The discovering has raised alarms as a bit of native folks comply with traditions of consuming Cycad plant merchandise, reminiscent of ‘pitha' (an area meals), as a part of their eating regimen and rituals.
This discovery was made as a part of analysis by AIIMS Bhubaneswar to seek out out whether or not consuming Cycad plant-based meals straight poses a threat of neurological illnesses.
“Whether or not this (Cycad plant-based meals) consumption is straight linked to an elevated incidence of neurological illnesses stays a important query. To get a solution to the question, the AIIMS Bhubaneswar has initiated analysis,” an announcement issued on Tuesday.
Specialists engaged straight with villagers, sufferers, and native healthcare suppliers to grasp the potential neurological and associated well being issues arising from the consumption of Cycad seeds.
A distinguished group of nationwide and worldwide scientists and medical specialists just lately participated in a global workshop titled “Cycad-Associated Neurological Problems: A Multi-Dimensional Method to Its Remediation”.The occasion was collectively organised by the Division of Neurology, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, and the North-Japanese Hill College (NEHU), Shillong.The workshop highlighted the intense well being dangers related to Cycad, an historic plant species that coexisted with dinosaurs for over 300 million years, the assertion mentioned.
“Typically used as we speak as decorative flora, Cycad species include potent toxins, together with Cycacin, BMAA (β-N-methylamino-L-alanine), and MAM (methylazoxymethanol),” it mentioned.
These toxins have been strongly related to “debilitating neurodegenerative illnesses reminiscent of Parkinsonism, motor neurone illness, and dementia in different international areas, notably the Guam peninsula within the US and the Kii peninsula in Japan, the place the plant has been an indigenous a part of conventional diets”, it mentioned.
The workshop concluded with a dedication to organize a transparent roadmap for advancing the analysis, enhancing neighborhood consciousness, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration aimed toward understanding and mitigating the numerous well being dangers related to Cycad consumption within the area.
