About the Book:

Tobacco (Nicotiana sp.), an industrial and valuable 'cash-crop', is a major economic-force in >125 countries. Tobacco and tobacco-products generates enormous economic benefits in terms of farm-income, revenue-generation and foreign exchange earnings. However, being constantly under radar by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and various health authorities due to ever increasing environmental and health concerns, future of tobacco seems to be in jeopardy. Paradoxically, socio-economic factors strongly urge the finding and suitable utilization of tobacco in unconventional alternative forms using environment-friendly technologies is indisputable.

Traditionally, tobacco is grown and processed into various 'smoke' and 'smoke-less' products, owing to its characteristic nicotine content. Nevertheless, among the plant kingdom, tobacco has been uniquely distinguished for synthesizing a plethora (>4,000) of specialized or secondary-metabolites (viz. alkaloids, terpenes and phenolics etc.). The chemistry, biology and pharmacological properties of these metabolites has been exploited as a promising and high-value alternative source in enormous commercial applications (viz. food, feed, bio-fuel, paper, particle-board, toiletries and personal-care products etc.).

Besides, due to its inherent potential, tobacco also has an incredible history to utilize as an efficient 'bio-factory' for the production of numerous foreign bio-actives having implications in agricultural, cosmetics, fragrance, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. Overall, the unconventional beneficial use of tobacco seems to be endless.

Realizing these facts, alternative uses of tobacco have gained considerable momentum to sustain the crop for non-conventional and economic-viable options in recent times.

Moreover, there is a need to demystify the use of this agricultural crop since society is only concerned with its use in the production of cigarettes. This comprehensive review discusses the recent advances in alternative uses of tobacco in order to highlight its yet so unappreciated benefits to the humanity.

About the Author:

Dr. Raman Manoharlal is currently working as Research Scientist at Department for Agri-Sciences at ITC Life Sciences & Technology Centre (LSTC), Bengaluru. He is a gold medalist in Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (B.Sc. Agriculture) from College of Agriculture, Dhule [Affiliated to Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), Rahuri, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India]. He did his Master’s (M.Sc.) in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (G.B.P.U.A. & T.) Pantnagar, Uttrakhand, India. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) and post-doctoral Research Associate (R.A.) in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from School of Life Sciences (SLS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India. He was a visiting scholar at Institute of Microbiology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), University of Lausanne and University Hospital Center at Lausanne, Switzerland as a part of Indo- Swiss research collaboration. He completed his Post-doctoral Research Fellowship (P.D.F.) from Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA. He is also the holder of Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (D.M.L.T.), Post- Graduate Diploma in Bio-informatics (PGDBI) and Post Graduate Diploma in Nano biotechnology (PGDNT). He is a life member of Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), Indian Society of Cell Biology (ISCB), Association for Microbiologist, India (AMI), Society of Biological Chemists, India (SBC) and Society for Biotechnologists, India (SBI) etc. to name a few. He has extensive research experienc in Multidrug Resistance (MDR) in pathogenic fungi. He is currently engaged in plant-sciences research. He has published more than 40 research articles and 6 book-chapters in peer-reviewed international journals and books.

Dr. G.V.S. Saiprasad is currently working as Senior Principal Scientist & Head of the Department for Agri-Sciences, at ITC Life Sciences & Technology Centre, Bengaluru. Before, he served as Senior Scientist at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). He has a total of 25 years of research experience which includes 10 years in public sector (IIHR, ICAR) & 15 years in private sector. He has completed his graduation from Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University and post-graduation in plant physiology from Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University and received 3 University gold medals for being topper of the University. He per sued his doctorate from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and a récipient of Jawaharlal Nehru Award for his outstanding doctoral research from ICAR, New Delhi. Has carried out Postdoctoral research at CIRAD, France on Functional Genomics of Banana with a fellowship from Agropolis. Has served as member of Research Advisory Committee (RAC) member of Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (ICAR), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), Thanjavur, Tamilnadu. Also, served as Program Advisory Committee member of National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, Chandigarh an autonomous institute of Department of Biotechnology. Member of expert committee of Ministry of Food Processing for screening, peer reviewing and recommendation of new research proposals for funding the same. Has published more than 55 research articles in peer reviewed international and national journals. Has been granted with 2 patents and gave invited lectures at both international and national conferences on diverse topics.