College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

• Vitamin A education
  

  Though retired, Arun Barua continues work with vitamin A.

  
  Arun Barua's entire professional career has revolved around vitamin A research.
  
  For more than 40 years, the scientist has researched the chemistry, biochemistry, bioactivity, metabolism, analysis and nutritional aspects of vitamin A and carotenoids.
  
  The last 25 years of that research has been conducted in the Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology where Barua worked with the late James Olson, an international authority on vitamin A.
  
  Barua's research led to the chemical synthesis of a water-soluble form of vitamin A and determination of its biological activity in animals and humans. The clinical usefulness of this compound in the treatment of certain forms of cancer, skin diseases and emphysema continues to this day.
  
  He is the holder of four U.S. patents and has more than 140 research publications to his credit.
  
  These days however Barua is retired from the research lab. But he still has an interest in vitamin A.
  
  "I've worked on vitamin A for a long time," said Barua, now a collaborating professor of biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology.
  
  So when the opportunity came for Barua to undertake a new approach to his research he jumped at it.
  
  Barua recently returned from India where he participated in the Fulbright Senior Specialists project in India at Gauhati University. The program complements the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program and provides short-term academic opportunities to prominent U.S. faculty and professionals to support curricular and faculty development and institutional planning at post secondary academic institutions around the world.
  
  While in India Barua took part in a vitamin A deficiency eradication program.
  
  "I focused on the importance of vitamin A and the impact of deficiency of this vitamin on the human body," he said.
  
  During his stay, Barua delivered a number of lectures at various schools and colleges underlining the need to consume fruits and green vegetables, the primary source of vitamin A. These foods contain carotene and break down into vitamin A in the body.
  
  Vitamin A is critical to an individual's health - including growth and immunity to diseases.
  
  And without vitamin A, people, typically children, can suffer from xerophthalmia (dry eye). Estimates say that several million children suffer from xerophthalmia worldwide, and between 250,000 to 500,000 of them become blind every year. Night blindness is the first stage of the disease.
  
  The lack of vitamin A in individuals' diets is prominent in India and surrounding nations.
  
  "My primary job was to go into schools and educate them about vitamin A and where we get it from," Barua said. "I told them in simple language and I think they understood."
  
  Barua's efforts extended past the schools. He went into India's slums and spoke to several children. One in particular caught his attention.
  
  "I could tell by looking at him that he had a vitamin A deficiency," he said. "When I asked him what he ate he told me bread and potatoes but no colored vegetables - nothing that had carotene in it."
  
  After talking more with the child, Barua found out the child's father sold vegetables for a living including green vegetables.
  
  "He was just not aware that just a little bit of green vegetables would save his eyesight," he said.

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