Millets are marvellous sources of nutrition. Traditional and rural societies everywhere in the country and agricultural scientists in the top echelons of the Indian government have long known it. But it took free India 70 years to notify millets as “Nutri-Cereals”–in 2018–which was also nationally declared as “The Year of Millets”.

According to a note prepared by the Union Agriculture Ministry,“Millets can help tackle health challenges such as obesity, diabetes and lifestyle problems as they are gluten-free, have a low glycemic index and are high in dietary fibre and antioxidants.”The note further states that “millets are nutritionally superior to wheat and rice owing to their higher levels of protein with a more balanced amino acid profile, crude fibre and minerals, such as iron, zinc, and phosphorous.”

Curative Power

A Mysuru-based scientist, Dr KhaderValli, popularly known as the “Millet Man of India”, explains why millets are superior to rice and wheat. How our body processes food is important to the absorption and value of food:

“Any food that takes a longer time to break down the glucose and fructose to be absorbed by the blood is truly healthy. While rice takes only 45 minutes to be absorbed by the blood, positive grains or millets take six hours”, says Dr Valli.

A post-doctoral fellow of Environment Science at Beaverton, Oregon, Dr. Valli did his PhD on steroids at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. But that was a long time ago. For the last 35 years, since he quit a lucrative job in the U.S., Dr. Valli has dedicated himself to the promotion of millets. He swears by their therapeutic value and prescribes a mix of five millets to his patients. Called the Siridhanya (rich grains) diet plan, it includes Kodo, Barnyard, Foxtail, Brown Top and Little Millets, and is reported to have cured patients suffering from a host of diseases, including anaemia, infertility, diabetes and cancer. Dr. Valli says, Barnyard millet, known as Udalu in Kannada and jhangora in Hindi, is his “personal favourite”.

Popular Dishes

In south India, Barnyard Millet flour is popularly used for making local foods like idli and dosa. In the north, especially in Uttarakhand, it is mixed with milk and sugar/jaggery to make a sweet dish, madirakikheer and with buttermilk known as paleu. Mixed millets khichdi is also popular in many parts of India while millet cookies, puffs, flakes and laddus are fancied items at high-end organic food stores all over the country. Research studies confirm the high nutrition of millets in general and Barnyard Millet in particular.

A 2019 research paper by V. G. Ranganathan and others of the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Madurai, titled “Barnyard Millet for Food and Nutritional Security: Current Status and Future Research”, published in Frontiers in Genetic Nutrigenomics, June 23, 2020, says: “The nutritive value of Barnyard Millet is superior to that of other major and minor millets. It is a rich source of calcium, protein, magnesium, fat, vitamins, and some essential amino acids.”

According to the paper, the average carbohydrate content of Barnyard Millet varies between 51.5 and 62.9/100 grams, which is lower than that of other millets; its fibre, ranging between 8.1%  and 16.3%, is higher than in any other cereal and the protein content, between 11.2% and 12.7%, is reasonably higher than in other millets and cereals. “The high ratio of carbohydrates to crude fibre ensures the slower release of sugar in the blood, aiding in maintaining blood sugar levels.”

Recognising their nutritional value, the agriculture ministry recommended the inclusion of millets in the Public Distribution System (PDS) for improving nutritional support, but the idea has not caught on. Only Karnataka, Odisha and Uttarakhand have introduced millets in PDS, the main problems being the low shelf life of millets and poor storage facilities. For the same reasons, millets have not been included in mid-day meal schemes, among the most important places for the implementation of the government’s plan for millets.

Food as Status Symbol

While the government is still struggling against bottlenecks, private businesses are retailing millets successfully. Not just whole millets and millet flour, but also ready-to-eat items made out of them, are in high demand at upmarket food stores, which many find “unusual”.  “Initially, I was surprised to find foreigners and high-profile Indians asking for items made out of such desithings as ragi and jhangora that I thought were rather crude,” says saleswoman Meenakshi at one such store.“But now I know better,” she adds. Experts understand why she thought poorly of millets.

According to Senior Scientist at the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR)–Indian Agriculture Research Institute, Delhi, Dr. R S Bana, the young population of traditional and tribal societies have an “inferiority complex” about millets, and need to be educated about their nutritional value. They perceive rice and wheat as superior foods, he says, an observation that is endorsed by researchers. However, the scene has changed over the last decade.

Coarse Vs Refined

Lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, sourced to the preference for chemically processed and fast foods over the whole and coarse ones, have made the wealthy review their dietary choices. Refined and polished foodsare being blacklisted by them and crude foods with good roughage are the order of the day.

Dr.Bana agrees that there is a sizeable section of the rich and educated that is lately quite sensitive to the value of millets. It is they who offer the best hope of promoting millets. “Once they adopt these cereals as a staple diet, the approach of the poor people would also change.” As of now, Dr. Bana says, poor people are eating these nutritious foods “by default”.

POSHAN Atlas

A document,“The Current Position of Millets”, prepared by the Union Agriculture Ministry, talks about ways to promote the consumption and production of millets. Interestingly, it refers to a millet recipe book in regional languages published by The Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR).

As if to underline the importance of millets in the Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition (POSHAN), a “POSHAN Atlas” is being prepared under the guidance of the Principal Scientific Advisor; the atlas has information on state-specific recipes that account for cultural food preferences and palates. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has designed and is running the “Eat Right India Initiative”, which, the ministry paper says, could be an avenue for pushing for a wider use of millets.

The flip-flop over millets—from being known as the poor man’s food to being projected as a health food—also makes one wonder about the origin and composition of millets. According to a research paper by P. Ashoka and others, (published in November, 2020 in The International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences), millets originated in and around India, and have been the staple diet and health guardians of traditional societies for centuries. Belonging to the Poaceae/Graminae family, they are small-seeded grasses, yielding two major millets (Sorghum and bajra) and six minor millets (Finger, Foxtail, Little, Proso, Kodo, and Barnyard millets). Recently, a few minor millets have been added to this group, likeFonio, Quinoa and BrownTop millet.

“Each of the millets”, the paper notes, “is three to five times nutritionally superior to the widely promoted rice and wheat in terms of proteins, minerals (calcium and iron), and vitamins and fibre.” Millets, it adds, “are an ideal food for all the people, irrespective of age, and especially beneficial for children, pregnant and lactating women who are prone to anaemia.”

Local to Global

Today, India is the number one producer and consumer of millets in the world with Rajasthan as the top producer of millets in the country followed by Karnataka.The most interesting part of the millet graph is that in March this year, the United Nations declared 2023 as “The International Year of Millets”. The resolution in the U.N. General Assembly was proposed by India, and the Union Agriculture Ministry is already busy planning its campaign.

With so much energy being injected into the campaign, it would be no surprise if millets, described as “the first crops” in a government book, “The Story of Millets”, turn out to be “the future crops”– not just in India but across the globe.(India Science Wire)

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Keywords: Millets, Nutri-cereals, Food,Nutritional Security, Nutrition, Agriculture,Scientists, Agriculture Ministry, Antioxidants, ICAR, AahaarKranti, CSIR-CFTRI, ICMR-NIN

The human biological clock is composed of several molecular mechanisms which are synchronous with the day-night cycle or circadian rhythm. Disruption in the cycle can lead to chronic metabolic disorders.

Among other things, the circadian rhythm keeps a check on the proliferation of cells in the body. However, when cells become cancerous, they break away from the circadian rhythm and escape from the circadian control system to undergo uncontrolled proliferation.

The processes that promote cancerous growth can hijack the metabolic balance to fuel the rapidly proliferating cancer cells. The dysregulated metabolic balance in cancer cells results in the increased generation of a substance called lactate.  Further, cancer cells produce large quantities of a protein called IL-1β that promotes the growth of tumors. Till now, it was not clear how cancer cells sustain the high rate of production of lactate and IL-1β in conjunction with the cellular circadian rhythm.

The researchers at NBRC have now unraveled the mystery. They have found that cancer cells modify the molecular components of cellular circadian rhythm to create a new regulatory network that produces more lactate and IL-1β. The network has been named as Lactate-Inflammation-Clock (LIC).

In their first set of experiments, the research team used chemicals to activate/inhibit lactate and IL-1β in glioma cells, a type of tumor that occurs in the brain and spinal cord.

They found that, when activated, lactate and IL-1β induce the expression of important circadian proteins called Clock and Bmal1. Further molecular experiments revealed that Clock/Bmal1 transcriptionally activates the expression of LDH-A (Lactate producing enzyme) and IL-1β thus confirming the existence of the LIC regulatory network.

The team found that LIC controls the key pathways of glioma progression such as cell cycle, DNA damage and repair of cytoskeletal architecture and modification of chromatin,which is a complex of DNA and proteins that forms chromosomes within the nucleus of cells.

In further studies, the researchers found that similar LIC regulatory networks were present in stomach and cervical cancer cells as well and that disruption of these networks can interfere with their tumor-promoting signals too.

Speaking to India Science Wire, leader of the team, Ellora Sen, said, “We noted significant correlation of LIC circuit with patient survival and anti-cancer drug sensitivity. Patients with stomach, cervical or brain cancers survived longer when they had lower levels of Clock, Bmal1, LDHA and IL1-β protein. We found that clinically approved EGFR inhibitors such as gefitinib and erlotinib can be utilized for disrupting the LIC regulatory loop in cancer cells”.

She and her team are now working in collaboration with IIT-Mumbai to develop the mathematical model for the LIC regulatory circuit. “The model, when fitted to the patient molecular profile of LIC components, could serve as a framework for a new approach to cancer treatment based on the body clock. It may be called cancer chronotherapy”.

The study team included Pruthvi Gowda, KirtiLathoria, Shalini Sharma, Shruti Patrick and Sonia B. Umdor. The study has been accepted for publication in American Society for Microbiology journal `Molecular and Cellular Biology’.

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keywords: National Brain Research Centre, NBRC, molecular mechanism, cancer, circadian rhythm, metabolic, proliferation, protein, tumour, glioma, brain, spinal cord, DNA, chromosomes, cervical, mathematical model

Ecotine is a protein molecule that naturally occurs in bacteria that are extremely or moderately halophilic or salt-solving. They serve as a protective substance in bacterial cells. They help protect the microorganisms from extreme environmental conditions like high salinity, pressure, heat or aridity stress, and UV-radiation.

A team of scientists from NIOT, Port Blair, identified a halophilic bacteria, Bacillus clausii NIOT-DSB04 while analysing sediment samples collected from deep sea (at a depth of 1,840 metres) near Barren Island in the Andaman and Nicobar region during a cruise conducted by the Ministry’s Ocean Research Vessel `SagarManjusha’. They found it had ecotine molecules. They further developed a recombinant DNA technology method to optimise its production.

Ectoine has applications in dermo-pharmacy and the medical field.In the dermopharmacyindustry, ectoine and its derivatives are used as a major ingredient in moisturizers, UV protection creams, and as a freeze-stabilizing agent for enzymes. It accelerates the production of heat shock proteins by the skin and protects the skin cells from environmental effects such as dryness and UV radiation. Ectoine is mainly used in sun protection, moisture protection, and anti-aging creams.

In the medical field, it helps stabilize Langerhans’ cells of the skin, by preventing the entry of harmful microorganisms and allergens. It intensively assists the moisture retention of the skin by protecting the hydrolipid system. Further, it encourages the regeneration processes of the skin, maintains the vitality of the skin cells, supports the skin’s immune system, and protects the cell structures of the human skin and their genetic material.

The study team was led by Dr. L. Anburajan and Dr. B. Meena and included Dr. N. V. Vinithkumar, Dr. R. Kirubagaran and Dr. G. Dharani. They published a report on their work in Elsevier’s Microbial Pathogenesis journal.

The researchers noted, “So far, Ecotine has been imported. Now, with the development of our technology and its transfer for commercial production, it would be available to the domestic industry with greater ease”.

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keywords:National Institute of Ocean Technology, NIOT, Cosmos Biotech LLP, Ecotine, skin care, sun protection, protein, bacteria, halophilic, salinity, pressure, heat, aridity, UV-radiation, deep sea, Barren Island, Andaman and Nicobar, recombinant DNA technology.(India Science Wire)

TB has been associated with mankind since the beginning of human civilization. It is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb). It travels through the air from one human to another human till it finds its happy home in the lungs. Tuberculosis is a curable disease if treated properly and timely. There is a need for a fast and advanced detection system for the diagnosis of tuberculosis disease, like a smoke detector, that could detect fire and blare alarm before the fire could go out of hand. Identification of important virulent proteinsof M.tb is important for TB care and management program. The arsenal of M.tb is equipped with several such proteins which help the bacterium to avoid and weakenthe host immune-responses. A protein called PPE2 is one such.

Earlier studies by the group of researchers had shown that PPE2 protein works by blocking the production of compounds called reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are some of the key elements of the human immune system.

The new study has taken the work forward by getting new insights that suggest that PPE2 could also be playing an important role in regulating the synthesis of Vitamin B₁₂ in the bacterium. Vitamin B₁₂ plays a fundamental role in bacterial metabolism and gene regulation.The human body cannot synthesize Vitamin B₁₂ and depends upon gut microbiota or external food supplements to meet the daily requirement of Vitamin B₁₂. M.tb, on the other hand, has genes for Vitamin B₁₂ synthesis. The true nature of the Vitamin B₁₂ pathway in the bacterium, however, is still a mystery. The new study gives some insight into this.

A striking feature in M.tb physiology is the presence of a regulatory RNA element or riboswitch in a cluster of genes known as an operonin a functioning unit of its DNA. The cluster has three genes – ppe2, cobq, and cobu. While cobq and cobu genes are already known to be part of the Vitamin B₁₂ biosynthesis process, not much is known about PPE2’s role.

The new study has helped unravel the mystery to some extent. In this study, it has been observed that PPE2 could bind to DNA located beforeoperon ppe2–cobq–cobu suggesting thatPPE2 protein might be playing a role in the regulation of the ppe2-cobq1-cobucluster.

Speaking to India Science Wire, the leader of the team, Dr. Sangita Mukhopadhyay stressed that it was only a first step and more research is needed in the form of a detailed understanding of the underlying mechanism. “Vitamin B₁₂ has a fundamental role in bacterial metabolism and gene regulation and if carefully investigated, ppe2-cobq1-cobu cluster and riboswitch together, may present opportunities to translate the basic knowledge of microbial metabolism into effective therapeutic methods”, she added.

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Keywords: Hyderabad, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, CDFD, molecular mechanism, bacterium, immune system, Mycobacterium tuberculosis,M.tb, lung, diagnosis, protein, Vitamin B_12, gut, microbiota,RNA, DNA, genes

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), affects a few children who have been infected with COVID19. Several body organs, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs, become inflamed, threatening the child’s life. With medical care, many are cured. Yet, the mechanisms by which the conduction results have remained a mystery until now.

The study led by MasschusettsGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital,Boston,USA,has revealed the critical mechanism that triggers the onset of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children.  The research, published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Investigation says that the SARS-CoV-2 virus travels from the respiratory pathway to the gut andlurks there before entering the bloodstream to reach various parts of the body.

What is MIS-C?

Although it occurs only in one percent of the children and adolescents afflicted with SARS-CoV-2 infections, the rare condition, the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), is a post-covid-19 severe complication, at times fatal.

Puzzlingly, the condition suddenly erupts post-infection when the patients and caregiver are ready to heave a sigh of relief. The debilitating illnesses occursat times, several weeks after testing negative. However, the inflammation is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which somehow remains hidden and stealthily raises its head once again.

Researchers have found that the virus can hide and remain in the gut long after an initial COVID-19 infection is cleared in the respiratory tract. From the stomach, it spreads into the bloodstream, instigating infection and inflammation in various parts of the body, eventually threatening the child’s life.

The syndrome can occur several weeks after initial infection. Initially, the child experiences symptoms include high fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, rashes and extreme fatigue. Once the infection spreads out from the gut, Child’s immune response goes overdrive to clear the virus from various systems to which it has spread. The hyper-inflammatory response and “cytokine storm” put the life of the young patient under threat.

Eighty percent of children hospitalized with MIS-C develop severe cardiac pathology and face a prolonged hospital stay and extensive recovery period. Current treatment strategies include an aggressive, long-term course of steroids and intravenous immunoglobulin; effective but not adequate.

Mystery solved

Early in the pandemic, other researchers had found that the virus migrates to the gut and can infect it. Thus, often the stool of the infected was found to contain virus particles.  This means if the virus is waiting in the gut long after primary recovery, then the excreta must have virus particles.

To test this hypothesis, the researchers collected the stool samples of the MIS-C affected children. “We realized that 95 percent of the children with MIS-C had SARS-CoV-2 viral particles in their stool, but no or low levels of particles in their noses or throats,” says Yonker, lead author of the paper.

The team hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 viral particles linger in the gastrointestinal tract of children and then move into the bloodstream. This then leads to the hyper-inflammatory immune response characteristic of MIS-C.  The inner side of the gut is lined with a particular type of cells called gut epithelial cells. The epithelial gut cells have small spaces near the junctions where one cell meets the other. These gaps are the doorway for the transport of products of digestion such as glucose and amino acids from the gut epithelial cells lining the small intestine into the blood.

It was known earlier that big macro-molecule like gluten can seep through the small gaps between the epithelial cells into the bloodstream. The researchers speculated that the virus wiggles the same way into the bloodstream. They later found out that the patients’ blood samples clearly showed the presence of the virus. “This is the first study showing viral particles in the blood of MIS-C coinciding with the hyper-inflammatory response,” says Yonker.

What next?

Co-senior author Alessio Fasano, MD, head of MGHfC’s Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition,  an expert on the mechanics of intestinal immune responses to pathogens, came with an idea to stop the seepage of the virus from the guts into the bloodstream.

In 2000, Fasano and his team at the University of Maryland School of Medicine discovered that zonulin, a protein, regulates intestinal permeability by opening the tight junctions between gut epithelial cells in the small intestine. If one can block the zonulin, the gate will be shut for the virus to ooze into the bloodstream. The MIS-C syndrome can be averted.

Celiac disease is caused by gluten seeping into the blood from the gut. In the early 2000s, Fasano developed larazotide acetate to work as a zonulin blocker to shut the gaps between the gut epithelial cell to prevent gluten from transporting across. This provided a clue.

“Our hypothesis was that larazotide would reduce the hyper-inflammatory by closing the tight junctions and preventing the large spike proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering the bloodstream,” says Fasano. The researchers measured high levels of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the stools and high levels of zonulin in the blood of children with MIS-C. This suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 was tunneled through the gaps between the gut cells into the blood.

The immune response in MIS-C is consistent with superantigenic activation of the blocking of the passage of the virus across the cell gap. “The large spike protein–the superantigen–basically holds onto a T-cell and makes it fire off a continuous immune response,” says Yonker

Clinical trials in India

The researchers hoped that zonulin blocker larazotide acetate could help health care providers assist children suffering from the MIS-C syndrome. After obtaining compassionate use permission from the Food and Drug Administration, USA, the research team tried larazotide acetate therapy on children affected with MIS-C. Preliminary data on the efficacy of larazotide acetate is encouraging. This has opened the possible use of larazotide acetate as the first oral treatment for COVID-19 and its complications.

MIS-C cases are increasing in India, and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi, has also geared up to tackle it. After a successful trial in the USA, the researchers are now hoping to conduct tests in India. DrDhiren Gupta, Covid Specialist and Pediatric Pulmonologist and Intensivist, Senior Consultant at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said that almost 70 percent of these MIS-C patients require ICU bed. “Last year, we also had MIS-C cases, but this time the cases are much higher. At Ganga Ram, we have seen as many as 10 cases in 24 hours. We have transformed one of the acute COVID wards into an MIS-C ward,” he said.

Gearing up

“We need to increase the testing among children,” says Dr Ajay Gambir, Member, Delhi Medical Council. Only a handful of children and young below 18 are tested for COVID19. While pointing out at this stage that tertiary care is not the paramount need, DrGambir says, “We need to improve the primary and secondary care for children under 18 for COVID19; We need customized pulse oximeter for kids as the oximeters used for adults have a different interface.” (India Science Wire)

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Keywords: Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, MIS-C, Children, COVID-19, heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, gastrointestinal organs, medical care, ICMR, DBT, SARS-CoV-2, Virus

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Twenty years ago, Mohini Sharmaused to drive three kilometers to buy a couple of raw coconuts for her child whenever he had diarrhoea.“Tender coconutwas hardly available in north India then,” says the 45-year-old homemaker, a resident of east Delhi’s MayurVihar. Today, her son is 23. A lawyer by profession and a fitness freak, he loves tender coconut water. “It is his favourite ‘Cold Drink’,” says the mother. “Unlike in the pastnow we do not even need to step out of our house to get raw coconuts.” When the online supermarket that delivers the bulky green coconuts home is out of stock,Sharma buys them from the coconut thela (cart)-seller who does daily rounds of their colony.

From the backyards of south and west India to thehomes,wellnesscentres and grocery stores of the north,the green coconut has, indeed, made a big leap. Its spiralling popularity also indicates a high jump in the health awareness levels of the common people.

Health Drink

Earlier, Tender Coconut Water (TCW) was largely seen as a cooling, summer drink but today it is in high demand throughout the year. Until five years ago, Mohd. Aslam, aroadside vendor in south Delhi,used to set up a stall only from March to September, but now he runs it all year.He has even hired a help for home delivery of raw coconuts in the neighbouring residences. Other than the fact that TCW) is “cooling” and “good for health”, and that doctors have been recommending it since India was hit by the coronavirus, Aslam, like many other sellers and buyers, does not know much about it.This is in sharp contrast to theconsumers in the coastal areas whereevery household knows TCWas a rehydration therapyfor fever and diarrhoea, even safe forinfants.

The common knowledge is based on tradition and first-hand experience, but does science validate it? The answer is a big “Yes”.Quoting medical studies, S R Priya and LalitaRamaswamy of the Nutrition and Dietetics Department of the College of Arts, Coimbatore, laud TCW. In a research paper titled ‘Nature’s Elixir to Mankind’ (2014, published in International Journal of Recent Scientific Research), the authors say, “TCW is composed of both organic and inorganic compounds which play a vital role in aiding the human body antioxidant system; its inorganic ions are required for normal cellular function and are critical for enzyme activation, bone formation, haemoglobin function, gene expression, and the metabolism of amino acids, lipids and carbohydrates.” “These ions contribute to the therapeutic value inherent in coconut water,” the paper says, adding that “this basic ion composition of coconut can replenish the electrolytes of the human body excreted through sweat such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium.”

Medical Validation

The mineral composition of TCW is described as95.5% water, 4% sugars, 0.1% fat, 0.02% calcium, 0.01% phosphorous, 0.5% iron, considerable amounts of amino acids, mineral salts, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, and cytokines. The other components in TCW include sugar alcohols, lipids, amino acids, nitrogenous compounds, organic acids, and enzymes.

The Coconut Development Board of India endorses TCW for at least a dozen health problems, including kidney stones, intestinal worms, urinary infections, and oral rehydration during cholera.

A review by Sunil L. and others in the November 2020 issue of Indian Coconut Journal(ICJ) describes TWC as ‘Nature’s Miracle Health Drink’. In an exhaustive list of its benefits, the paper says: “It can be used to prevent oxidative stress, provide antioxidant activity, prevent lipid peroxidation activity, improve lipid profile, control blood pressure, improve cardio-protective activity, provide anti-inflammatory effects, diarrhoea therapy, increase haemoglobin levels, anti-diabetic effects, anti-thrombotic activities,…..anti-cancer and anti-viral effects.”

Side Effects

The authors, however, advise caution to those suffering from hypertension: “Coconut water might decrease blood pressure, and taking coconut water along with medications for high blood pressure might cause the blood pressure to go too low.” The paper recommends that hypertensive people “consume it carefully and in consultation with the cardiologist.”

TCW as IV Fluid?

Described as a “Life Fluid” comparable to human plasma, TCW has also been used successfully as intravenous (IV) fluid, of course, by default and in emergencies. TCW is reported to have been used during World War II, both by the British in Sri Lanka and the Japanese in Sumatra. Although disregarded by many as “Fiction”, these stories spurred scientific curiosity. Research on whether TCW can, indeed, substitute IV fluid dates back to the 1940s.

According to Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, one of‘Australia’s 100 National Living Treasures’ and author of 45 books, medical literature confirms the experiments.  In an article in ABC Science (2014), he listed three of them: DrPradera in Havana, Cuba, injected one to two litres of filtered TCW/ 24 hours into the veins of 12 children,reporting no adverse reaction; In 1954, three doctors–Eisman, Lozano, and Hager—from Thailand, the USA, and Honduras, combined the findings from their research after feeding TCW intravenously to 157 patients, the majority, 136, in Honduras. Out of 157, 11 or seven percent had reactions, including fever, itchiness, headache,and tingling in the hands.

The third case is that of a man in the remote Solomon Islands, who had suffered a stroke and could not swallow the liquid and solid food. He was rehydrated with regular IV fluids through a tube directly into his stomach for 36 days but became intolerant to it. Meanwhile, the hospital ran out of IV; the doctor infused two and a half litres of coconut water into the patient over two days. The patient recovered the ability to swallow and was discharged from the hospital on day 39.

The bottom line, says the Australian expert, is that TCW is similar but not identical to human plasma although it can (and has been) used as a substitute in an emergency. The debate about whether TCW can be a substitute for IV fluids has also invited witty comments from writers: “You can rest assure that no hospital anywhere is going to stop ordering IV fluids and start picking coconuts,” saidculinarylores.comin a 2017 post, while acknowledging the emergency uses of TCW.

Mostly Unaffordable

The high demand for TCW has also given an impetus to research on the best ways to preserve the natural flavour and properties of coconut water. According to the ICJ research paper by Sunil L. and others, the authors experimented on the preservation of fresh coconut water. Kept in glass bottles at minus 20 to two degrees centigrade, TCW tasted and smelt the same as the original for two to three months. They also refer to a list of the top bodies, including the CSIR-CFTRI and the DRDO-Defence Food Research Laboratory, both in Mysuru, that have been conducting research on packaging TWC. The official emphasis on such research and the popularity of TWC among the well-off notwithstanding, it is too expensive for the common folk, especially in non-coastal areas.

The spurt in demand in recent years has also meant a big jump in the price of fresh TCW. Until recently,it was available for 15 rupees in the states growing it, and for 25-30 rupeesin the non-growing states. Today, the price is 55-65 rupees in north India. The vendors in Delhi and its suburbs have been selling it for 50 rupees since the beginning of this year, and the price stayed at 80 rupees for a month during the second wave of the corona pandemic. That was because some social media sites were giving ‘expert’ advice that “Eight glasses of TCW a day fight corona away” and people were reported to be consuming it without any concern for the side effects, which can be especially serious for hypertensive people.

The hype around TCW is, however, neither new nor exclusive to India. In the U.S.,it has been projected as the best sports drink for years. Doctors are not, however, falling for this marketing propaganda. “If you enjoy the taste and your budget allows it, coconut water is a nutritious and relatively low-calorie way to add potassium to your diet and keep you well-hydrated,” says Director of Nutrition at Web MD Kathleen Zelman, clinically.

Most doctors and dieticians would gladly let her have the last word.

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Keywords: AahaarKranti, Tender power, young coconut, Raw coconut

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Many wild plant species, such as wild fruit, leaf, flower and wild tubers, etcetera are used by rural and tribal populations significantly contributing to their livelihood and nutrition security. Did you know the wild crop species used by different tribal people in Koraput, Odisha has nutritional value and health benefits?

“The wild crops are important biodiversity components available from natural habitat, which are neither cultivated nor domesticated. These plants are collected from the forest, for food and medicine by tribal people who developed various processing methods according to their needs,” says Dr. Debabrata Panda, an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Biodiversity and Conservation of Natural Resources at the Central University of Odisha, Koraput.

Dr. Panda did his research on Agro-biodiversity, Underutilized Plant Species, and Wild Crops. He has made significant contributions in the field of collection, evaluation, and characterization of indigenous rice, millet, and other wild crop species found in Koraput.

“There are 122 wild edible plants used by 20 tribal villages in Koraput belonging to seven tribal groups, namely – Paroja, Bhumia, Gadaba, Bhatra, Saora, Gonda, and Kondha. The edible plants include wild fruit (39) species mostly consumed by the tribes compared to leafy vegetables (24), tuber (21) and flower (4),” informs Dr. Panda.

The wild edible tubers are largely collected during the winter season whereas the green leaves are collected in the rainy season and fruits and flowers are collected both in the winter and summer seasons. Notably, eight wild yam species are used as food by the tribes. Those are Dioscorea oppositifolia L., D. hamiltonii Hook.f., D. bulbifera L., D. pubera Blume., D. pentaphylla L., D. wallichii Hook.f., D. glabra Roxb and D. hispida Dennst.

When a comparison between the tuber quality traits of wild and cultivated yams was made, it found that the percentage of proximate compositions of wild yam tubers ranged from 3.82-5.42% ash, 1.55-1.90% fat, 1.45-1.60% fibre, 22.9-26.6% carbohydrate, 9.5-10.2% protein and 148-163 kcal gross energy compared to the cultivated (D. alata) species i.e. 3.16% ash, 0.91% fat, 1.40% fibre, 24.07% carbohydrate, 8.78% protein and 139 kcal gross energy.

Based on these findings, the wild Dioscorea species namely D. hamiltonii, D. pubera and D. oppositifolia have significantly higher amounts of nutritional and mineral content and nutritionally better than cultivated (D. alata) species.

The micronutrient composition analysis to know the quality and safety concerns about its use in the laboratory revealed that it ranged from 60.33-89.4 mg/100 g of sodium, 1029-1248 mg /100 g of potassium compared to 55.06 mg /100 g of sodium and 989 mg / 100 g potassium in cultivated species.

The majority of the wild yam tubers were rich in some of the essential minerals like calcium (18.08 to 74.79 mg/100 g), iron (11.15 to 74.79 mg/100 g), zinc (2.11 to 6.21 mg/100 g) and phosphorous (179 to 248 mg/100 g). The level of anti-nutrients such as diosgenin, phytate and oxalate content in raw tuber was significantly higher in wild Dioscorea species compared to the cultivated species (D. alata).

However, it is also testified that the anti-nutrients were lower than the recommended tolerable levels proposed by WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. But these less familiar wild tubers should not be ignored. Rather, these tubers are the safe food sources for mass consumption and domestication and can be used as a good alternative source of food to alleviate hunger and malnutrition.

Talking to India Science Wire, Dr. Panda said the research was aimed to chronicle the nutritional value and health benefits of wild crop species used by the tribes. The data on consumption patterns and nutritional importance were collected through questionnaires and personal interviews with tribal people.

“The nutritional traits such as proximate, nutritional and anti-nutritional compositions as well as the physico-functional properties were carried out at our laboratory of the Central University of Odisha. These wild plants might prove useful for tribes, but are largely ignored by researchers, breeders and policymakers,” he added.

Food and nutritional security are key concerns of the world. The majority of the people in different countries, including India are suffering from inadequacy in nutrition and various micronutrient deficiencies. With the onset of settled agriculture and modernisation, this knowledge is being lost at a rapid pace.

“The less familiar wild plants possess great potential as a good alternative source of food to alleviate hunger and malnutrition. Therefore, the mass consumption, commercialisation, popularisation and bio-prospecting of these valuable resources would be an appropriate approach for ensuring food and nutritional security of future generations,” Dr. Panda told India Science Wire.

Recommending the necessary steps to conserve these valuable resources at their natural habitat and validate it scientifically,Dr Panda has also underlined the need of conducting public awareness and community-based programmes at all levels for the conservation of such species.

“A strategy to promote commercial production of these wild plants is required to boost the local economy by initiating processing, value addition, and creating a market to reach larger consumers,” he urges.(India Science Wire)

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Keywords: Koraput, Wild Crops, Health, Plant species, wild fruit, leaf, flowers, wild tubers, nutrition security, wild crop species, tribals, nutritional value, biodiversity, natural habitat, Biodiversity, Natural Resources,  Central University of Odisha, Aahaar Kranti

In individuals with diabetes, wounds tend to take longer to heal. A large proportion of extremity amputations result from diabetes-induced impairment of wound repair. Timely healing of wounds is therefore pivotal to prevent such extreme consequences. A team of Indian researchers has devised a way to help this happen.

A type of blood cells, called peripheral blood (PB) or bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), contribute to the formation of blood vessels, and thus help in wound healing. However, the ability of these cells to home-in to the site of the wound is impaired in individuals with diabetes, which adversely influences healing.

If EPC cells from non-diabetics can be transplanted onto wounds in diabetic individuals it could enhance blood vessel formation, and thus help wounds to heal faster. But, so far there is no simple method to grow these cells outside the body and deliver them to the site of the wound.

Researchers have been investigating different means to solve the problem. These include the use of biocompatible scaffolds or matrices that support the growth of cells, to deliver the cells at the site of the wound. Most of the matrices created and tested experimentally, however, have had limitations or drawbacks.

A team of scientists led by Dr.Vaijayanti Kale, a former scientist of the Department of Biotechnology’s Pune-based National Centre for Cell Science (DBT-NCCS) and Prof. JayeshBellare of the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT-Bombay has come up with a solution that could break the impasse.

Blending their expertise in cell biology and chemical engineering, they fabricated a nanofibre matrix from polycaprolactone (PC) and gelatin (G) using a new method. This matrix showed some very good properties, including its ability to promote the growth of EPCs.

They tested its efficacy as a therapeutic tool to facilitate diabetic wound healing in a standard laboratory animal model for diabetes, using ethically approved experimental protocols. These investigations yielded promising outcomes, and the studies were reported in the international scientific journal, PLOS ONE. In this article, the team proposed that their novel system could serve as a one-step combined growth and delivery system for direct application on skin wounds, including those in diabetics.

Indian Patent Office has also recently granted a patent based on the research work. “Given its double advantage of the ease of handling along with good support for EPC growth, this matrix promises to hold the potential to be used therapeutically in human patients”, the scientists said.

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Keywords: chronic, blood vessels, nerves, amputation, blood cells, bone marrow,endothelial progenitor cells, EPC, biocompatible, scaffold,  matrice, National Centre for Cell Science, DBT-NCCS, IIT-Bombay,nanofibre, patent

ISW/SP/DBT/07/07/2021

The lab had earlier found that the serotonin receptors are sensitive to cholesterol surrounding them. In the new study published in Science Advances, they report a sensor region on human serotonin1A receptor that can detect cholesterol. They looked at specific regions called CRAC motifs in the receptor. These are believed to interact with cholesterol. The researchers carefully replaced specific amino acids in the CRAC motifs of the serotonin1A receptor and identified a particular amino acid responsible for the cholesterol-sensitive function of the receptor.

The researchers collaborated with Dr Jana Selent’s group from Pompeu Fabra University Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute in Barcelona, Spain to visualize the protein-cholesterol interaction via computer-aided molecular dynamics simulations. This helped them predict how the specific amino acid on CRAC motif enables the receptor to sense changes in cholesterol levels by controlling molecular motion in certain regions of the receptor, says CSIR-CCMB statement.

“These findings are important since cholesterol levels change in our cells with age and in many disease conditions.  We believe our work will help in developing better drugs that keep in mind not just the receptor as the drug target, but also the lipid environment in which the receptor is present”, explained Prof Chattopadhyay.

“Our expertise in structural biology at CCMB is key towards a physical understanding of cells and their functions. This not only adds to the detailed view of living cells but also have immense potential in therapeutics development”, said Dr Vinay Nandicoori, Director, CCMB. (India Science Wire)

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Keywords: Molecular, sensor, serotonin, receptor, cholesterol, Cells, receptor proteins, cell membranes, drug target,physiology CSIR-CCMB, drug designing

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a protein that plays a significant role in DNA replication, repair, and recombination processes of all organisms. Recruitment of DNA polymerases by PCNA is an essential step during DNA replication and blocking this step by targeting PCNA by any means can help tackle infections.

Since PCNA is a structural protein, it is widely accepted as a therapeutic target. Interestingly, its structure looks similar across species, though a PCNA of a given species is rarely functional in another. The new study has resolved this problem.

The researchers began by elucidating the X-ray crystal structure of the PCNA of a type of red bread mold called Neurosporacrassa and compared its structure–function relationship with other already available PCNA studies to understand cross-species incompatibility. They found that two regions named interdomain connecting loop (IDCL) and J loop structures, varied significantly among PCNAs.

To validate that these structural differences are indeed accountable for functional incompatibility, they generated mutants of Neurosporacrassa PCNA mimicking IDCL and J loop structures of PCNA of yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetic analyses suggested that the mutants were fully functional in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Further, the susceptibility of the strains harboring ScPCNA mimics of NcPCNA to various genotoxic agents was similar to that in yeast cells expressing ScPCNA. It was clear that structures of the IDCL and J loop of PCNA are critical determinants of interspecies functional compatibility.

Speaking to India Science Wire, the scientists said, “Our study has helped us understand the details of the complex interplay of binding between PCNA and its partner proteins in cells. This would help in the development of therapeutic agents that target PCNA. It will be now possible to ensure that the drugs are highly species specific”.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Laboratory of Genomic Instability and Diseases and Laboratory of Macromolecular Crystallography at the Department of Infectious Disease Biology of Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar.

The team was led by Dr. Narottam Acharya of ILS’s Laboratory of Genomic Instability and Diseases and Dr. DileepVasudevan of ILS’s Laboratory of Macromolecular Crystallography. The other members were: PremlataKumari, RajivgandhiSundaram, and Kodavati Manohar. They have published a paper on their work in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

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keywords: disease, molecular mechanism, organism, proliferating cell nuclear antigen,  PCNA, protein, DNA replication, DNA polymerase, structural protein, therapeutic, X-ray crystal structure, mold, yeast, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Journal of Biological Chemistry.