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Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

The history of agricultural education in Kerala can be traced back to the year 1896 when a scheme was evolved in the erstwhile Travancore State to train a few young men in scientific agriculture at the Demonstration Farm, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, presently, the Cropping Systems Research Centre under Kerala Agricultural University. Agriculture was introduced as an optional subject in the middle school classes in the State in 1922 when an Agricultural Middle School was started at Aluva, Ernakulam District. The popularity and usefulness of this school led to the starting of similar institutions at Kottarakkara and Konni in 1928 and 1931 respectively. Agriculture was later introduced as an optional subject for Intermediate Course in 1953. In 1955, the erstwhile Government of Travancore-Cochin started the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy, Thrissur for imparting higher education in agricultural and veterinary sciences, respectively. These institutions were brought under the direct administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry, respectively. With the formation of Kerala State in 1956, these two colleges were affiliated to the University of Kerala. The post-graduate programmes leading to M.Sc. (Ag), M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees were started in 1961, 1962 and 1965 respectively. On the recommendation of the Second National Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission, one Agricultural University in each State was established. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) were established in India as an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System to give the much needed impetus to Agriculture Education and Research in the Country. As a result the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) was established on 24th February 1971 by virtue of the Act 33 of 1971 and started functioning on 1st February 1972. The Kerala Agricultural University is the 15th in the series of the SAUs. In accordance with the provisions of KAU Act of 1971, the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, were brought under the Kerala Agricultural University. In addition, twenty one agricultural and animal husbandry research stations were also transferred to the KAU for taking up research and extension programmes on various crops, animals, birds, etc. During 2011, Kerala Agricultural University was trifurcated into Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). Now the University has seven colleges (four Agriculture, one Agricultural Engineering, one Forestry, one Co-operation Banking & Management), six RARSs, seven KVKs, 15 Research Stations and 16 Research and Extension Units under the faculties of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry. In addition, one Academy on Climate Change Adaptation and one Institute of Agricultural Technology offering M.Sc. (Integrated) Climate Change Adaptation and Diploma in Agricultural Sciences respectively are also functioning in Kerala Agricultural University.

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Subject: Plant Biotechnology × Author: Hari Sagar, S K × Author: KAU × End date: 2022 × Start date: 2022 × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Anticancer activity of stingless bee propolis on human cancer cells
    (Department of Plant Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2022) Hari Sagar, S K; KAU; Shanas, S
    The present research work entitled “Anticancer activity of stingless bee propolis on human cancer cell line” was carried out in the Department of Plant Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and Department of Genomic Science, Central University of Kerala during 2020-2021, with the objective to study the effect of propolis collected from two different genera of Stingless bees, viz., Lisotrigona sp. and Tetragonula spp. on human cancer cell line- A549. Crude propolis samples were collected from the nest of three species of stingless bees Lisotrigona sp. (Kollam), Tetragonula calophyllae (Thiruvananthapuram) and Tetragonula travancorica (Thiruvananthapuram). Propolis samples were macerated at room temperature and extracted with 95% ethanol. MTT assay was performed and IC-50 values were calculated in-order to determine the influence of propolis on the proliferation of human cancer cell line. Five different concentrations of propolis, viz., 150µg/ml, 300µg/ml, 450µg/ml, 600µg/ml and 900µg/ml respectively, were added to A549 cells for a period of 24 hrs. Cells treated with the propolis extracted from Lisotrigona sp, T. calophyllae and T. travancorica obtained IC50 values of 485.822 ug/ml, 236.6095 ug/ml and 294.223 ug/ml respectively. It was observed that, propolis treatment had an inhibitory effect on A549 cells after 24 hrs treatment in relative to the control. When the cells were treated with the right concentration of propolis, marked difference in their morphology was observed. The cells appeared to shrink and were floating.Quality and quantity of the samples were analyzed through nanodrop, which gave an absorbance value of 1.8 to 2.0 for all the samples. The concentration of the samples observed was between 30-200 ngµl-1 . The RNA samples were then subjected to cDNA conversion (iScriptTM cDNA Synthesis Kit). The cDNA of control and treated samples were then subjected qRT PCR. The real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was performed with the Applied Biosystems PCR system in a total volume of 10 µl and expression of different genes was studied. Gene expression analysis revealed that propolis taken from Lisotrigona sp. treated VIM was downregulated and it indicates that the cell migration and EMT formation are suppressed. propolis taken from T. calophyllae downregulated the expression of NODAL and it shows the inhibition of EMT formation. propolis taken from Lisotrigona sp. showed upregulation of CDX2 expression indicating that propolis from Lisotrigona sp. inhibits cell proliferation. 59 To conclude, the result of the study proved that, propolis obtained from the stingless bee Lisotrigona sp. showed more inhibitory effect on cancer cell line- A549 compared to Tetragonula spp.