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J C Sikdar
According to modern Biology, "protoplasm is the actual living material of all plants and animals This is not a single substance but varies considerably from organism to organism, among the various parts of a single animal or plant, and from one time to another with a single organ or part of an animal or plant, There are many kinds of protoplasm, but they share certain fundamental physical and chemical characteristics" 52
6
"The protoplasm of the human body and of all plants and animals exists in discrete portions known as cells There are the microscopic units of structure of the body, each of them is an independent, functional unit, and the processes of the body are the sum of the co-ordinated functions of its cells. These cellular units vary considerably in size, shape and function. Some of the smallest animals have bodies made of a single cell, others such as a man or an oak tree are made of countless billions of cells fitted together,"
The major types of organic substances found in protoplasm are carbohydrates, protein, ipids, nucleic acids and steriods 54 "Some of these are required for the structural integrity of the cell, others to supply energy for its functioning and still others are of prime importance in regulating metabolism within the cell's
"Carbohydrates and fats (lipids) have only a small role in the structure of protoplasia but are important as sources of fuel, carbohydrates are readily available fuel, fats are more permanently stored supplies of energy. Nucleie acids have a primary role in storing and transmitting information Proteins are structural and functional constituents of protoplasm, but may serve as fuel after deamination The body can convert each of these substances into xbers to some extent Protoplasm is a colloidal system, with protein moleles and water forming the two phases, and many of the properties of protoplasm - muscle contraction, ameboid motion, and so on - depend on the rapid change from sol (liquid condition) to gel (solid or semi-solid) state and back."**
References
I Bhagavatt Sutra, 20 2, 665,
2 Bhagavalt Sūtra 33 1 844, Uttaradhayana Sutra, 36 155.
Tattyartha Sutra II 24.
3 Bhagavatt Sutra, 22, 1 692
4. Ibad. 23 4 693,
5 Tattvartha Satra II 24
6 Bhagavati Sutra, 2, 70, 118,
7. Biology, (Villee) p 16,
