THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two faculty members of the University of Kerala received the Dr S Vasudev Award- 2022 instituted by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) for the best science research project.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presented the award to Dr E A Siril and Dr M Gangaprasad of the Department of Botany at the inaugural session of the 35th Kerala Science Congress at Kuttikkanam in Idukki on February 12. The award comprises a purse of Rs 50,000 and a citation.
The project that won the award was titled ‘Collection, characterisation and propagation of Garcinia gummi-gutta (L.) Robs’ under the science research scheme of KSCSTE. Garcinia gummi-gutta is an evergreen tropical fruit tree species that belongs to the plant family Clusiaceae.
The plant is known as the “gold mine of therapeutics”. Hydroxycitric acid has anti-obesity properties. An effective method for DNA isolation was developed by the research team. Tissue culture protocol for the large-scale production of elite germplasm was developed.
The team prepared a ready to use souring agent, ‘N-Sour Kudampuli sathu’ for various culinary preparation from dried and fresh fruit rinds. A startup company named ‘KU Cravings’ was formed at the university level and registered in the Kerala University Business Innovation and Incubation Centre.