Edible Oil In India Research Articles

Policy interventions, market, and trade considerations with special reference to rapeseed and mustard

Rapeseed and mustard oil is one of the most consumed edible oils in India due to pungency and colour. India needs nearly 15-20 million tonnes of rapeseed and mustard seed to meet its growing demand as against current production of 9-10 million tonnes of seeds. As per WHO standards, mustard oil with low saturated fatty acid content and high mono unsaturated fatty acid content is a healthy oil and therefore needs special importance in domestic edible oil basket. Currently (2022-23), Government of India (GOI) is implementing National Food Security Mission (NFSM) - (Oilseeds & Oil palm) for increasing oilseeds production and area expansion under oil palm. The NFSM (OS&OP) will be dropped and two new Scheme National Mission on Edible oils (NMEO)-Oilseeds and NMEO-Oil Palm will be implemented with the aim to enhance the edible oilseeds production and oils availabilityin the countrybyharnessing oilseeds and palmoil productivityand to reduce import burden on edible oils. Besides, NMEO-OS the private participation in technology demonstration, input supply, procurement of produce, value addition, infrastructure development and honey production are very much essential to increase edible oils production.

Pushing for Self-sufficiency in Edible Oils in India in the Aftermath of Recent Global Events.

India is largely import dependent in meeting its domestic demand of edible oils. This study aims to discuss the consequences of recent global events such as COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war on edible oil imports. Due to prevailing supply chain disruptions and local shortages in significant supplier countries, international prices became highly volatile, and import volumes were hit severely. This led to an almost doubling of the cost of imports from US $ billion 9.52 in 2019-20 to US $18.70 billion in 2021-22, putting an enormous burden on the Indian exchequer. Overall, an increase in the price of all edible oils has been recorded since the later parts of 2021, exerting inflationary pressure on the food price index. As edible oils are part of staple diets, the import dependency of such a large magnitude makes India extremely vulnerable to external shocks. This calls for immediate attention to the issue of self-sufficiency (atma nirbharata) in edible oils production by emphasizing long-term measures.

Production and Consumption of Edible Oils in India

Production and Consumption of Edible Oils in India

Consequences of Human Consumption of Refined Edible Oil, Which is Debatable and Bad for Health. Government Obligation to Offer Appropriate Education Services: Research Analysis

The most common cause of death worldwide is Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), whose prevalence is sharply increasing, particularly in developing nations like India. Food-related elements, especially edible oils, are crucial in the development of CHD’s causes, management, and preventative strategies. Cooking oils are a vital component of Indian diets, yet there are many widely marketed edible oils that make a variety of health claims. Because Indian cooking methods are different from those used in the West, choosing the correct edible oil is crucial, especially in this setting. Numerous clinical trials and observational/ metabolic research conducted on numerous populations across the board show a consistent link between the type and amount of fat ingested and the risk of CHD. An important link in the causal chain linking diet to CVD is the impact of dietary fats on plasma lipids. Oil seeds are used to produce vegetable oils, which are then used in the food industry for a variety of uses. In India, a vast range of edible cooking oils are used, and they are a crucial component of Indian cuisine. To guarantee that edible oils are readily available, healthy, and of high quality, the FSSAI has established its standards in the FSSR. A pilot survey was previously carried out in 2019 to evaluate the caliber of edible oils in Delhi NCR. Consumer Voice (a Non-Profit Organization) and FSSAI jointly performed one survey. Four areas of the Delhi NCR-Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, and Noida-as well as eleven districts of Delhi, were used to collect samples of mustard oil, extra virgin olive oil, virgin coconut oil, and coconut oil. A total of 739 samples of these edible oils were evaluated for various chemical parameters, and both branded and unbranded types of oils failed to meet FSSR compliance standards. Therefore, it was decided to conduct a nationwide survey of edible oils in India in 2020 to evaluate their safety and quality. In addition to these poll results, people actively choose to use refined edible oil in their daily lives under unavoidable conditions. The general populace consumes refined edible oil, which makes them more susceptible to a variety of diseases. Refined edible oil might include erucic acid, be bad for your heart, increase your chance of lung cancer, make you drop sick, irritate your skin, damage it, make you break out externally, and make you allergic. This page primarily discusses the numerous illnesses and adverse effects of eating refined edible oils, as well as the safety indicators, FSSI norms, rules and regulations with necessary responsibilities, and other services that provide awareness of the negative consequences of using refined oils, etc. An overview of several methods for refining edible oils and their impact on the oil constituents follows a summary of the general makeup of certain regularly used vegetable oils in the first portion of this review. Finally, an effort is made to comprehend the naturally extracted oil gaps in the conventionally accepted procedures and potential study directions to fill up the stated gaps, as well as the significance of conventionally used or consumed edible oil not having any negative side effects on humans. This essay highlights the significance of natural oil.

Terminal heat stress in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.): Variation in dry matter accumulation, stem reserve mobilization, carbohydrates translocation and their correlation with seed yield

The rapeseed mustard is one of the most important sources of edible oil in India and contributes 28.6% in total oilseed production. The mustard growing areas in India are experiencing the vast diversity in the agro climatic conditions. Here, we studied forty-nine advanced breeding lines of Brassica juncea L. for two consecutive years (2016-18) to examine the variations in the remobilization of assimilates from flowering to maturity stage and their contribution to seed filling under stressed environment. Further, we investigated the impact of high temperature on dry matter accumulation and partitioning from source to sink in Brassica germplasm. The synchronization between the seed filling stage and the onset of heat spell is critical event that determines the overall yield. Imbalances caused due to miss-matching of above events created hindrance in source-sink translocation, thus resulted in yield losses. Amount of remobilized dry matter, remobilization efficiency and remobilization percentage increased significantly, while the dry matter accumulation, total carbohydrates content and seed yield per plant declined in the late sown genotypes during both crop seasons. Reduced accumulation of photo assimilates under stress and higher sink demand resulted in more number of shriveled seeds leading to yield depression. The higher remobilization efficiency in late sown genotypes was strongly associated with dry matter at flowering that consequently tended to affect the final seed weight. This study will provide insights for better understanding of source-sink relationships in Indian mustard under heat stress and the differential remobilization efficiencies in the advanced breeding lines.

Trends in consumption of vegetable edible oils in India: A temporal analysis

Though India is one of the largest producers of oilseeds in the world, it is the biggest vegetable oil importer tomeet the supply demand imbalance thus causing a huge loss to the exchequer of the nation. The present per capita consumption is 18.2 kg/annum. The growth analysis suggested that during the TMO period, highest rate of growth of area, production was evidenced. Population growth rate, domestic oil availability and out of home consumption, are observed to be the main factors for higher imports of edible oils. Appropriate policy on import duty of edible oils and increase in MSP for oilseeds and its implementation may encourage domestic production of edible oils thereby reducing the import bill.

Oilseeds sector in India: A trade policy perspective

The government had been intervening in the oilseed sector from time to time in the form of production, price and trade related policies to improve edible oils availability in India. In this paper, we analyse the impact of trade policy measures adopted by the government to improve domestic oilseeds production. A simultaneous equation simulation model was applied to find out the impact of recent import duty hike on palm oil on production and consumption of edible oils in India. The tariff hike will benefit the oilseeds growers through increase in the price of edible oils. The net impact in the economy will be negative due to the higher reduction in consumer surplus that may outweigh the increase in producer surplus and government revenue. The duty hike may yield short term benefit but improvement in yield, proper procurement and strengthening of edible oils processing industries are the keys for long term strategy for revival of the sector.

The Effect of Repeatedly Cooking Oils on Health and Wealth of a Country: A Short Communication

Deep frying is the universal, prevalent and one of the most important processes involve in the food processing industry even in the home kitchen. Psychologically thinking of the reason behind is only the economic reason as the oils are expensive and after the first use, there is a lot of oil remaining on the pot, that makes people use it again and again without any concern of the health effect of this oil. Although for a country like India where 60% of the edible oil imported from the other source of the country which bears a lot of economic expenses. Every year elevation in the price of edible oil which causes people to use the same oil in repeated frying for food. In this review, the paper focuses on the jeopardize effect on health and the statistical and economic analysis on the edible oil in India.

Impact of intercropping of canola oilseed rape (Brassica napus) and Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) with Indian rape (Brassica rapa var. toria) on productivity, economics and competitive indices

In the absence of additional land available for cultivation of oilseeds, the widening gap between demand and availability of edible oils in India vis-à-vis increasing dependence on import of vegetable oils can be bridged through improvement in productivity per unit area and time. The present investigation was conducted during rabi 2014-15 to study the compatibility, production potential and optimum row proportion of component crops and economics of intercropping systems of oilseed rape (Brassica napus), Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) and Indian rape (Brassica rapa var. toria). The experiment comprising 14 treatments was conducted in randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments comprised intercropping ofIndian rape with oilseed rape (canola and non canola) and Ethiopian mustard in different row proportions and row spacings and sole crops. Crops were sown simultaneously inmid September and harvested at different times. Canola/non canola oilseed rape based ICS resulted in higher oilseed rape equivalent seed yields (1806-1958 kg/ha for canola and 2272 kg/ha for non canola), gross income (` 64645-68194/ha for canola and ` 79212/ha for non canola) and net returns (` 37527-38126/ha for canola and ` 49144/ha for non canola) than sole crops (1630 kg, ` 60135 and ` 34625 per ha, respectively for canola and 1849 kg, ` 70188 and ` 44678 per ha, respectively for non canola). Yields, gross and net returns, B:C ratio, monetaryadvantage index, land equivalent ratio and area time equivalent ratio ofintercropping of non canola oilseed rape (2272 kg/ha, ` 79212/ha, ` 49144/ha, 1.63, ` 13990/ha, 1.40 and 1.10, respectively) with Indian rape were higher than that from canola oilseed rape based ICS (1806-1958 kg/ha, ` 64645-68194/ha, ` 37527-38126, 1.26-1.38, ` 5379-8709/ha, 1.17-1.29 and 0.97-1.02, respectively). On the other hand, sole crop of Ethiopian mustard (30 cm row spacing) produced higher equivalent seed yield (2245 kg/ha) and resulted in higher gross income (` 79376/ha), net returns (` 52660/ha) and B:C (1.97) than its intercropping with Indian rape (2176-2216kg/ha, ` 77339-77760/ha, ` 50220-50642/ha and 1.85-1.87, respectively). Non-canola oilseed rape was more compatible with Indian rape than canola oilseed rape and Ethiopian mustard.

Field evaluation of different rapeseed mustard genotypes under semi arid conditions of Punjab

Brassica crops are the important source of edible oil in India, but traditional low yielding genotypes should be replaced with the improved genotypes to meet edible oil requirement of the country domestically. A field study was conducted during Rabi 2013-14 and 2014-15 to test the yield response of new genotypes of rapeseed mustards at different locations in Sri Muktsar Sahib district of Punjab. New raya genotype, RLC 3 gave higher average yield (15.21 q/ha) as compared to local check RLC 1 (14.8 q/ha). African sarson genotype PC 10 also produced higher average grain yield (16.48 q/ha) as compared to local check (15.32 q/ha). The incidence of white rust disease was not observed in new genotypes, whereas Alternaria blight incidence was lower as compared to local checks. New genotypes also gave higher per hectare net return as compared to respective local checks. Overall net return from African sarson was better as compared to raya.

Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Mustard (Brassica juncea L.) Genotypes using Biochemical and Molecular Markers

Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) is an important source of edible oil in India. Quality parameters such as moisture, oil, protein, erucic acid and sinigrin were analysed in sixty genotypes of mustard (Brassica juncea L.) and from which 15 genotypes with desired proximate parameters were selected and analysed further for anti nutritional factors, genetic diversity and isozymes. Erucic acid and Glucosinolate (Sinigrin) was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), respectively. SKM 9033 showed the highest (30.88%) oil where as RAYAD-9602 had the lowest (20.80%) oil. The protein content and true protein in mustard cultivars ranged from 27.90–33.69% and 10.66–20.01%, respectively. HNT-33 genotype had the highest concentration of erucic acid where as NRCM120 showed the lowest. Bio-Q-44-279 had the highest sinigrin concentration (46.80 μmole/g) while SKM-9033 had the lowest sinigrin concentration (2.49 μmole/g). Isozyme pattern of peroxidase and esterase showed significant correlation amongst the clusters. Electrophoresis of seed protein by SDS-PAGE showed a total of 28 bands with varied intensity in mustard genotypes. Both Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) and Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers were found to be efficient to assess genetic diversity within species of mustard with average polymorphism of 82.91% and 96.02%, respectively. NRCM-120 and SKM-9033 had low content of erucic acid and sinigrin respectively and hence were found to be useful for the development of double zero variety by breeding program. The SW-1-9017 and Bio-341-92 genotypes showed high genetic diversity compared to other genotypes and found to be useful for breeding purpose.

Kurdola: Product Portfolio Decision

MOMCO was a leading manufacturer and marketer of branded edible oils in India. In its product portfolio, Kurdola was PUFA (poly unsaturated fatty acid) based premium edible oil. It was established in the market as the best product for keeping the heart healthy, based on the findings of medical research. MOMCO’s had in its product portfolio “Healthy tasty blend”, a balanced blend of PUFA and MUFA (mono unsaturated fatty acid), which was positioned as economical product with considerably lower margins for MOMCO. New medical research now established that a blend of PUFA and MUFA was better for heart than a pure PUFA product. Thus “Healthy tasty blend” was better than Kurdola for heart. This completely turned the core value proposition of Kurdola and its extensions. This could lead to serious brand dissonance for the loyal consumer base of Kurdola. The management had to take immediate action in the market as the current positioning and margin structures could lead to serious damage to the brand, cannibalization by low margin products which could drastically reduce the profitability of the company and jeopardize all other businesses.

Effect of Banana Peel Oleoresin on Oxidative Stability of Sunflower and Soybean Oil

This study reports the effect of banana peel oleoresin (BPO) on oxidative stability of sunflower and soybean oil at elevated temperature. Sunflower and soybean oil are used as edible oil in India and are prone to oxidation. The oxidative stability of both the oils were studied by Rancimat at 110C and schaal oven test at 60C. The oxidation properties of BPO in sunflower and soybean oil were compared with other synthetic antioxidants such as tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), butylated hydroxyl anisole (BHA). It has been observed that BPO showed thermal stability equivalent to that of BHA, but lower than that of TBHQ. Practical Applications The unsaturated fatty acids, which are prone to oxidation can be stabilized with the help of natural antioxidants. The antioxidant activity of these natural extracts is due to the presence of bioactive compounds in the extracts. The study reveals that the natural extract shows the antioxidant activity equivalent to that of synthetic antioxidants like butylated hydroxyanisole

Hypersensitivity to pollen of four different species of Brassica: a clinico-immunologic evaluation in patients of respiratory allergy in India.

BackgroundRapeseed-mustard is the second most important source of edible oil in India. Several species of Brassica are grown in different parts of country for its oilseeds.ObjectiveThe objective was to investigate allergenicity to antigenic extracts of pollen of 4 species of Brassica.MethodsBrassica campestris, Brassica juncea, Brassica nigra, and Brassica napus were selected for the detailed investigation. Pollen samples from each of the four species were collected from the polliniferous materials. The antigenic and allergenic profiles of these extracts were evaluated by means of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Skin prick test, enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay and Western blot on atopic individuals.ResultsOut of the 159 atopic subjects tested, 21.38% were positive to at least one or other species of Brassica pollen, with highest skin positivity (13.20%) to B. campestris extract. Raised IgE with significant linear correlation with intensity of skin reactions was obtained. Protein fractions of 20, 25, 32, 37, 56, and 90 kDa were recognized by B. campestris and B. juncea whereas 56, 76, 87, and 90 kDa were recognized by B. nigra and B. napus as major IgE binding protein fractions. The patients also showed positivity to other inhalant pollen allergens tested.ConclusionIgE mediated hypersensitivity varied from 4.40% to 13.20% in Indian atopic subjects to pollen of one or the other species of Brassica. Protein fractions of 47, 56, 76, 87, and 90 kDa were identified as IgE binding by all the four species, however individual heterogeneity exists. Thus a local species may be more pertinent for immunotherapy. The major allergen needs to be further characterized.

In the memory of Professor Felicidad Cua-Lim.

It was truly sad that Professor Felicidad Cua Lim who was the Founding President of the Philippine Society of Allergology and Immunology (1972-1978) and the President of Asia Pacific Association of Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical Immunology, APAAACI (1999-2000) passed away on August 28, 2014 (Fig. 1) [1]. It was a great loss for us. All thoughts and prayers from the Asia Pacific region were with the family, and the Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. I would like to echo the condolences from Professor Ashok Shah, one of the editorial board members of Asia Pacific Allergy on her funeral day. Fig. 1 Professor Felicidad Cua-Lim who was the Founding President of the Philippine Society of Allergology and Immunology (1972-1978) and the President of Asia Pacific Association of Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical Immunology, APAAACI (1999-2000). Today is the day to say good bye to our much respected Professor Felicidad Cua-Lim and to celebrate her achievements. An outstanding personality in the field of allergy, she always greeted everyone with a million dollar smile. She was the one of the first faces of allergy from Asia and we are all proud of her accomplishments. I will cherish fond memories of meeting her at many allergy meetings in many different countries. May God give peace to the departed soul. Ashok Shah This issue of the Asia Pacific Allergy features important reviews and articles on asthma. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder on the airways. The readers of this issue will find the possible role of inflammasome and S100A9 in the pathogenesis of asthma [2]. Innate lymphoid cells are, of course, one of the hot issues at the moment in the field of asthma research. Sherkat et al. [3] suggest innate lymphoid cells and cytokines of the novel subtypes of helper T cells in asthma. Upper airway diseases may affect the course of asthma. In this issue, Kim et al. [4] reported the impact of sinusitis on the long term clinical outcomes of asthma. House dust mites are the most important inhalant allergens in respiratory allergic diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis. Yu et al. [5] reviewed the environmental evaluation on house dust mites and also reviewed the literatures on the possible role of probiotics. Readers of this journal will also find several other interesting articles on Brassica pollen, chronic urticaria, atopic dermatitis, drug and food allergy. Rapeseed-mustard is the second most important source of edible oil in India and several species of Brassica are cultivated in the different regions [6]. In this issue, the readers will also find very unique data on the hypersensitivity to pollen of four different species of Brassica from India [6]. There is another interesting study on serum interleukin (IL) 18 and IL-6 levels in relation with the clinical disease severity in Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria [7]. For those who are interested in atopic dermatitis, I recommend to read a review article by Lee et al. [8] on the role of antiseptic agents in atopic dermatitis. Recently granulysin, a cytotoxic protein produced by CTLs or natural killer (NK) cells, has been reported to be the key mediator for disseminated keratinocyte death in Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis [9]. Won et al. [10] present an interesting case on lamotrigine-induced toxic epidermal necrolysis confirmed by in vitro granulysin and cytokine assays. Omalizumab, an anti-IgE monoclonal antibody, has originally been approved for the use in case of severe asthma [11]. However, it is also recommended in the management of severe urticaria [12]. What about in food allergy? Nilsson et al. [13] present interesting case series on the successful management of severe cow's milk allergy with omalizumab treatment and CD-sens monitoring.

Conventional and Non‐conventional Edible Oils: An Indian Perspective

AbstractThe Indian dietary pattern has undergone major changes over the past 40 years. Many of these changes involve modification in dietary intake of fats and oils. In developing countries like India, vegetable oils are replacing animal fats because of the cost and health concerns. A wide range of vegetable oils are available in the market but the choice of healthy cooking oil has been a controversial subject since ideas keep on changing as new evidence accumulates. One of the factors holding back the increased use of value‐added healthy oils in India is that most potential consumers are genuinely not aware of their health benefits. Edible oil consumption is primarily a community‐driven phenomenon in India. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the current scenario of edible oils in India, their composition, health benefits, food applications, stability issues and future aspects as buying the right oil for health has become of great importance.

Competitiveness and Efficiency in Groundnut Oil Sector of India

Groundnuts are a major source of edible oils in India. One of the central problems of groundnut production and processing sectors are huge inefficiencies due to uncertain production environment owing to rainfed cultivation, less resource base of smallholder farmers and processors, and low adoption rate of improved technology. This policy brief addresses critical issues binding groundnut oil sector inefficiency and international competitiveness. With the widening gap between demand and supply of edible oils in India, policy action is imperative not only to arrest surging imports of edible oils but also to benefit both producers and consumers in terms of broader employment generation and decentralized rural industrialization. Specific policy implications are highlighted in this policy brief, which encompass a) the harnessing of improved varieties with attributes like drought tolerance, high oil content, high productivity for large scale seed multiplication/distribution by both public and private agencies; b) viable village seed banks and seed networks through cycles of rabi (postrainy) season seed multiplication to meet the seed requirements of kharif (rainy season) and vice versa; c) low-cost technologies to increase profitability and reduce risk; d) oilseed clusters to facilitate scale economies and capacity utilization in processing units; and e) capital subsidies to accelerate technological upgrading to shed inefficiency in the processing sector. The expected gains in efficiency in both production and processing of oilseeds are expected to produce measurable producer and consumer benefits, which will justify proposed non-market distorted subsidy for both seeds and technological upgrading in the processing sector.

Competitiveness and technical efficiency: Determinants in the groundnut oil sector of India

India imports about half of its domestic consumption needs of edible oils. Groundnuts are a major source of edible oils in India. One of the central problems of groundnut production and processing is huge inefficiencies due to an uncertain production environment owing to rainfed cultivation, the low resource base of smallholder farmers and processors, and the low adoption rates of improved technology. This paper addresses critical issues that impair the groundnut sector’s international competitiveness and efficiency. The paper uses primary data collected from Indian farmers and processors of groundnuts to measure efficiency, and it suggests policies for reducing yield gaps and increasing efficiency. Specific policies suggested from the study are (a) the harnessing of improved varieties with attributes like drought tolerance, high oil content, high productivity for large-scale seed multiplication and distribution by public and private agencies; (b) viable village seed banks and seed networks through cycles of post-rainy season seed multiplication to meet the seed requirements in the rainy season and vice versa; (c) adoption of low-cost technologies to increase profitability and reduce risk; (d) oilseed clusters to facilitate scale and scope economies in processing units; and (e) capital subsidies to accelerate technological upgrading to shed inefficiency in the processing sector. The expected gains in efficiency in the production and processing of oilseeds are expected to result in producer and consumer gains which would justify the proposed incentives for seeds and for technological upgrading in the processing sector.

Neuroprotective Effect of Sesame Seed Oil in 6-Hydroxydopamine Induced Neurotoxicity in Mice Model: Cellular, Biochemical and Neurochemical Evidence

Natural antioxidants have shown a remarkable reduction in oxidative stress due to excess formation of reactive oxygen species by enhancing antioxidant mechanism in the neurodegenerative disorders. Sesame seed oil (SO) is one of the most important edible oil in India as well as in Asian countries and has potent antioxidant properties thus the present study evaluated the neuroprotective effect of SO by using 6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced Parkinson's disease model in mice. The mice were fed an SO mix diet for 15days and then 6-OHDA was injected into the right striatum of mice brain. Three weeks after 6-OHDA infusion, mice were sacrificed and the striatum was removed. The neuroprotective role of SO on the activities of antioxidant and non-antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and content of glutathione (GSH) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) were studied in the striatum. The activities of all the above-mentioned enzymes decreased significantly in 6-OHDA group (Lesioned) when compared with Sham. The pretreatment of SO on antioxidant mechanism and dopamine level in the brain had shown some significant improvement in Lesion+SO (L+SO) group when compared with Lesioned group. However, NADPH oxidase subunit, Nox2 and inflammatory stimulator Cox2 expression was increased as well as antioxidant MnSOD level was decreased in Lesioned group while SO showed the inhibitory effect on the activation of Nox2 and Cox2 and restored MnSOD expression in L+SO group. Increased tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression in substantia nigra as well as dopamine and its metabolite DOPAC level in L+SO group also support our findings that SO may inhibit activation of NADPH oxidase dependent inflammatory mechanism due to 6-OHDA induced neurotoxicity in mice.

A Study on Consumer Brand Preference on the Consumption of Cooking Oil of Various Income Groups in Chennai

Indian markets from low-involvement to high-involvement product categories have been experiencing sweeping changes in the past decade. Changing lifestyles, fragmented market segments and consumer preferences, and intense competition from the brands of multinational corporations (MNCs) have made branding strategies a prerequisite for marketing success. India has been going through radical changes in the marketing arena in the last decade. Globalization in terms of multinational corporation (MNC) brands entering Indian markets, the emergence of young professionals in urban areas, the opening up of luxury and leisure markets, the impact of mass media and the influence of Westernization are some of the critical aspects which have forced Indian marketers to adopt branding strategies. These strategies have been formulated against the backdrop of an Indian culture which is strongly entrenched in the consumer psyche, and amidst changes in the social environment. Each year, India consumes over 10 million tonnes of edible oils. Edible oils have a high penetration of 90% in India. However, per capita consumption of edible oils is around 11 kg per year. The Indian edible oil market is the world’s fourth-largest after the USA, China and Brazil. A growing population, increasing rate of consumption and increasing per capita income are accelerating the demand for edible oil in India. This paper analyses the trend in edible oil consumption and also attempt has been made by the researcher to assess the consumer behavior on consumption of edible oils from various income groups. In India, most vegetable oil is purchased by household or industrial buyers (food processors, restaurants and hotels) for frying or baking needs and is sold as loose oil or vanaspati (partially hydrogenated vegetable oil). Only a small percentage of edible oils are sold in branded form at the retail level. Therefore Efforts will be made by the researcher to find out what kind of edible oil people consume, since there are varieties of edible oil like Palm oil, soya bean oil, mustard oil, groundnut oil, rice barn, and cotton seed oil and so on. For this purpose the researcher would be undertaking a survey taking using a pre planned structured questionnaire to test the influence factors of the customers to buying a particular brand of oil, to buy particular edible oil, amount of consumption, point of purchase and so on. Cluster sampling technique will be followed as customers of edible oil from high income, middle income and low income will be considered for this study. Based on the responses the researcher will have an idea about the fastest moving and the most preferred brand of edible oil , choice of a particular variety of edible oil , amount of consumption of edible oil and so on , most importantly all these information will be gathered based on the demographic profile of the consumers based on income composition .