a fuel that is truly carbon neutral, as explained by Thomas Moore, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Arizona State University, US. The researchers now hope to create a morerobust and efficient synthetic process than the natural one.

Yang, however, said that this system will give researchers new tools to studyphotosynthesis and learn its secrets.

Southwest monsoon is weakening as Indian Ocean warms rapidly

Southwest monsoon is weakening as Indian Ocean warms rapidly

Author(s): Jemima Rohekar

A study shows that surface temperatures of the Indian Ocean have risen by up to 1.2°C in the past century, much larger than warming trends in other tropical oceans

Days after India Meteorological Department (IMD) downgraded its southwest monsoon forecast for 2015, a study shows that rapid warming of the Indian Ocean is responsible for reduced rainfall over parts of South Asia during the past century.

The study, led by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology scientist Roxy Mathew Koll, used data from 1901 till 2012 and found a decreasing trend in summer monsoon rainfall over the central Indian subcontinent. While rainfall decreased over the region from south Pakistan up to Bangladesh, central India saw a significant reduction of up to 10 to 20 per cent in mean rainfall.

The findings of this study contradict previous studies that had shown a warmer ocean and increased land-sea temperature difference would lead to a stronger Indian monsoon.

"The changes in the Indian Ocean and correspondingly in the monsoon became prominent since the 1950s," says Koll. "The trends have been steady since though there are decadal variabilities also." 

Koll and his team found that land-sea temperature difference, a key monsoon driver, has actually reduced over the South Asian region because the ocean has warmed much faster. During the past century, the ocean surface temperatures of the Indian Ocean have risen by up to 1.2°C, much larger than the warming trends in other tropical oceans. At the same time, the Indian subcontinent land mass has witnessed "subdued" warming due to reasons which have not yet been established.

Koll says these findings are typical of the Indian Ocean. "The land-sea temperature difference is increasing everywhere in the northern hemisphere, except in the Indian Ocean-South Asian domain," he adds.

The study explains that ocean warming also affects monsoon circulation. A warmer ocean sees large-scale upward motion of moist air. This is compensated by subsidence (downward movement) of dry air over the subcontinent, resulting in surplus rains over the Indian Ocean at the cost of the monsoon rains over land.

The study was published in Nature Communications journal on Tuesday. Results of the study have wider implications for food security in the Indian subcontinent as agriculture is still largely rain-fed.

Climate models show that the Indian Ocean will continue to warm and Koll warns the threat of anthropogenic warming is manifesting itself closer home. "We need to be as watchful of the changes in the Indian Ocean as we are about other oceans and land-atmosphere systems. This is a global issue linked to greenhouse gas emissions and needs to be tackled at all possible levels," he says.

If the southwest monsoon is deficient yet again this year, Indian farmers are headed for their fifth consecutive crop damage and an unprecedented agrarian crisis.

On the observed variability of monsoon droughts over India

Indian Ocean warming modulates Pacific climate change

WHO urges action against antibiotic resistance

WHO urges action against antibiotic resistance

Author(s): Jyotsna Singh

Experts warn that without effective medicines, infections such as hospital-acquired ventilator-associated pneumonias, urinary tract infections and diarrhoea are becoming difficult to treat

Cautioning against the indiscriminate use of antibiotics and other drugs which leads to resistance to medicines and treatment failure, the World Health Organization has urged member countries in Southeast Asia to address this public health threat urgently.

"Immediate action is needed to stop the world from heading towards pre-antibiotic era in which all achievements made in prevention and control of communicable diseases will be reversed. Common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades may once again kill millions. Resistance to antibiotics will make complex surgeries and management of several chronic illnesses like cancer, extremely difficult," Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director of WHO Southeast Asia Region, said at a regional meeting in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste.

Without effective antimicrobial medicines, a number of common infections such as hospital-acquired ventilator-associated pneumonias, urinary tract infections, diarrhoea, gonorrhoea, tuberculosis and malaria are becoming harder to treat, she added. Khetrapal Singh was addressing health ministers and senior health ministry officials from 11 member countries of WHO Southeast Asia Region, at the sixty-eighth annual meeting of the Regional Committee.

According to estimates released by the British government in December 2014, antibiotic resistance will be responsible for 10 million deaths annually by 2050. Its economic cost will result in a 2 to 3.5-per cent decrease in global gross domestic product by the same year if antimicrobial resistance goes unchecked. Reduced productivity from persisting illness, and its cost of treatment, will add to the economic loss.

Khetrapal Singh said comprehensive and integrated national action plans are needed to respond to antimicrobial resistance. Countries need to strengthen monitoring of the extent and cause of antibiotic resistance, improve infection control in hospitals and regulate and promote appropriate use of medicines.

She urged that WHO Southeast Asia regional strategy, the Jaipur Declaration on Antimicrobial Resistance, 2011, and the recent Global Action Plan need to be implemented in totality, keeping in mind national priorities and context.

Antibiotic resistance is growing due to injudicious use of antibiotics by prescribers, patients not completing full treatment courses, over-use of antibiotics in livestock and fish farming, poor control of infections in healthcare settings and poor hygiene. There are only a few new antibiotics available to replace the resistant and ineffective ones.

Five African countries pledge to curb illegal timber trade

Author(s): DTE Staff

Five African countries pledge to curb illegal timber trade

Urge consumer countries to include the issue of illegal timber as priority agenda in their summits

The forest agencies of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Madagascar and Mozambique have signed a declaration to combat illegal timber trade in East and Southern Africa.

The Zanzibar Declaration was signed on September 9 at the XIV World Forestry Congress in Durban, South Africa, one of the largest gatherings of world forestry leaders. “We declare that we need a unifying strategy to help Eastern and Southern Africa countries to curb illegal trade in timber,” stated the declaration. It further asks member states to develop monitoring and reporting systems for their respective timber industries and implement bans on timber exports.

The declaration also urged upcoming summits involving consumer countries, such as China, India, and European and West Asian nations, to include the issue of illegal timber as a priority agenda.

Madagascar, Mozambique and Central African countries are generally the source of illicit timber, while Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania are major transit points through which contraband is sent to overseas markets. Mozambique is both a source and transit country.

The event was facilitated by WWF, TRAFFIC, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). “WWF welcomes the Zanzibar Declaration on Illegal Trade in Timber and Other Forest Products, the first such agreement of its kind in the region. The declaration comes at a crucial time. Illegal trade in timber is expanding at an alarming rate and this new commitment by governments will greatly amplify efforts to reduce such trade at the regional level,” said a Geofrey Mwanjel, WWF Coastal East Africa Initiative Head of Terrestrial Program, in a statement.

“The Zanzibar Declaration signals a firm commitment by the five countries concerned to curtail the illegal and unsustainable timber trade that is benefitting criminals and depleting the natural resources of the region,” said Julie Thomson, TRAFFIC’s East Africa Programme Coordinator.

Data released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on September 7, titled the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015, shows that primary forest cover in sub-Saharan Africa has declined by at least 6.3 million hectares over the past decade.

Environment ministry issues fresh notice on demarcation of eco-sensitive zones in Western Ghats

Environment ministry issues fresh notice on demarcation of eco-sensitive zones in Western Ghats

Author(s): Shreeshan Venkatesh

An extension of 60 days has been given to Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu to submit recommendations on their areas of the Western Ghats 

The government issued a fresh draft notification last week, demarcating eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) in the Western Ghats. The draft notification, dated September 4, has not made any changes to the list of areas proposed as ESZs in an earlier draft issued on March 10, 2014.

The previous draft notification had set a 545-day deadline for identification of ESZs. Issued under provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, it had directed governments of six states—Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu—to physically verify eco-sensitive zones in their areas of the Western Ghats and to submit recommendations.

The fresh draft, however, is only an interim measure as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have failed to submit their recommendations before the deadline.

In order to protect the Western Ghats from unplanned industrialisation, the government had appointed two expert panels to make recommendations on ways to protect the rich biodiversity in the 1500-km stretch from exploitation and degradation. The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, headed by environmentalist Madhav Gadgil, had stated that no fresh industrial activity should be allowed anywhere along the stretch. The second expert committee, headed by K Kasturirangan, had suggested that 37 per cent of the region be demarcated as ecologically sensitive.

Following these reports, 4,156 villages across the six states were identified as ecologically sensitive and inappropriate for industrialisation and development. The move sparked fear among local populations that saw the demarcation as a threat to their livelihoods, agriculture and development activity.

The government sought to assuage their fears in March last year when it issued a notification directing all six state governments to verify the proposed demarcated areas and submit specific recommendations and objections. Since only four states have completed the process so far, an extension of 60 days has been given to Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu to submit their reports after which a final notification shall be issued.

The fresh notification has not made any changes to the proposed eco-sensitive areas as per the 2014 notice which recommends 20,668 sq km in Karnataka, 17,340 sq km in Maharashtra, 6,914 sq km in Tamil Nadu, 1,461 sq km in Goa and 449 sq km in Gujarat to be delineated as ESZs. There is, however, no indication about Kerala which had protested the proposal to declare 9,993 sq km as eco-sensitive area.

Environment minister Prakash Javadekar underlined that the demarcation would not adversely affect lives and livelihoods of the approximately 50 million people residing in the Western Ghats. ''The MoEF&CC (environment ministry) clarifies that the lives of about 50 million people living in the Western Ghats region will not be affected. Their agriculture and plantation will not be adversely impacted. Their normal businesses and their other activities will also not get adversely affected,'' he said last week.