Objective
The objective of this project is to valorize european rapeseed and sunflower lecithins, a by-product of seed in high added values products for cosmetic and fermentation industries. European soja lecithins will be used as reference in this project.
This non food valorisation will be carried out in an integrated approach
associating complementary private partners (1) a lecithin producer for preparation
of new lecithin mixtures from rapeseed sunflower; (2) a fermentation company
using lecithins as the sole carbon source, first for the overproduction highly active
carriers of phospholipids (Phospholipid Transfer Proteins -PLTP) by the fungus
Aspergillus oryzae and secondly on the overproduction of important fungal
industrial enzymes in response to lecithin supplementation; (3) a cosmetic company
combining this highly active fungal PLTP and lecithins to generate new liposome
formulation to develop 'new', 'natural' and 'efficient' cosmetic applications. This
multidisplinary and complementary industrial approach will be realised in close
association with (4) academics to study production processes of fungal PLTP,
structure-function of PLTP in relation with membrane biogenesis and definition of
a generation of new liposome.
In spite of their strong potential as drug delivery systems, liposomes have actually
found their first industrial applications in the field of cosmetics where they have
lead to considerable commercial success. The purification and characterisation for
the first time of a novel highly active PLTP from A. oryzae growing on lecithin
fractions as the sole carbon source open new prospects for improving the
efficiency of liposomes in cosmetics.
This project leading to a better valorisation of european plant lecithins (rapeseed
and sunflower) in cosmetics and to the development of a new market for lecithins
in the fermentation industries, should also provide an opportunity to improve
processing of rapeseed/sunflower lecithins to render acceptable for human
consumption. Therefore, this project should constitute a way to optimize the cost
of bioesters through a reduction of waste products (lecithins) and also an
alternative to american soya lecithins. Furthermore, this project will provide an
opportunity to strengthen collaboration between academic and industrial partners
to improve our knowledge on membrane biogenesis and lipid transporters, an
important objective of cell physiology and biotechnology.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologymycology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculeslipids
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturegrains and oilseedsoilseeds
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsenzymes
- engineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybioprocessing technologiesfermentation
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
44316 NANTES CEDEX 03
France