Acronym BIOCARB-4-FOOD
Category
Fisheries
Title Extraction and characterisation of BIOactives and CARBohydrates from seaweeds and seagrasses FOR FOOD-related Applications Programme International Cooperation
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National-European Coordinator NA Coordinator email NA
Coordinator institution
IATA - Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (Spain)
Institutions involved
NOFIMA - Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (Norway) ,
RISE - Research Institutes of Sweden (Sweden) ,
NA - Teagasc Food Research Centre (Ireland) ,
UH - University of Hohenheim (Germany) ,
Start year 2018 End year 2021 Funding (€) € NA Website https://susfood-db-era.net/main/content/biocarb-4-food Summary Carbohydrates are the most important source of food energy in the world being also key ingredients for food formulations, serving as thickeners, stabilizers and gelling agents or providing functional attributes. Functional and technological properties of polysaccharides depend on composition, structure and physicochemical characteristics, defined by source and extraction method employed. Seaweeds and seagrasses are a valuable and under-exploited source of carbohydrates, in particular cell wall polysaccharides (phycocolloids), and bioactive compounds such as polyphenols or carotenoids. Current industrial procedures used by European companies for carbohydrate extraction from seaweeds are highly inefficient in terms of processing time, water and energy requirements. Furthermore, the remaining biomass (generally much more than 50% of the initial material) is used as compost or simply disposed as organic waste. We propose to explore, in close collaboration with industry, novel, environmentally friendly and efficient extraction techniques (ultrasound, microwave, enzymes and their combinations), combined with the exploitation of the remaining biomass, rich in bioactive compounds, to sequentially obtain novel carbohydrate-based extracts and fibers (nanocellulose) from seaweeds and seagrasses. We will characterize structure, technological properties, toxicity and bioactivity of the fractions obtained from the various extraction technologies and a life cycle assessment (LCA) will also be conducted for proving the sustainability of the procedures. The project is expected to contribute to improved process efficiency, development of ingredients with high added value from already commercialized seaweed species and from under-exploited sources (seagrasses) which can positively impact in the competitiveness of seaweed, food and non-food companies at EU scale by a better valorization of raw materials.
Keywords
Bioactive compounds;
Bioprospecting;
Waste valorization;
Process efficiency;
Human health;
Wastes;
Biomaterial;
Seagrass;
Human food;
Marine Region
76
Not associated to marine areas
0
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