Employment of intensification strategies in biorreactors for enzymatic synthesis of dietary triacylglycerols from Brazilian oils

• Grant number: 24/07997-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Ariela Veloso de Paula
• Grantee: Ariela Veloso de Paula
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCFAR). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Cleide Mara Faria Soares ; Daniela Remonatto ; Fernando Lucas Primo ; José Vladimir de Oliveira ; Lindomar Alberto Lerin ; Milson dos Santos Barbosa

Abstract

The growing interest in balanced and healthy diets has driven the demand for functional foods, such as dietary triacylglycerols (TAGs). The use of this nutritional component not only promotes health and well-being but can also help prevent diseases such as obesity and heart conditions. The synthesis of these dietary TAGs involves the use of vegetable oils as raw materials, and given Brazil's richness in these inputs, the project proposes the exploration of oils such as patauá, açaí, and pracaxi, native to the Amazon region, whose extraction has significant socioeconomic implications for Amazonian communities by generating opportunities and contributing to the region's development. Therefore, the present project aims at producing dietary TAGs using oils derived from sustainable extraction, catalyzed by low-cost biocatalysts, produced based on the ideals of circular economy, aided by computational simulations and process intensification technologies (PITs). Additionally, the cytotoxicity of dietary TAGs on tumor cells will be evaluated as an initial study related to advancements in the pharmaceutical applications of these compounds. The proposal seeks to obtain products from a process that can favor the economic power of the Amazon region, aiming to promote innovation in technology and environmental responsibility towards regional socioeconomic development and the reduction of Brazilian social inequalities. (AU)