Demand for nutraceutical products drives growth in Indian market, projected to reach $18 bn by 2025

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A Workshop on Natural Biopolymers noted that demand for food products has increased in recent years leading to remarkable growth in the sector at a compound annual growth rate of 20 percent over the past three years.

This trend is driven by increasing health awareness among the public and an increasing focus on preventive healthcare. Projections are that the nutrients market in India will expand from $4 billion to $18 billion by the end of 2025, according to experts.

ICAR’s International Institute for Agricultural Research organized the workshop within the framework of its scientific social responsibility policy. Experts also considered the increasing demand for food products as an indication of the need to use untapped natural resources.

CMFRI Director A Gopalakrishnan stressed the urgent need to explore marine organisms to uncover new bioactive compounds capable of addressing unmet medical needs and pushing the boundaries of healthcare.

Medicinal uses

CMFRI’s seaweed food products for the treatment of various lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity, arthritis, hypertension, hypothyroidism, etc., have received overwhelming response from the public. He said that the institute will continue to explore the medical prospects for these marine organisms, adding that efforts are required to take advantage of the huge potential of natural resources such as marine organisms to develop innovative pharmaceutical products.

The workshop aims to share the latest information and techniques related to the isolation, characterization and development of natural biopolymers with pharmaceutical applications, said Kajal Chakraborty, principal scientist and workshop coordinator.

Developing value-added products from marine organisms such as seaweed will provide health benefits to consumers and create downstream value chain opportunities. He added that natural biopolymers such as proteins, polysaccharides and nucleic acids show promise in medicine.