Lucknow: The Allahabad University has claimed to have got its first independent patent for a process to culture a fungal organism that would effectively help cure a skin disease, officials said.

"The patent has been granted following an application entitled `Modified culture medium and process for the preparation thereof'," said Anupam Dikshit, a professor of the botany department, under whose guidance research scholar Siddartha Dutta developed the process.

The process is a 'medium' that will help in growing a fungal organism known as Malassezia that causes a skin disease called Pityriasis Versicolor, popularly known as Sehuan, Dikshit told sources.

"This is a disease in which hypo pigmentation occurs on the skin of the human beings because of which it loses its natural texture and is marked with small white spots on face and other parts of the body," the professor explained.

According to Dikshit, the proper treatment of a patient suffering from this disease can be more effective if the causal organism can be cultured in a laboratory.

"The medium to culture this organism available in the market was too costly and had certain other limitations as well," he added.

With an objective to develop a medium suited to the Indian environment and Indian vegetarians, attempts were made to cultivate it in India so as to benefit not only the scientists but patients suffering with this disease, Dikshit said.

"The disease is quite prevalent in the rural areas of the country," he added.

Dikshit said that the patent (no. 217897) had been conveyed in a communiqué received by the university July 17 from the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) of the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi. IANS