Page 7 - Scientifica Communica 15.08.2021

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SScciiennttifficca CCommmuunniiccaa 07
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August 15, 2021 Kolkata
Perspective! HerbalTea or Tisane:TheTrueHealer
Barun Kumar Chatterjee:There scales to 35 micron! The depth of the Anindita Ray (Chakravarti) & free and that is why they are some-
are few of us who have gone to every Mariana Trench (6.825km) scales to 27 KousaniChakraborty:“Teaisthe timesconsideredbettermedicinalbev-
street, by lane and house in our city, let microns (10.929 km depth of Chal- elixir of life”- this is a common quote eragesthanthetraditionalteaorcoffee.
alone of our state or our country. We lenger Deep scales to 43 micron). Our thatisoftenusedandhasprofoundsci- Therearedifferenttypesofherbsand
simply did not have time to compre- entire biosphere (including the crust) is entificbasis.Traditionalteaisobtained spices from which herbal teas are pro-
hend how big our neighborhood, our a lot thinner than the thickness of the from the species ‘Camellia sinensis’ duced. Some common tisanes exam-
country or our world is. A child would egg-shell, whose surface features usually.Amodificationtothisisherbal ples are - Chamomile tea (Matricaria
stretch out his (or her) tiny hands and would resemble the mountainous ter- teaor‘tisane’.Herbalteasarenotmade chamomile), Peppermint herb tea
exclaim that it’s huge. Sure we feel it is rain of earth. In the same scale the upfromasinglekindofteaplantbutis (Mentha piperita L.) , Ginger tea
huge and robust, and believe that man height of an adult human being comes actually a combination of several in- (ZingiherofficinateRoscoe),Hibiscus
has been to almost all places on this out to be almost the same as that of a gredients, and are most commonly tea(Hibiscusrosasinesis),Rooibostea
planet. To understand how insignificant Corona virus. known as ‘tisanes.’Different types of (Aspalathus linearis) etc. The various
the man is on earth, one can take the In this scaled view, the sun medicinal herbs and spices are used to bioactivecompoundsthatareofsignif-
egg analogy. The average diameter of would still be as big as a two prepareherbalteasandthesehaveben- icance for human health mainly are
the earth is 12724 km (all data from storey building (5.5 m tall) and eficialeffectonhealthduetoawideva- polyphenolslikecarotenoids,phenolic
web) and if it is scaled down to 5 cm, would be at a distance of 586 m riety of bioactive compounds present acids,flavonoids,coumarins,alkaloids,
which is roughly the average diameter from the earth. The moon would in them and the roles that they play. saponins,terpenoidsetc..Thesebioac-
of a chicken egg (longer diameter 6.2 be 1.4 cm in diameter, like a mar- Theseareeffectiveagainstanumberof tivecompoundsareanti-inflammatory,
cm, shorter diameter 4.3 cm), it gives ble, and orbiting at 1.5 m from the lifestyle diseases like obesity, cancer, anti-diabetic, hepato-protective, anti-
an interesting perspective of things earth, while Neptune would be diabetes and also helps in modulation carcinogenicandhasseveralothersuch
though their shapes are different (earth like a soccer ball at 1.8 km from ofGastroIntestinaltractfunctions,pro- effects. Tisanes thus can play essential
is geoid, an oblate spheroid, and egg is the earth. Jupiter would be 0.5 m tecting the cells of the body from free rolesinmaintaininghumanhealthand
oval, which is prolate spheroid). in diameter, our galaxy would still radicaldamage,etc. maybeconsideredas ‘truehealer’.
In this Lilliput world, the thickness of be 4 billion km big and the entire Tisanesaremadeupfrommixtures
the crust (roughly 70 km) of the earth universe would be 2 million of dried leaves, seeds, grasses, nuts, *Assistant Professor &HOD, Dept.of
scales down to 0.03 cm. The atmos- billion km in diameter. barks,fruits,flowers,orotherelements Food &Nutrition,MaharaniKasiswari
phere (roughly 60 km thick) scales *Emeritus Scientist, Department of of different types of beneficial herbs College,CU
down to a thickness of 0.02 cm. The Physics, Bose Institute, Kolkata thatgivethetasteandprovidetheben- *ViharilalCollegeof HomeScience,
height of Mount Everest (8.849 km) barun_k_chatterjee@yahoo.com efitsofherbalteas.Tisanesarecaffeine Universityof Calcutta
Yoga -The Mystical Lifestyle ISNA.... and culture, making it a unique
and truly multidisciplinary science

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Pratiti Ghosh:Yoga is an ancient In- through meditation, pranayama and 1 1 >> in Calcutta. All these helped journal. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,
dian technique to keep oneself agile till ‘satwik’ food style which are integral in the enlightenment of the the first Prime Minister and the ar-
old age with an optional spiritual as- components of the wholesome yoga people of the country. chitect of modern India in his mes-
Some educated Indians, how-
pect. It induces changes at the cellular package. These not only generate spir- ever, challenged the English sage stated: “Science and Culture
and molecular level in every tissue of itual integrity but also keep lifestyle dis- claims of superiority of science are the essence of life today, in
the body. It delays/stops onset of a dis- eases such as psychological issues, and felt the need for an association war and peace, and any periodical
ease unless it is genetic or accident obesity, cardiovascular diseases, dia- where scientists and other edu- which serves the cause of science
driven or caused by a serious infection. betes mellitus, thyroidism, some can- cated Indians could interact and and culture performs a service to
The ability of such a yogic macromol- cers, smoking, and alcohol/drug abuse exchange ideas in order to pro- India and humanity.” Presently, the
Journal is listed in Thomson Reuters
ecular system to combat any adversity, at bay. Degenerative diseases like mote science and instill a scientific Master List, UGC-Care List Group-A
far supersedes that of a non-practitioner. Alzheimer’s, dementia, hepatic cirrho- temper among the masses to reap and also indexed in UK-based CAB
Yogic practice stimulates the neuroen- sis, osteoporosis, polycystic ovarian the benefits of science. In order to Abstracts.
docrine system, enhances cognitive give these into a shape the Indian The ISNA is also organizing a 12-
functions, significantly increases beta- Science News Association (ISNA) week Training Programme on Science
brainwave activity which enhances was established in 1935 by Communication and Media Practice
Acharya P. C. Ray, with him as the
focus and clarity through cerebrum, founder president, Prof. Meghnad course since 1980. A few years ago, Vi-
slows down the reticular brain and pari- Saha and Dr. B.B. Ray, as the gyan Prasar of the Department of
etal lobe enabling calmness and lower- founder secretaries, and Prof. N.R. Science and Technology, Govern-
ing anxiety, relaxes the mind through Sen as the treasurer along with ment of India started, collaborat-
limbic system thus imparting energy; some other distinguished thinkers ing with ISNA. The course is very
helps maintain cardiovascular health and personalities like Sir U.N. popular and a number of partici-
through reduction in sympatho-adrenal Bramachari, Dr. Shyama Prasad pants has subsequently found jobs
in various media.
activity, changing baroreflex and renin- Mookerjee, etc. with the prime ob-
angiotensin sensitivity; helps in stretch- jective of “Dissemination of sci-
ing, flexing and toning the muscles, entific knowledge amongst the
improves range of movement of joints, syndrome, colitis, arthritis, and dental public.” ISNA introduced the jour-
improves orthostatic tolerance, gait caries and similar other organ dysfunc- nal; Science and Culture in 1935.
posture and body alignment; induces tion may be more effectively dealt with Interestingly, the first issue of Sci-
ence and Culture was published in
higher tolerance for pain and tempera- in a practitioner if at all it has struck June 1935 with M.N. Saha and B.B.
ture; improves digestion, circulation him/her. Ray as the editors, while the ISNA was
and immunity. It accelerates the reboot Nevertheless, these manifold bene- founded on July 9, 1935. Science and
function of the body physiology, creat- fits do not encourage its practice in con- Culture is not just a journal of natural
ing ideal homeostasis by organismic coction with gymnastics or exercise in science, but also a journal of cultural
holistic approach akin to ayurveda and the same module or its overdoing in science. Its holistic founders believed *Editor-in-Chief,
homeopathy. especially the childhood. that one discipline could not be com- Science and Culture,
There is often a mental hindrance to *Professor & Head, Department of pletely divorced from the other, prefer- Indian Science News Association
mundane exercises for fitness but is Physiology, West Bengal State University ring to focus on research and chiefeditorscienceandculture@gmail.
com /smandalbot@gmail.com
overcome with elevation of ‘prana’ pratitig@wbsu.ac.in development of science, society