Rajasthan varsity comes up with food sustainability concept to combat old age diseases

JAIPUR

JAIPUR

An ingenious concept of food sustainability for combating age-related neurodegenerative ailments such as Alzheimer’s disease, evolved by the Central University of Rajasthan (CUoR), has sought to link the high-protein dairy products with the existing therapeutic strategies. The university’s path-breaking research has been recognised by Canada-based International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST).

The CUoR’s Department of Biotechnology has come up with the concept of dairy-based protein nanostructure’s potential to inhibit the aggregation of certain organic substances in the brain tissues and eliminate their neurotoxicity. The intake of dairy proteins can reduce the occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease and provide other health benefits, according to the research.

The Head of the Department and Associate Professor, Jay Kant Yadav, who led the research with his specialisation in protein biochemistry, was felicitated at the 21st World Congress of Food Science and Technology held in Singapore recently. Dr. Yadav has optimised a process to prepare protein nanofibrillar structures from milk proteins to prevent the formation of pathological protein aggregates in the human brain.

CUoR Vice-Chancellor Anand Bhalerao said the university, situated in Kishangarh, had laid focus on addressing the health problems through in-house research and innovation. “The socially relevant research has helped evolve sustainable solutions. The outcome of these researches will be helpful in designing process development that can be applied to solve local and global problems,” Prof. Bhalerao said.

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common age-related diseases and the fifth leading cause of death in adults aged over 65 years. It is characterised by a progressive loss of brain cells, leading to impairment of memory and cognitive functions. An estimated 4.4 crore people worldwide live with Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Yadav told The Hindu that since the changes in brain tissues begin much before the initial symptoms of the disorder are visible, they provided a possible window of opportunity to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Despite the exploration of therapeutic strategies, changes in lifestyle and medication, a tangible treatment scheme has yet to be found.