Profile
Jeyaram is working at the Regional Centre of the Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), Gangtok, Sikkim. His research focuses on naturally (artisanal) fermented foods and beverages. The fundamental aims of his study are to unravel, why certain microorganisms prevail in certain food fermentations by using state-of-the-art techniques (metagenomics and metabolomics), and how the functionality (beneficial health benefits) of fermented foods can be explained biochemically and molecular biologically. His main research program is on understanding the microbial ecology of traditionally fermented foods and beverages of Northeast India (particularly soybean, bamboo-shoot, fish, milk, meat, and vegetable-based products; rice, millet, and tea-based beverages; wine from Rhododendron- flower, palm-sap, and fruits) with emphasis on characterizing the “probiome”, the beneficial microbes (Lactic acid bacteria, Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Acetic acid bacteria, Yeast, and Moulds) for developing starter culture for industrial food fermentation and unraveling their functionality to develop probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, nutraceuticals and functional foods.
Current Focus Areas
Microbial ecology of natural food fermentation
Starter culture designing and food fermentation process optimization
Unraveling beneficial microbes to probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics.
Chemical profiling and bioactivity screening to develop nutraceuticals and functional foods
Molecular methods for foodborne pathogens detection and microbial risk assessment.
Pilot scale studies of industrial food fermentation
Selected Publications
Imrat, Labala, R.K., Velhal, S., Bhagat, S., Patel, V. and Jeyaram, K., 2020. Small double-stranded RNA with anti-HIV activity abundantly produced by Bacillus subtilis MTCC5480 isolated from fermented soybean. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 161, pp.828-835.
Keisam, S., Tuikhar, N., Ahmed, G. and Jeyaram, K., 2019. Toxigenic and pathogenic potential of enteric bacterial pathogens prevalent in the traditional fermented foods marketed in the Northeast region of India. International journal of food microbiology, 296, pp.21-30.
Tuikhar, N., Keisam, S., Labala, R.K., Ramakrishnan, P., Arunkumar, M.C., Ahmed, G., Biagi, E. and Jeyaram, K., 2019. Comparative analysis of the gut microbiota in centenarians and young adults shows a common signature across genotypically non-related populations. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, 179, pp.23-35.
Djeni, T.N., Kouame, K.H., Ake, F.D., Amoikon, L.S., Dje, M.K. and Jeyaram, K., 2020. Microbial diversity and metabolite profiles of palm wine produced from three different palm tree species in Côte d’Ivoire. Scientific Reports, 10(1), p.1715.
Imrat, Labala, R.K., Behara, A.K. and Jeyaram, K., 2023. Selective extracellular secretion of small double-stranded RNA by Tetragenococcus halophilus. Functional & Integrative Genomics, 23(1), p.10.