Opis projektu
Niedroga produkcja suplementów na bazie mikroalg
Kwasy tłuszczowe omega-3 i przeciwutleniacze, takie jak astaksantyna, stanowią cenny dodatek do ludzkiej diety, którego potencjalne zalety obejmują korzystny wpływ na układ sercowo-naczyniowy, wzrok i funkcje poznawcze. Obie substancje są jednak wytwarzane przez różne ryby lub mikroalgi morskie w ramach kosztownego i szkodliwego dla środowiska procesu. Finansowany przez Europejską Radę ds. Badań Naukowych projekt ASTAOMEGA ma na celu opracowanie innowacyjnego systemu produkcji tych składników na bazie gatunku szybko rosnących mikroalg morskich o nazwie Nannochloropsis gaditana. Proponowany system będzie niedrogi i zapewni wysoką efektywność procesu bez negatywnego wpływu na środowisko. Ponadto powinien wywrzeć pozytywny wpływ na europejski przemysł mikroalg i rynek nutraceutyków.
Cel
This project aims at developing an innovative and commercially competitive production platform for high value products as Astaxanthin and Omega-3, to be used for human nutrition or aquaculture.
Astaxanthin is a pigment primary produced by microalgae: this carotenoid has a strong antioxidant power and it is used in different fields as healthcare, food/feed supplementation and as pigmenting agent in aquaculture. However, cultivation of the main microalgae species producing Astaxanthin is costly due to low biomass productivity or low Astaxanthin content, causing an extremely high price of this molecule on the market.
Marine microalgae are also the primary producers of Omega-3, very long chain fatty acids, essential components of high quality diets for humans, being related to cardiovascular wellness, and proper visual and cognitive development. However, due to the high cost of microalgae cultivation, the market of Omega-3 is mostly based on fish or krill oils, with high costs and environment impacts associated.
New sources of Astaxanthin and Omega-3 must thus be implemented: based on the results obtained in ERC-Stg-SOLENALGAE, an innovative, low cost and high productive strategy can be proposed for simultaneous Astaxanthin and Omega-3 production in the robust and fast growing marine microalgae species Nannochloropsis gaditana.
The main objectives of the ASTAOMEGA project will be:
1. To validate to a demonstration stage the ASTAOMEGA system
2. The assessment of the market size and market requirements, through extensive market analysis
3. The identification of the best suitable commercial route to be undertaken to take the ASTAOMEGA system to the market, as inception of a spin-off company and/or the licensing agreements on the IPR exploitation with the interested end-users (see LOIs).
The ASTAOMEGA team is confident that the outcomes of this project are poised to exert a beneficial impact on the European microalgae industry and nutraceuticals market
Dziedzina nauki
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmarine biology
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesfisheries
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculeslipids
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsproduction economicsproductivity
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesnutrition
Program(-y)
System finansowania
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept GrantInstytucja przyjmująca
37129 Verona
Włochy