Here I am not talking about a rudraksha bead, but inside a bead there are its seeds, let us look at that seed under a microscope.
I began this experiment with cracking few Nepal beads of rudraksha.
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Let us now isolate one seed out of it.
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How does a seed look like at the cellular level inside a microscope? Here we go!
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When I saw a seed of rudraksha at a cellular level under a microscope- the very first thing that came into my mind is “Moon”!
So, as per Botany – what is this seed made up of??
We found two things inside this rudraksha seed. In the above microscopic view, the black colored dots are Protein Bodies and white or transparent area are Oil Bodies.
Protein bodies and oil bodies are specialized storage organelles found in the seeds of many plants. They play crucial roles in storing nutrients that are essential for seed germination and early seedling growth.
Protein Bodies
- Function: Store proteins, mainly for use during germination.
- Location: Found in the endosperm or cotyledons of seeds.
- Composition: Mostly storage proteins such as globulins, albumins, prolamins, and glutelins.
- Structure: Membrane-bound organelles derived from the endoplasmic reticulum.
Oil Bodies (Oleosomes)
- Function: Store triacylglycerols (TAGs) – a form of energy-dense fat.
- Location: Predominantly in oil-rich seeds (e.g., sunflower, rapeseed, sesame).
- Composition: A core of TAGs surrounded by a phospholipid monolayer and coated with proteins called oleosins.
- Structure: Unique among organelles for having a monolayer membrane (instead of bilayer) due to the hydrophobic nature of the lipids.
- Formation: Arise from the endoplasmic reticulum, where lipids accumulate and bud off into the cytoplasm.
