The Hindu : Antarctica bacteria found to be rich in anti-cancer substance

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Sunday, Dec 28, 2003

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Antarctica bacteria found to be rich in anti-cancer substance

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 27. In a major breakthrough that could go a long way in cancer prevention, a group of Indian scientists has found that three species of bacteria brought from the icy continent of the Antarctica contained high concentrations of a cancer-preventing substance called carotenoid. Reporting their findings in the latest issue of the Indian Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics, the scientists, S.P. Shukla of Arunachal University, and A.K. Kashyap of the Benares Hindu University, said the three organisms were found to produce twice as much carotenoid as strains of the same species found

within the country.

Carotenoids are widely used across the world as a natural colouring agent for food, drug and cosmetic products. Studies have time and again shown that its regular intake can prevent cancer as also other degenerative diseases. Called "anabaena," "nostoc" and "phormidium", the new bacteria species belong to a class of organisms called cyanobacteria, better known as blue-green algae. Cyanobacteria live in water and can produce their own food. They are one of the most important groups of bacteria in the world.

The three strains were isolated from some algal patches collected from a stream near Maitri, India's permanent station in Antarctica. The stream was formed by water melting from a nearby glacier. Suggesting that a unit may be set up to produce carotenoid from the three strains, the scientists said that though the growth of the bacteria collected from the Antarctica was slower than that of their counterparts within the country, there was a potential for exploiting them commercially considering that they had double the carotenoid content.

They also noted that Antarctica water contained a large number of other cyanobacteria and that more studies were needed to assess their biopotential for carotenoid production.

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