Biotechnological Applications In Medicine

Recombinant human insulin produced through genetic engineering was first marketed by the American company Eli Lilly in 1983 under the brand name Humulin, a point highlighted in NCERT Class 12, Chapter 11 (Biotechnology and its Applications). Earlier, diabetics depended on insulin extracted from the pancreas of slaughtered cattle and pigs, which sometimes triggered allergic reactions because the animal hormone was not identical to the human form. Using rDNA technology, the two polypeptide chains of human insulin were produced separately in Escherichia coli and then combined by creating disulphide bonds, yielding a hormone structurally identical to the natural human molecule. Flavr Savr is the trade name of a genetically modified tomato with delayed ripening, not an insulin product. Rosie refers to a transgenic cow that produced human protein-enriched milk, not a drug brand. Eldicet is not associated with recombinant insulin in the NCERT context and does not name a recombinant hormone. The significance of Humulin lies in its purity and identity with the natural human molecule, which removed the immune complications and supply limitations of slaughterhouse-derived insulin. A plausibility check supports Humulin: it is the only option in the list that names an engineered therapeutic hormone rather than a food crop or an animal.