Archive for May, 2011

7th European Conference on Marine Natural Products in August ’11

Posted On: May 19, 2011

Time: 14 – 18 August, 2011

Place: Strömstad, Sweden

Organizer: The Phytochemical Society of Europe and the Division of Pharmacognosy at Uppsala University

http://www.fkog.uu.se/7ECMNP/

This conference is the 7th in a series of meetings in the area of marine natural product research which are organized every second year by European researchers. Professor Lars Bohlin and co-workers have received the honorary mission that for the first time be responsible for organization of 7ECMNP in Sweden.

The conference will take place in Strömstad in close collaboration between Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, and Sven Lovén Center, Gothenburg University.

The conference is focused on international research in the area of marine natural product research with emphasis on biodiversity in the sea. The different scientific sessions during the congress are focused on biodiversity, biological activity, structure, informatics, and systems biology.

Program

 

From Issue 14 • Categories: Tags: Aquapreneur, marine bioprospecting, marine drugs, marine ingredients, marine natural product, pharmaceutical • No Comments

GC Rieber Oils to market fish oil products under new VivoMega brand name

Posted On: May 18, 2011

GC Rieber Oils recently announced that it will sell its fish oil products under the brand name VivoMega™. A recent major initiative by the company to build a new factory that will produce high quality fish oil concentrates of Omega-3 has led to new markets opening up, and thus the company’s desire to be more marketing-driven. Once only selling traditional fish oils,  GC Rieber now has become a total supplier, and has therefore decided to position itself by selling all their products under the brand name VivoMega™

VivoMega™ will be launched on www.vivomega.com.

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From Issue 14 • Categories: Tags: Aquapreneur, DHA, EPA, fish oil, GC Rieber, marine ingredient, marine ingredients, nutraceutical, omega 3, VivoMega • No Comments

Genome of Marine Organism Reveals Hidden Secrets

Posted On: May 13, 2011

An international team of researchers led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has deciphered the genome of a tropical marine organism known to produce substances potentially useful against human diseases.

Tiny photosynthetic microorganisms called cyanobacteria are some of the oldest forms of life on the planet. At times their emergence as toxic blooms causes a threat to humans and animals. But despite the recognized capability of marine strains of the cyanobacterial genus Lyngbya, and specifically the species L. majuscula, to create hundreds of natural products with biomedical promise, surprisingly little is known about the genetics underlying their production.

In this week’s online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a research team led by Scripps graduate student Adam Jones and postdoctoral fellow Emily Monroe, both in the Gerwick laboratory at Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine (CMBB), provide the first insights of the genome of Lyngbya majuscula 3L, a Caribbean organism that generates compounds that are being developed for potential treatment against cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

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From Issue 14 • Categories: Tags: Aquapreneur, L. majuscula, marine bioprospecting, marine biotechnology, marine drugs, marine extract, marine ingredients, marine natural product, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine • No Comments

Neptune Technologies gains NSF environmental claims “OK”

Posted On: May 13, 2011

NSF International has approved the key environmental claims of krill player Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. following an extensive and rigorous review.

The audit ensured conformance to the International Organization for Standardization (IS0) 14021: Environmental labels and declaration, and the Federal Trade Commission (16 CFR PART 260): Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims.

“The efforts that Neptune put into having their claims verified is laudable,” said Petie Davis, sustainability manager at NSF International. “They demonstrated that they had the systems, processes, documentation, and data to support all of their product and process claims,” she added.

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From Issue 14 • Categories: Tags: Aquapreneur, fish oil, krill oil, Neptune Technologies & Bioresources, NSF • No Comments

Bluewave Marine Ingredients expands Asia Pacific distribution network

Posted On: May 13, 2011

Bluewave Marine Ingredients is expanding its Asia Pacific distribution network with the appointment of Nice Garden as distributor of PerfectDigest products for the Taiwan market.

“Nice Garden has exceptional knowledge of the Taiwan market and we believe that with their excellent distribution network, manufacturing capabilities and professionalism they will provide excellent market coverage for the PerfectDigest range,” said Mark Rottmann, COO of Bluewave. ”Taiwan is an important market with great potential as well as being the base of operations for leading companies in the Asia Pacific.”

 

From Issue 14 • Categories: Tags: Aquapreneur, Bluewave Marine Ingredients, fish protein, fish protein hydrolysate, functional ingredients, Nice Garden, seafood byproducts • No Comments

Funding awarded to map genome of krill

Posted On: May 13, 2011

A Canadian researcher who completed his PhD at the Australian Antarctic Division has been awarded a $300,000 fellowship to map the genome of the Antarctic Krill.
Geneticist, Dr Bruce Deagle, is the first recipient of the inaugural R J L Hawke Post Doctoral Fellowship in Antarctic Environmental Science.

Minister for the Environment, Tony Burke said Dr Deagle would use modern genetic technologies to sequence the crustacean’s genome, as well as examine gene expression and how it related to temperature and ocean acidification.

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From Issue 14 • Categories: Tags: Aquapreneur, fish oil, functional ingredients, genome mapping, krill, krill oil, marine bioprospecting, marine natural product • No Comments

Solazyme and Bunge Sign JDA Partnership for Production of Renewable Triglyceride Oils

Posted On: May 6, 2011

Solazyme, Inc., a leading renewable oils and bioproducts company, today announced a two-year joint development agreement (JDA) with Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) to develop microbe-derived oils utilizing Brazilian sugar cane feedstock. The agreement builds on Bunge’s earlier equity investment in Solazyme, and the letter of intent signed by both firms in December 2010 that contemplates a manufacturing joint venture for the production of tailored oils at Bunge’s sugar cane mills in Brazil.

Under the terms of the agreement, Solazyme will leverage its algal fermentation technology in combination with Bunge’s oil processing and milling capabilities to cost-effectively produce targeted triglyceride oils. Development will take place at Bunge’s facility in Moema, Brazil, and at Solazyme’s laboratories in South San Francisco and Campinas, Brazil.

To further align the incentives of both parties, the two companies also entered into a Warrant Agreement. This agreement issues a warrant to Bunge for shares of Solazyme that vests upon the successful completion of key milestones, ultimately targeting the construction of a commercial facility with 100,000 metric tons of output oil coming online in 2013.

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From Issue 14 • Categories: Tags: algae, Aquapreneur, bunge, fermentation, marine microbe, Solazyme, triglyceride oils • No Comments

Omega-3 may slash levels of heart disease risk factor

Posted On: May 6, 2011

Supplements of omega-3 fatty acids are associated with lower levels of an amino acid called homocysteine, an amino acid linked to increased risks of heart disease and dementia, says a new meta-analysis of the scientific evidence.

Data from 11 trials including 720 people with doses of omega-3 ranging from 0.2 to 6 grams per day concluded that supplementation with omega-3s was associated with lower blood levels of homocysteine.

“Our systematic review provides, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive assessment to date of the effects of omega-3 PUFAs on plasma homocysteine,” wrote the researchers in Nutrition.

Researchers from China, Taiwan, and Australia added that a more comprehensive analysis would benefit from additional rigorous and long term trials. They also noted that such trials should also seek to measure whether the reduction in homocysteine levels actually produces an important health effect, such as a reduction in heart disease.

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From Issue 14 • Categories: Tags: Aquapreneur, DHA, EPA, fish oil, marine biotechnology, marine ingredient, marine ingredients, marine natural product, nutraceutical, omega 3, PUFA, seafood byproducts • No Comments

Astaxanthin shows benefits for obese health

Posted On: May 6, 2011

Daily supplements containing astaxanthin, the pink pigment that gives salmon its color, may boost the body’s antioxidants defenses in obese people, says a new study from South Korea.

Researchers from Seoul National University report that daily doses of 5 or 20 milligrams of astaxanthin for three weeks were associated with increases in levels of the body’s own antioxidant defenses, as well as decreases in levels of oxidative species.

“Although these data show that astaxanthin is protective against obesity‐induced oxidative stress, a longer term study with a larger sample size should be conducted to establish whether astaxanthin supplementation can consistently and permanently reduce oxidative stress levels,” wrote the researchers in Phytotherapy Research.

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From Issue 14 • Categories: Tags: algae, Aquapreneur, astaxanthin, marine extract, marine ingredient, marine ingredients, microalgae, obesity, oxidative stress, seafood byproducts • No Comments

Marinova reporting growth for fucoidan products in US, Asia

Posted On: May 6, 2011

Australian biotech firm Marinova has reported “exceptional” demand in the US and Asia for its fucoidans, bioactives from brown seaweed researchers believe could help to explain the health and longevity of the Japanese.While fucoidans were relatively new entrants to the US market, there was a “small but growing” body of science about their benefits, covering everything from anti-viral and anti-inflammatory effects to stem cell modulation, Marinova told NutraIngredients-USA.com.

Marinova had also been “inundated with requests from Japan [where fucoidan is well-established] as they are concerned about their own seaweed supply due to possible radioactive contamination”, revealed business development manager Kevin Krail.

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From Issue 14 • Categories: Tags: algae, Aquapreneur, fucoidans, functional ingredients, marine ingredients, Marinova, microalgae, nutraceutical, seafood byproducts, seaweed • No Comments

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