On the Prospective Application of an Extracellular Material of the Marine Cyanobacterium Nostoc calcicola BDU 40302 in Male Contraception

Cyanobacteria are prokaryotic aquatic organisms. Their potential to produce varied and extensive secondary metabolites, both intracellularly and more importantly extracellularly, has come to light, and attempts are afoot to find the application of these compounds as nutritional supplements, food additives, natural'colorants, pharmaceuticals, etc. The marine cyanobacteria are an example for diversity biomass and productivity. To find the potential for application of the marine cyanobacteria in human and animal welfare, the Department of Biotechnology, Govt, of India, has established the National Facility for Marine Cyanobacteria (NFMC), the only one of its kind in whole country, at Bharathidasan University. ICMR, Government of India, has funded a research project to find the application of marine cyanobacteria in male contraception and the results are promising.