Allahabad :

In a major breakthrough that would help experts find a treatment for ‘Pityriasis versicolor’, popularly known as ‘sehua’, a team of researchers from Allahabad University have developed a liquid medium for harvesting Malassezia fungus, which causes the disease.

The team is led by faculty member of AU’s botany department Anupam Dikshit. The team has also got the method patented (Indian Patent No. 290771) by the Technology, Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) of the department of science and technology (DST).

Dikshit said, “Sehua is a skin disease which causes hypopigmentation of the skin resulting in the loss of its natural texture. The condition is accompanied by the occurrence of small white spots on face and other parts of the body.

“The disease is caused by fungus. The foremost challenge in developing an antidote was to first grow the fungus in a lab.”

Dikshit said that his team’s objective was to develop a medium suitable for the Indian environment and skin. He added that the medium available in the market was too costly and had other limitations as well. “The medium developed by us will be very useful for diagnosis of diseases and in finding a cure for the disease. Besides, the modified medium would also be of great help for various researches,” he added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Allahabad News / by Rajeev Mani / TNN / December 29th, 2017