Application of Biotechnology in Food, Pharmaceuticals and Agriculture Industries.

BIOTECH APPLICATIONS

Agriculture Health Care

Environment Industry

GM- Planting Mats. & Hybrids Micro-propagation

Bio-fertilizers & Bio-pesticides Animal Improvement

r-DNA Products, Vaccines & Diagnostics Monoclonal Antibodies

Stem CellsTissue Specific delivery methods

Enzymes Fermentation based Products & Food

Biotech Instruments & Equipment Bio-energy & Bio-fuel

Bioinformatics, Bio-mining

Soil & Water remediationBio-safety & GMOs

Application of Biotechnology in Food Industry

• Food biotechnology is the application of technology to modify genes of animals, plants, and microorganisms to create new species which have desired production, marketing, or nutrition related properties.

• Biotechnology includes a wide range of di verse technologies and they may be applied in each of the different food and agriculture sectors.

•  Biotechnology in food processing sector plays an important role in food fermentations, food additives and processing aids, food safety through advances in microbial genetics, detection of pathogens, mycotoxin detection and identification of foods and food ingredients.

• Biotechnology in the food processing sector targets the selection and improvement of microorganisms with the objectives of improving process control , yields and efficiency as well as the quality, safety and consistency of bioprocessed products.

Examples:• Emulsifiers:• Acacia gum is predominantly used as an emulsifier in the food

industry due to its emulsifying and stabilization properties. Using new molecular tools, emulsifiers are now synthesized from covalently coupled carbohydrates like starch, pectin, sugar and proteins from wheat, milk and soya bean.

• Peanut Allergy Testing:• Many people have been found to display allergic reactions

after eating peanuts. To combat this problem, it is essential to identify the cause of this allergy. For this purpose, a highly sensitive immunological assay has been developed by a Netherland based company to detect peanut proteins in foods. This is the first peanut assay with commercial applications.

• Effective Monitoring:• Scientists are developing versatile gastrointestinal models for

detailed monitoring of digestibility, bioconversion and biodegradability of foods and drugs and contaminants from the point of safety and functionality. These models are now used for studying the digestive effect of nutraceutical foods

• Calcium Intake:• One of the most important and innovative applications of

biotechnology is to improve the calcium level in our foodstuff Researchers have shown that oligo-fructose, a naturally occurring, low-digestible oligosaccharide, increases calcium absorption by as much as twenty two per cent. Such studies can open the floodgates for new areas of health application and new classes of ingredients. These findings can be used to create new products in dairy, bakery, confectionery and drinks.

• Foods from Microbes:• While brewing and baking have existed for ages, we are

now using genetically pure strains in the process. Studies show that nearly 1.5 million tons of bakers’ yeast {Saccharomyces cervisiae) is produced throughout the world every year. Modern plants have also reduced the time required in the fermentation process from months to days. Similarly, the fungus Aspergillus oryzae is being used to produce a wide range of important enzymes.

Application of Biotechnology in Pharmaceutical Industry

• Biotechnology is the science which combines biology with technology that is being used rampantly in pharmaceutical sector. This science has proved to be a boon especially in manufacturing of vaccinations and genetic testing.

• Manufacturing of vaccines: Every pharmaceutical company aims at producing products that can help tackle severe health problems and benefit the society in a major way. With the increase in population, changing lifestyles and economies the entire world is facing health problems and diseases that are tough to cure.

• Biotechnology has successfully found cure for numerous diseases including cardiovascular disorders, arthritis, Hepatitis B, bone fractures etc. By investing heavily in biotechnological research and testing many pharma manufacturers have been able to find solutions to diseases that at a point of time were considered to be incurable. • This science thus has helped in busting myths and scientists

even now are studying this science and the benefits it can bring to us.

• Biotechnology evolved in early 90s worldwide and within a span of almost 2 decades this science has changed the way a pharmaceutical company functions. • Biotech makes use of molecule products and concepts

which is also the prerequisite of pharma manufacturing companies. • The production costs of biotech based products are

cheaper and this is a major reason why the pharma industry embraced this technology and has made it an indispensable part of its own self.

Examples:• Insulin:• It is an important hormone regulating glucose levels.• Anti-haemophilic Factor:• It is an important material purified from human blood, and used

in the treatment of haemophilia. Action has proved difficult because of infection of haemophiliacs with AIDS virus.• Gene therapy: • Is the use of DNA as a pharmaceutical agent to treat disease. It

derives its name from the idea that DNA can be used to supplement or alter genes within an individual's cells as a therapy to treat disease The most common form of gene therapy involves using DNA that encodes a functional, therapeutic gene to replace a mutated gene.

• Human Serum Albumin:• It is one of the most common blood proteins used in the

treatment of shock injuries such as burns.• Engineered Enzymes:• These enzymes are used to treat a range of conditions from

cardiac diseases to renal failure, to certain types of inherited enzyme deficiencies.• Rapid advances are continuously being made in the field,

and new horizons include the development of enzymes like biosensors or bio electrodes to monitor many physiological processes.

Application of Biotechnology in Agri

Industry

Many forms of human-derived agriculture clearly fit the broad definition of "'utilizing a biotechnological system to make products". Indeed, the cultivation of plants may be viewed as the earliest biotechnological enterprise.• Agriculture has been theorized to have become the dominant

way of producing food since the Neolithic Revolution.• Applications of biotechnology to plants or animals to improve

their food processing properties (e.g. development of the Flavr Savr tomato variety, genetically modified to reduce its ripening rate) or to produce proteins from genetically modified (GM) microorganisms to improve plant or animal production (e.g. production of bovine somato tropin (BST), a hormone increasing milk production in dairy cows, by GM bacteria) are not considered here.

• Gene technology can be used in agriculture and food production to…..• increase crop or animal resistance to pests while reducing

the use of chemicals;• increase crop or animal tolerance to chemicals that are used

to kill harmful pests;• create disease resistance in crops and animals;• improve the food yield per plant or animal;• make plants and animals more suited to environmental

conditions e.g. drier regions or salty water;• improve the nutritional quality of the food produced by the

plant or animal.

• Genetically modified crops ("GM crops", or "biotech crops") are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified with genetic engineering techniques. In most cases the aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species.

• FLOWERS There is some simply aesthetic application and an example of this is the use of gene recognition and transfer techniques to improve the color, smell, size and other features of flowers. Similarly, biotech has been used to make improvement to other common ornamental plants, in particular, shrubs and trees. Some of these changes are similar to those made to crops, such as enhancing cold confrontation of a breed of tropical plant, so it can be grown in northern gardens.

• BIOFUELS : The agricultural industry plays a big role in the biofuels industry, as long as the feedstock's for fermentation and cleansing of bio-oil, bio-diesel and bio-ethanol. Genetic engineering and enzyme optimization technique are being used to develop improved quality feedstocks for more efficient change and higher BTU outputs of the resulting fuel products.