CMFRI Develops Dietary Supplement Against Hypertension

Kochi, 28 May 2019: The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has come up with a nutraceutical product from the sea to combat hypertension.

The product, CadalminTM Antihypertensive extract (CadalminTM AHe), was developed from seaweeds commonly available in Indian coastal waters and are known for their extraordinary medicinal properties, said a release here on Tuesday.

“Bioactive pharmacophore leads from seaweeds were used to develop this product, which can be administered orally to regulate hypertension, which is one of the risk factors for stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and arterial aneurysm, and is a leading cause of chronic kidney failure. This is sixth in a series of nutraceutical products developed by the CMFRI. The institute has already developed and commercialised natural products for diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, cholesterol, and hypothyroid,” the release said.

Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, Department of Agriculture Research and Education and Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), released the product at a function held at the CMFRI. 

“The extract contains 100% natural marine bioactive ingredients from selected seaweeds by a patented technology, and would be made available in 400 mg capsules. This nutraceutical does not have any side effects as established by detailed preclinical trials,” said Kajal Chakraborty, senior scientist at the CMFRI, who developed the product. A. Gopalakrishnan, Director, ICAR-CMFRI, said entrepreneurs and start-ups are welcome to upscale and market this product by expression of interest (EOI) with the CMFRI.

“The institute is in the process of developing more health products from the underutilised seaweeds. Efforts are on for standardising and promoting seaweed farming all along the Indian coast as a livelihood option for the coastal communities. This is expected to compensate for the dip in income for the fishermen during lean seasons,” he said.The Hindu