BITS Pilani, Hyderabad develops plant-based cure for Thalassaemia, Sickle Cell Anaemia

Time of India

14-05-2025

Hyderabad: Researchers at the
BITS Pilani
, Hyderabad, have developed a
plant-based drug formulation
that could offer more affordable treatment for iron overload, a condition common in patients with Thalassaemia and
Sickle Cell Anaemia
. The new formulation, tested successfully on rats and mice, uses compounds found in plants to remove excess iron from the body and does so using a much lower dosage than the standard treatment available in the market today.
Published in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, the study explains how the team combined caffeic acid, a naturally occurring compound, with amino acids to create two formulations: Caffeic Acid–Spermine (CA-Sp) and Caffeic Acid–Histidine (CA-His). "When compared with the current drug in use, CA-Sp required just one-fifth of the dosage to remove excess iron," said department of biological sciences professor Jayati Ray Dutta. She worked on the project along with Ramakrishnan Ganesan from the department of chemistry. Researchers pointed out that even though the treatment duration was kept the same for comparison, the new drug showed better iron removal and lower toxicity. "We tested for liver inflammation and found that our drug performed better than the standard one," Dutta said. Apart from effectiveness, the formulation also scores high on affordability. "The current drug costs about 300 per dose. Our plant-based formulation could cut the cost by more than 50%," she added. The researchers used the natural iron-binding ability of polyphenols and paired them with compounds known as biogenic amines, which are commonly found in nature. "This is a step forward in developing green, affordable therapies for transfusion-dependent patients. It has the potential to transform iron overload treatment, not just in India but globally," said Ganesan. Iron overload is a growing concern in India, especially among patients with Thalassaemia and Sickle Cell Anaemia who depend on frequent blood transfusions. Left untreated, excess iron can severely damage the liver, heart, and endocrine system, they added and pointed out that India is home to over 100,000 Thalassaemia patients, many of whom require perpetual
iron chelation therapy
(ICT) to manage iron toxicity.