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Background: Circular migration is the dominant pattern of movement in India and is a livelihood strategy used by many food insecure rural households. Repeated shifts in food environments have important implications on household food security and dietary patterns but have not been studied. Objective: To explore differences in the food environment, food security, and food availability between home and destination spaces. Methods: Mixed-methods research was conducted among circular migrant families working and residing on brick kilns in the state of Bihar. Utilizing stratified cluster sampling, 2 rounds of cross-sectional data were collected from 2564 families. Additionally, 25 in-depth interviews were conducted with circular migrant parents, kiln owners, and labor contractors. The Food Insecurity Experience Scale was validated for use in our study population. Bivariate analyses were conducted to estimate the association of food insecurity with sociodemographic variables. Qualitative data were analyzed using descriptive thematic methods. Results: Seventy percent of respondents utilized at least one nonmarket source of food at the origin; at the destination, sources of food were limited to the private market. Despite higher food prices at the destination, perceived food affordability was higher during periods of migration, resulting in improved food security. Tubers, rice, and wheat were typically available in the household daily, whereas fruits, eggs, and dairy were typically unavailable during the week. Conclusions: Circular migration can enable short-term food security by improving food affordability. Policy frameworks must address the root causes of chronic food insecurity, especially among rural-to-rural circular migrant families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gymnema sylvestre (Retz.) R.Br. ex Sm. is a perennial climbing shrub found over the tops of woody trees in tropical forest of India. It is a miracle plant having great anti-diabetic potential. The phytoconstituents of Gymnema sylvestre were isolated and their chemistry and structures were studied and elucidated. An inspection of literature revealed some extraordinary pharmacological activities of this plant. The present review is an effort to emphasize the various traditional use as well as, phytochemistry, pharmacological uses therapeutic properties on G. sylvestre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: India holds the world's largest burden of chronic and acute child undernutrition. Poverty and systemic inequities are basic causes of undernutrition that also drive households to engage in circular migration for livelihood. Short-term, temporary movement of the whole family, including young children, is common; yet, the nutritional implications of recurrent movements beginning in early life has not been studied. We sought to estimate the association of repeat and early life migration with stunting and wasting outcomes among circular migrant children under three., Methods: Using a stratified cluster design, we conducted two waves of primary data collection among 2564 randomly selected circular migrant children under three years of age temporarily residing across 1156 brick kilns in Bihar, India. We conducted multilevel modeling to estimate the association of the number of migration episodes and age at first migration with stunting (<-2 standard deviations (SD) height-for-age z scores (HAZ)) and wasting (<-2 SD weight-for-height z-scores (WHZ)) and examined the determinants of nutrition status among migrant children, including diet, illness, food security and the health environment., Results: The overall prevalence of stunting was 51.6%. Among children who were either born during migration or first migrated before six months of age, those who experienced multiple episodes of migration were more likely to be stunted compared to those who migrated once (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.10; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.30-3.41). Children were over three times as likely to be wasted in the summer compared to the winter (aOR = 3.28; 95% CI = 2.68-4.01); in the summer, the overall prevalence of wasting was 38.8%. Public health access indicators such as interaction with frontline health workers at the destination was low (5.3%), whereas feeding indicators such as exclusive breastfeeding among 0-5 months was high (81.1%)., Conclusions: Policy efforts should ensure continuity of social protection and welfare entitlements between home and destinations for circular migrant families, with an explicit focus on rural-to-rural movement., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors completed the ICMJE Unified Competing Interest Form (available upon request from the corresponding author), and declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 by the Journal of Global Health. All rights reserved.)