UTILIZATION OF WASTES FROM BRAZILIAN BIODIVERSITY FOR THE BIOINPUTS PRODUCTION OF INTEREST FOR CULTIVATED MEAT

• Grant number: 25/01972-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Rosana Goldbeck Coelho
• Grantee: Giovanna de Faria
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/17148-2 - Sustainable use of agroindustrial waste to obtain bioinputs for cultured meat, AP.R

Abstract

Population growth and the increasing demand for meat and its derivatives have prompted the search for alternative protein sources. Among the explored fields, cultivated meat production, obtained from laboratory cell culture without animal slaughter, has been highlighted as a potential solution to conventional meat. This approach utilizes more sustainable methodologies that prioritize animal welfare and minimize adverse effects on human health. Although the cultivation technique is not entirely new, it faces challenges such as the replacement of bovine fetal serum used in culture medium supplementation. This hinders the process due to its high cost, limited availability, and ethical concerns. Therefore, this research project aims to achieve sustainable utilization of agro-industrial wastes from Brazilian biodiversity to produce bio inputs with potential applications in culture media for cultivated meat. Specifically, we aim to extract proteins and optimize the enzymatic hydrolysis of wastes from babassu and macauba oil extraction (press cake) using commercial enzymes to obtain bio inputs of interest (peptides and bioactive amino acids) for culture medium formulations for cultivated meat production. The protein extraction yield, hydrolysis conditions (temperature, pH, and enzyme:substrate ratio) and physicochemical characteristics of the hydrolysate will be studied to validate the application of these components in animal cell cultivation for cultivated meat production and, potentially, reduce process costs. This project is linked to the thematic project 2022/05731-2, entitled "BEYOND - estaBlishing a fungal cEll factorY for recombinant proteiN proDuction", which has as one of its central objectives the production of proteins for bioinputs for culture medium for cultured meat through heterologous expression in microorganisms. In parallel, this master's project will complement this objective by aiming at the production of proteins and bioinputs from the use of residues from Brazilian biodiversity through enzymatic hydrolysis.