146
On the Detection of Adulteration of Ghee
the decantation method of making ghee be followed.
Besides these small differences, the
method of making ghee causes little variation in the analytical constants of the product
[Doctor et al., 1940] probably because the errors of the latter determinations are in themselves
appreciable.
Season. Under this category are inevitably included all the changes that are associated with
a change of season—change of climate, of type of food, of availability of water, of humidity, etc.—
which may however usefully be considered under one head. Thus Das Gupta [1939] found that
if the summer and winter rations of cows were interchanged, all the changes associated with ' season '
were reflected in the milk fat to the same degree. A marked inverse I.V.-R.M. relationship was
most noticeable. Plymen and Aiyer [1921] found that the R.M., P.V., S.V. and R.I. were allowed
in the hot and dry months while the I.V. was high. With buffaloes, the changes were much less
marked, the I.V. and R.I. in particular tending to remain constant even when the ner values
changed, and even when they fell to a very low figure. Das Gupta [1939] also found a softer ghee
in winter the effect being less marked with the buffalo.
Stage of lactation. An advance of lactation is generally accompanied by a fall in R.M. Elsdon
[1926] quotes a fall from 30.9 in the first month to 22.0 in the tenth and a rise in m.pt. and I.V.
[Kuhlman and Gallup, 1939]. Since one might expect these fluctuations to be influenced by several
factors, it would be of practical interest to study the trend of such variations with several individual
Indian cows and buffaloes under village conditions, particularly the latter.
Disease. It is interesting to note that mastitis, whether artificially induced [Miller, Lease and
Anderson, 1940] or naturally occurring [Kon and Thompson, 1943] resulted in a milk fat of lowered
R.M., I.V. and R.I. and raised S.V., and, curiously, with an almost doubled content of carotene and
vitamin-A.
Stage of nourishment. The important work of Smith and Dastur [1938] in which fasting cows
were shown to produce butterfat of very low R.M. (as low as 14 after two days) and high I.V. may
be considered as an extension of the derfeeding trials of Eckles and Palmer [1911] who obtained
identical results. The results were influenced by the degree of undernourishment, the physical state
and flesh of the cow, etc. The great scarcity of cattle fodder in India, due to the enormous demands
of an ever-increasing human population for food and for space, would no doubt make this a prime
cause for the generally low R.M. values of Indian milk fats, though there is reason to believe that
inherent characteristics of these animals may also come into play. Parallel starvation and under-
feeding experiments on Indian buffaloes would perhaps indicate by comparison the peculiarities
of metabolism of this species—results which would be of much interest.
Feed. By far the most important cause of variation in the constants of ghee is the variety of feed-
ing stuffs used in the country, and some particularly striking effects, where they are a real cause
and of more than merely academic interest, will be considered here. Much controversy has arisen over
the effects of ingested coconut cake, which merchants claim has the effect of partially increasing
the Polenske value. Scientific evidence is conflicting [cf. Hilditch, 1940 ; Doctor et al., 1940 ; Channon,
Drummond and Golding, 1924, etc.]; an intelligent summary appears to be that of Paraschtschuk
[1926] who states that marked effects are obtained only when the animal is subnormal in condition—
a possibility only too likely in India and that must be allowed for in such areas as use this feed. The
use of fish meal, currently supported all over the country, would from the present point of view at
any rate lead to much confusion, as the highly unsaturated oils present therein greatly lower the
R.M. and raise the I.V. much as starvation does [Hilditch, 1940]. Another very important problem
is that of intensive cottonseed feeding such as is practised in Gujerat, Baroda, Berar, and parts of
the United Provinces and the Punjab. This has been shown by Patel, Patel and Dave [1944] and
the authors [1945,1] to result in ghees of low R.M.,P.V. and S.V., and high I.V. and R.I., intrinsi-
cally due to a fall in the lower acids and a rise in stearic and oleic acids [Achaya and Banerjee, 1945,1].
In a general way it may be said that oil cake or seed feeding tends somewhat empirically to the passage
of some component or other of the oil, modified or as such, into the milk fat. It is also obvious that
the only basis of genuine, helpful legislation would be to grade ghee on a zonal basis. rather than to
force an All-India legislation on a country of such different climates, feeding habits and fodder availa-
bilities as India.