Cyanofam Research Centre

---

"Cyanofarm" is a socio-scientific interventional research endeavour envisaged to mitigate problems arising out of malnutrition & simultaneously ascertaining Indian farmer's sustainability by providing them with an alternative source of income generation. ‘Cyanofarm’ stands by the philosophy of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri that “Science and technology, if they are to play their proper role in the progress of our country, must be intimately linked to the life and work of the common man in the country. Science must not, therefore, be confined to ivory towers or encased within the walls of big buildings and big laboratories; it should be carried to the factories and more so to the fields and to the farms and to the remote villages.”

‘Cyanofarm’ project was conceived by Ms. Deepali Dande as deployment of a system to generate nutrient dense foods & further developed by Dr. Rutwik Thengodkar as a potential system to provide Indian farmers with an alternative source of income by undertaking microbial culturing; an extension of farming activities. This project is executed by them at Cyanofarm research Centre in association with an NGO (not for profit organisation); U.V.S.S., Keshavsrushti located amidst the deciduous forest of Uttan village in Thane district of Maharashtra State. The research project has multitude of objectives: 1] Understanding the dietary intake of Indian population that exhibits such high prevalence of malnutrition, 2] Following-up with the changes in the dietary patterns, 3] Establishing prototypes for microalgal cultivations, 4] Optimizing biochemical growth parameters to achieve optimal yield, 5] Developing economic alternative technologies for algal cultivation, and its QC 6] Conceive & Establish a National Edible Algal Research centre dedicated for algological research in near future.

Cyanofarm conducts research under 4 principal dimensions; A] Health and nutritional research, B] Education & Research, C] Agricultural research and D] Environmental conservation & Bio-remedial research.

Rationale'

The increasing population of India will lead to increasing demands in food supply which currently exhibits slowdown. India’s urban population is expected to increase by 50% of the current total population by 2050, as per UN prediction. This would also intensify the issue of inequity in water availability that has already proved to be fertile ground for several inter-state and intra-state disputes. While country’s aquifers are currently associated with replenishing sources, the country is also a major grain producer with a great need for water to support the commodity. There is no easy, single solution for India which must tap into water sources for food and human sustenance, but India's overall water availability is eventually running dry. Though cultivating algae seems to require lot of water initially, the net requirement of water per acre of land for crop cultivation is much more and less productive than algal cultivation. Therefore, algal micro-farms have a potential to be a viable solution in maintaining food self-sufficiency as well as water sufficiency. Hence, it is imperative to generate and network algal micro-farms throughout the country. It is expected that algal farming will be ubiquitous by 2025 as algae can recover and repurpose farm or garden waste-water streams and make conventional agriculture more effective. Thereby through project Cyanofarm; We've proposed, that algal micro-farms will revolutionize human societies and transform health, malnutrition and poverty while regenerating polluted ecosystems. Though algal farming is popular in western countries it has not made a significant impact in various states of India excluding Tamil Nadu. Many private companies have been major players in cultivating algae and sell their products at premium costs into international markets. Many of the research institutes are involved in the research aspects like isolating various enzymes from the algae, sequencing of the genome, cloning and overexpression of various proteins, extracting biofuels etc. Though these research projects would eventually help in value addition and understanding the basic physiology of the organism, their research seldom focuses on the obstacle faced during large production and developing a sustainable farming model for the farmers at grassroots level.

Expected Outcomes

Cyanofarm project is expected to establish a framework for setting up of cyanobacterial micro-farms initially. A system to monitor various parameters and corrective measures thereof will be developed that will standardize the maintenance protocol. This project is primarily aimed at abolishing malnourishment, alleviating the growing concern of food sufficiency, water availability, polluting ecosystems and farmers sustainability by training them at later stages. Development of economic alternative technologies for algal culture will pave the way for new knowledge formation that is expected to be published for public out-reach. Establishing algal culture centre will lead to epistemological paradigm to explore biological research model by students to imbibe scientific acumen apart from exposing them to the interdisciplinary aspects of biology.

Background:

In-spite of remarkable industrial & economic growth and sufficient food production, India is not able to provide food access to large number of people. In ‘The State of Food Insecurity in the World, 2015” report, FAO estimates, 194.6 million people are undernourished in India. India thus has 25% of the undernourished population of the world. Also 48% of women between 15 to 49 years of age are anaemic (WHO report on prevalence of anaemia) and 44% of children under 5 are underweight. There is increased risk of death by diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria etc. in malnourished children. The Global Hunger Index 2016 ranks India at 100 out of 119 countries on the basis of three leading indicators -- prevalence of wasting and stunting in children under 5 years, under 5 child mortality rates, and the proportion of undernourished in the population. Malnourishment manifests itself in many different ways: as poor child growth and development; as individuals with BMI <20 are more prone to infection. Malnourishment and diet are by far the biggest risk factors for the global burden of disease. The economic consequences represent losses of 11% of gross domestic product (GDP) every year in Africa and Asia. Though India was successful in achieving self-sufficiency by increasing its food production and also improved its capacity to cope with year-to-year fluctuations in food production; it could not solve the problem of chronic household food insecurity. Despite favourable terms of trade for agriculture and normal behaviour of the South-West monsoon, the growth of food production has been sluggish since nineties and agricultural product diversification in the poor rain fed areas has come to a slowdown

Micro nutrient deficiency is another commonly observed condition amongst Indian population, more so in the vulnerable groups such as women and children. The NNMB (The National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau) data shows instances of under-nutrition among children and chronic energy deficiency (CED). There are certain micro algae (cyanobacteria) which are nutritionally dense and are easier to digest. Some of them exhibit probiotic effect and have the potency to balance our gut flora while modulating our immune system. These algae, of cyanobacteria class, are considered as excellent food on earth. It has been established in endosymbiotic theory by Dr. Lynn Margulis that plants have evolved from cyanobacteria. It has been further established through an article published in peer reviewed PNAS journal that oxygenic environment on earth had been predominantly due to the photosynthesis activity of the algae. Since, these micro algae are bacteria endowed with plant-like benefits; algal micro-farms have a potential to be a viable solution in maintaining food self-sufficiency, nutrient sufficiency as well as water sufficiency apart from conferring essential health benefits.

Cyanobacteria: The organism and its consumption Benefits:

In the last few years, a microalga has attracted people and scientists from all over the world because of its various properties. Spirulina has found wide applications in the areas of agriculture, food, pharmaceuticals, perfumeries, medicine and science. Spirulina is one of the natural sources containing the highest amount of protein, being five times that of meat. It is superior to all plant proteins including those from legumes. The protein is easily digestible, 90% digestion seen with fresh cells and contains the highest amount of β-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A. Research has shown that substantial amounts of carotenes stimulate the immune system and reduce toxic effects of radiation and chemotherapy and prevent night-blindness It is also the source of the essential fatty acid ‘γ Linolenic acid’ which is the precursor of hormones involved in regulation of body functions. ‘γ Linolenic acid’   prevents accumulation of fats and cholesterol. A deficiency of ‘γ Linolenic acid’ in the system results in the thickening of arteries, high blood pressure and cholesterol accumulation. Spirulina extracts prevent the formation of tumours and exhibit hypocholesterolaemic and anti-diabetic properties.

Supplementation of Spirulina in patients with oral cancer prevented further damage in these patients Trace metals are essential nutrients required in very small amounts in the daily diet. One of the important trace metals is Selenium. Selenium bioeffects are mainly involved in immune function, reproduction, cardiovascular disease, cancer, viral infection control and metal toxicity.  In fact, Selenium deficiency is endemic in some parts of China where the soil lacks Selenium. Higher rates of cancer have been reported in the United States in places where the cereals are deficient in Selenium . Another essential trace element is Iodine, whose deficiency affects thyroid function, cardiovascular function, IQ and other brain disorders. Spirulina has the potential to be used as a matrix for the production of Selenium and Iodine containing compounds in order to treat diseases deficient in these elements. The advantage of this type of matrix is that being a living organism, it can accumulate these elements along with vitamin E (tocopherol) and Beta-carotene in a form, easily available for human consumption in required amounts. Besides it can also avoid hyperthyroidism caused by the over use of iodinated salts. One of most important characteristics of Spirulina is its antioxidant property. Antioxidants are the substances endowed with properties that neutralize free radicals generated due to oxidative stress. Research has shown oxidative stress directly or indirectly leads to various disorders like diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders, atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, cancer, aging etc. Chlorophyll, present in plants and algae has similar structure to haemoglobin of blood except the difference in the metallic core being Magnesium rather than Ferric. Chlorophyll shows various antibacterial, antiseptic properties, improves calcium absorption and counteracts toxins primarily due to its antioxidant properties. The blue coloured pigment phycocyanin has been reported to have significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepato-protective and broad-spectrum radical scavenging action. Studies show that phycocyanin stimulates production of white blood cells and red blood cells. Pure phycocyanin has higher therapeutic value for treatment of various disorders besides, being a natural compound.

Work Done till now:

Culturing Conditions:

Spirulina grows in controlled conditions . The growing organism is investigated for its ‘healthy status’ by morphological examinations using BF-microscopy and biochemical test for its nutrient content Inoculation development is an important process in mass culture scale up. Cultures have been developed from test-tubes to flasks upto~15000L. In all the stages of the ‘Cyanofarm’ plant development it has been our philosophy to develop the technology required indigenously. This in turn leads to capacity building for the institute and empowers the people therein with confidence to surmount their day to day difficulties.

New article name goes here new article content ...

External links

• www.example.com

This article "Cyanofam Research Centre" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Cyanofam Research Centre. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

---