The department came into existence soon after the inception of the institute, to cater to the needs of basic research of relevance to food science and technology. The department is engaged in research in the areas of Carbohydrates, Proteins, Enzymes, Lipids, Nutrition, Spices, Toxicology, Food Allergy and allied areas. The department is  also involved in the development of a number of food supplements, including baby foods such as Amul, and in conducting the nutritional evaluation of many of these foods. One of the major achievements is the development of infant foods and a variety of food formulations for various groups.

The department has undertaken, basic/applied studies on-

· Carbohydrates ranging from starch to non-starch polysaccharides of functional and biological importance

· The physico-chemical properties and amylolytic digestibility of starches from different sources

· Carbohydrates of functional importance in leavening, milling, cooking, bread making, etc., and elucidation of their fine structures by techniques such as GC-MS and NMR

· Carbohydrates of biological importance from colostrum (early milk) and B-glucans from cereals, and characterisation of glycoproteins from buffalo colostrum

· The beneficial effects of dietary fibre and products fermented from it, on glycoconjugate metabolism during diabetes

· Changes in carbohydrates and their degrading enzymes during malting

· The use of the abundantly available chitin for exploitation in making biodegradable packaging films

· The chemistry of milk proteins; wheat proteins; anti-nutritional proteins such as lectins and trypsin inhibitors; and the enzymes lipoxygenase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and glucoamylase-and preparation of calcium caseinate

· Amino-acid metabolism in micro-organisms and their regulatory aspects

· Industrially important enzymes using the permeability of whole cells

· The nutritional aspects of several oils and fats covering minimal fat requirements, fortification of shark liver oil, parenteral nutrition and heated and fried fats, leading to the discovery of (a) the hypocholesterolemic effect of the Ghee in the diet (meaning a rise in the secretion of cholesterol, phospholipids, bile acids and uronic acid in the bile), and (b) the anti-atherogenic, anti-thromobogenic and anti-arthritic property of N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids

· The beneficial physiological effects of spices, leading to discovery of their influence on lipid metabolism; efficiency as anti-diabetics; ability to stimulate digestion; and property and potential as anti-oxidant anti-inflammatory material

· The toxicology of pesticides and food allergy, and toxicological evaluation of various food constituents using the latest methods of bio-chemical testing for mutagenicity and other parameters

· Aluminium toxicity with emphasis on neurotoxicity and Alzheimer's disease

Academic and Training Profile

· Substantial basic research work is carried out in the department, and research findings have found place in a number of journals of national and international standards

The department has excellent State of the art facilities for bio-chemical research backed up with instruments like centrifuges, spectrophotometer (UV/Vis), GLC, HPLC and lyophiliser. Animal house facilitate various nutritional and toxicological investigations.

Head                                                                                Biochemistry and Nutrition   

Central Food Technological Research Institute
Mysore - 570 013.
Ph: [O]+ 91 - 821 - 2514876
Fax: + 91 - 821 - 2517233

E-mail: biochem @ cftri . res . in


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