Development of applied enzymatic solutions for the enrichment of omega-3 fatty acids in lipid matrices of interest in the animal and vegetable products segment

• Grant number: 21/10305-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Duration: March 01, 2022 - February 28, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Bruno Ieda Cappellozza
• Grantee: Bruno Ieda Cappellozza
• Host Company: BRL Company Ltda
• CNAE: Pesquisa e desenvolvimento experimental em ciências físicas e naturais ; Atividades profissionais, científicas e técnicas não especificadas anteriormente ; Fotocópias, preparação de documentos e outros serviços especializados de apoio administrativo
• City: São Paulo
• Associated researchers: Fábio Márcio Squina
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/04425-5 - Development of enzymatic solutions applied to increase omega-3 fatty acid in lipid matrices of interest in animal and vegetable origin, BP.TT; 22/04323-8 - Development of enzymatic solutions applied to increase omega-3 fatty acid in lipid matrices of interest in animal and vegetable origin, BP.PIPE

Abstract

The potential of enzymes to animal and vegetal products has been debated and presented in several reports from consulting companies and other organizations. In 2018, it exceeded USD 1.3 billion, with an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.6% between 2019 and 2026, demonstrating the interest and potential of this segment for overall livestock nutrition and health. Enzymes have key functions in several metabolic processes, such as the immune system, nutrition, and reproduction. A potential use of such technologies would also be the manipulation of animal and vegetable products, such as eggs, milk, vegetable oil consumed by the population and meat from the various species of interest, such as poultry, swine, and cattle. Therefore, the manipulation of the fatty acid (FA) profile of foods and, consequently, of the product consumed by the population has drawn the attention of researchers in human and animal health/nutrition, since common westernized diets have a high omega-6:omega-3 ratio (15:1), being far from the ideal 2 - 4:1 ratio. This imbalance may be explained by the increased intake of saturated and trans FA, which resulted in a greater occurrence of chronic diseases, such as atherosclerosis and hypertension. One of the reasons is related to the metabolism of omega-6 FAs, leading to the production of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids, while anti-inflammatory compounds originate from omega-3. Consequently, it is paramount to enrich products with omega-3 to ensure the production of anti-inflammatory eicosanoids and a consequent improvement of the immune system. One of these alternatives is the use of the fat-1 gene, expressed by Caenorhabditis elegans, which converts omega-6 into omega-3. Therefore, the objective of present Research Project is to develop enzymatic preparations containing fatty acid desaturase (FAD) enzymes, able to convert omega-6 (linoleic) into omega-3 (linolenic) FA. More specifically, the objective is to evaluate the potential of developing a portfolio of FAD enzymes as an alternative for inclusion in lipid matrices and, consequently, an enrichment of the FA profile of foods to be used in the human and agricultural segment, from vegetable oils to meat and milk produced in the different production systems. This project is extremely relevant to BRL Company LTDA., a technology base startup dedicated to provide innovative solutions to the agrobusiness and health sector. (AU)