Researchers identify plant to help patients of fluorosis

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Researchers identify plant to help patients of fluorosis

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Researchers identify plant to help patients of fluorosis

Times of India - August 30, 2019

PATNA: Researchers at the centre for fluorosis research in A N College Patna, have identified a commonly available plant
Cassia Tora as a highly effective source of dietary supplement for fluorosis victims. The plant is locally known as ‘Chakora Bhaji’.

The plant is rich in calcium, Vitamin C, D3 and iron and its consumption as vegetable or juice may help the fluorosis patients in
getting these nutrients easily.

Working on the integrated fluorosis mitigation programme funded by the UNICEF and supported by Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, National Institute of Research in Tribal Health and
Public Health and Engineering Department, Bihar, the research team with Dr Bihari Singh as its project incharge extensively
surveyed three fluoride affected villages of Kachhariadih, Hardia and Muslim Tola of Nawada district and examined the flora.
They identified the ‘Chakora Bhaji’ plant as a promising dietary supplement.

The research was first presented at the Conference of the International Society For Fluoride Research held in Guiyang, China,
in last October.

The team with Dr Rajesh Kumar, former professor of VKS University as the project supervisor, included Dr AK Nag of College of
Commerce, Arts and Science, and other researchers Vishal Patel, Prashant Chandra and Deepak Kumar.

Talking to this newspaper, Rajesh said the team found fluoride concentration in groundwater in the three villages between 1.9
ppm (part per million) to 6.4 ppm, which were much above the maximum permissible limit of 1.5 ppm.
He said people of these villages suffered with skeletal, non-skeletal and dental fluorosis.

“Encouraged by detecting the Cassia Tora with miraculous source of dietary supplement for fluoride patients, we further
succeeded in developing the polyploid form of this plant with doubling the number of chromosomes,” Rajesh said.

Now, the researchers are busy growing the first generation of the polyploid form of this ‘Chakora Bhaji’ plant in hope to get its
leaves of larger size so as to provide additional nutrients.

“Our research is focused on mitigating fluorosis through plants and we have shortlisted four other species for study,” he added.


SOURCE:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cit ... 916203.cms
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