Project description
Diving deep to find anti-inflammatory algae
What if the solution for a chronic disease lies in our ocean, rivers, or lakes? The EU-funded Algae4IBD project will answer this question. Studying compounds from marine and freshwater micro and macroalgae (seaweed) from lab/pilot to market scale, the project will comprehensively research means to transform aquatic natural biological resources into biologically active compounds for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Specifically, it will develop algae-based compounds while ensuring algae biodiversity preservation through pioneering cultivation and extraction technologies. Algae4IBD proposes innovative solutions to sustainably use algae-based products with improved nutritional quality to positively impact IBD patients.
Objective
Algae4IBD's mission is to develop commercial products for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) prevention and treatment using aquatic natural biological resources. With the emerging developments in natural product, notable success has been achieved in discovering natural products and their synthetic structural analogues with anti-inflammatory activity. However, global biodiversity remains a largely unexploited resource for natural bioactive molecules with an enormous potential for developing commercial products with public health benefits. Micro and macroalgae, found in marine and freshwater, have been identified as promising sources of bioactive compounds including small molecules and secondary metabolites with a wide range of bioactivities as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cancer preventive. Consumption of algae could, therefore, provide defence against chronic inflammatory diseases such as IBD, that until date have no effective cure. This project offers nature to bedside approach, using an entire development along the value chain for a new biodiscovery therapeutic approach by developing and examining algae-based compounds for IBD patients while guaranteeing algae's biodiversity preservation. We propose innovative solutions for increasing the use of algae-based ingredients and to ensure the science-based improvement of nutritional quality and its effect on public health. The researchers, companies and hospitals involved in the different stages of the project will use the biodiversity of algae, both micro and macro, as a wide source for bioactive compounds using state-of-the-art cultivation and extraction technologies for obtaining sufficient amounts of the bio-active molecules together with novel processing protocols. It will result in novel algal-based, high-quality bioactive compounds at GMP grade and lower costs for dual purposes – IBD prevention and treatment in relevance to the food as well as the pharmaceutical industries.
Fields of science
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic health
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinflammatory diseases
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyphycology
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinegastroenterologyinflammatory bowel disease
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
11016 KIRYAT SHEMONA
Israel
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Participants (23)
1200000 KIRYAT SHMONA
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
8026 Bodo
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8005-139 FARO
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
8005-139 Faro
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29870 Lannilis
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R93 Carlow
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80138 Napoli
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46047 Porto Mantovano
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6726 Szeged
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2400 Mol
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142 00 Praha 4
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26123 Oldenburg
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80122 Napoli
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Participation ended
20090 Pieve Emanuele
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
Participation ended
20100 Rozzano (Mi)
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8700 152 OLHAO
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
80122 Napoli
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
8005 226 Faro
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949 76 Nitra
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8650-368 SAGRES
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
72076 Tuebingen
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
142 20 Praha 4
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20132 Milano
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