Aquapreneur » marine extract

Researchers worry that damage to the oceans could mean some species — and whatever chemicals they produce — will be lost before they’re found

Admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:45:20 +0000

Marc Slattery, a marine biologist by training, looks to sponges and coral as possible sources of drugs. As stationary species in the open ocean, these organisms have developed many chemical defenses to protect themselves. Slattery studies whether those chemicals could protect us, too. Maybe the same compounds that fend off fish could battle viruses, kill bacteria, and even fight cancer.

“These organisms are producing some nasty sorts of chemistry,” Slattery explains. “If you focus on the biotech side of things, there may be a drug in that” — or, he suspects, many.

After a long history of success on land, pharmacognosy — the search for substances in nature that have pharmaceutical potential — is finally getting its sea legs. Slattery, a pharmacognosy professor at the University of Mississippi, is one of the researchers scouring the oceans for cures.

Ocean acidification, warming water temperature and pollution all threaten sensitive corals and the symbiotic species that live on the reefs. Says Michael Lesser, a coral reef biologist at the University of New Hampshire who collaborates with Slattery, “We could lose something that could have great value to us as human beings, and not even know it.”

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MDPI Publishes New Marine Drugs Issue: Volume 8, Issue 6

Admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:16:40 +0000

MDPI AG announce the publication of the following issue: Mar.
Drugs, Volume 8, Issue 6 (June 2010), Pages 1731-1961 at
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/

Table of Contents:

Sonia de Caralt, Javier Sánchez-Fontenla, María J. Uriz and Rene H.
Wijffels
Article: In Situ Aquaculture Methods for Dysidea avara (Demospongiae,
Porifera) in the Northwestern Mediterranean
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1731-1742; doi:10.3390/md8061731
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1731

Charles Santhanaraju Vairappan, Takahiro Ishii, Tan Kai Lee, Minoru Suzuki
and Zhan Zhaoqi
Article: Antibacterial Activities of a New Brominated Diterpene from
Borneon Laurencia spp.
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1743-1749; doi:10.3390/md8061743
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1743

Ruth Harris, Elena Lecumberri and Angeles Heras
Article: Chitosan-Genipin Microspheres for the Controlled Release of
Drugs: Clarithromycin, Tramadol and Heparin
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1750-1762; doi:10.3390/md8061750
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1750

João C. Fernandes, Humberto Spindola, Vanessa de Sousa, Alice
Santos-Silva, Manuela E. Pintado, Francisco Xavier Malcata and João E.
Carvalho
Communication: Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Chitooligosaccharides in Vivo
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1763-1768; doi:10.3390/md8061763
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1763

Xiaomei Wei, Tim S. Bugni, Mary Kay Harper, Imelda T. Sandoval, Elizabeth
J. Manos, Jennifer Swift, Ryan M. Van Wagoner, David A. Jones and Chris M.
Ireland
Article: Evaluation of Pyridoacridine Alkaloids in a Zebrafish Phenotypic
Assay
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1769-1778; doi:10.3390/md8061769
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1769

Annarita Poli, Gianluca Anzelmo and Barbara Nicolaus
Review: Bacterial Exopolysaccharides from Extreme Marine Habitats:
Production, Characterization and Biological Activities
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1779-1802; doi:10.3390/md8061779
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1779

Susan Matthew, Ranjala Ratnayake, Mikel A. Becerro, Raphael
Ritson-Williams, Valerie J. Paul and Hendrik Luesch
Article: Intramolecular Modulation of Serine Protease Inhibitor Activity
in a Marine Cyanobacterium with Antifeedant Properties
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1803-1816; doi:10.3390/md8061803
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1803

Li Liu and Kathleen S. Rein
Review: New Peptides Isolated from Lyngbya Species: A Review
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1817-1837; doi:10.3390/md8061817
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1817

Amandine Caillaud, Pablo de la Iglesia, H. Taiana Darius, Serge Pauillac,
Katerina Aligizaki, Santiago Fraga, Mireille Chinain and Jorge Diogène
Review: Update on Methodologies Available for Ciguatoxin Determination:
Perspectives to Confront the Onset of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in Europe
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1838-1907; doi:10.3390/md8061838
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1838

Bárbara Frazão, Rosário Martins and Vitor Vasconcelos
Article: Are Known Cyanotoxins Involved in the Toxicity of Picoplanktonic
and Filamentous North Atlantic Marine Cyanobacteria?
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1908-1919; doi:10.3390/md8061908
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1908

Chen Zhang and Se-Kwon Kim
Review: Research and Application of Marine Microbial Enzymes: Status and
Prospects
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1920-1934; doi:10.3390/md8061920
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1920

Christine J. Band-Schmidt, José J. Bustillos-Guzmán, David J.
López-Cortés, Ismael Gárate-Lizárraga, Erick J. Núñez-Vázquez and
Francisco E. Hernández-Sandoval
Review: Ecological and Physiological Studies of Gymnodinium catenatum in
the Mexican Pacific: A Review
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1935-1961; doi:10.3390/md8061935
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1935

5th International Conference on Marine Bioprospecting, Tromso, Norway

Admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:47:40 +0000

23-25th February 2011

Registration and preliminary program available in September

BIOPROSP is a leading international biennial conference series on bioprospecting from cold marine environments. These conferences aim to present explorative research and its industrial applications in an integrated fashion. On behalf of the Scientific Committee, you are invited to Tromsø and the BIOPROSP Conference 2011.

The focus in the 2011 conference will be industrial biotech and bioprospecting as a stepping stone towards the bioeconomy.

Target group: Academic and industry researchers, decision makers, regulatory experts, investors and public facilitators.

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Ongoing Project Aims to Recover Nutritional Value From Seafood and Brewing Waste

Admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:47:27 +0000

Preliminary findings from a UK government funded project focused on extracting value from seafood and beverage processing waste shows the process could potentially recover nutritional components such as glucosamine.
The process involves an ionic liquid (IL) extraction process which selectively recovers targeted high value components under mild conditions. Ionic Liquids are clean, inexpensive solvents whose properties can be tailored for recovery of specific target molecules. Recycling of recovered components for applications in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and chemical markets will deliver both economic and environmental benefits to technology adopters.

C-Tech Innovation, a UK based technology development company, is leading the three year EXCIL project that involves collaboration with key stakeholders including Heineken UK, seafood processor West Coast Sea Products, GlycoMar Ltd., the Sea Fish Industry Authority, waste management firm SITA UK and Imperial College London.

The research is being by funded by a UK government agency, the Technology Strategy Board, with the stated objective being to provide a new approach to solving the environmental and financial costs involved in disposal of food and brewing waste through a sustainable and resource efficient method.

EXCIL is a 3 year project which started in October 2009.

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Ocean Nutrition Canada (ONC) Adds New Omega-3 Microencapsulation Technology to Portfolio

Admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:07:22 +0000

Ocean Nutrition Canada (ONC) has added a new microencapsulation technology to its offerings buy purchasing a five-year license to the fish oil business and encapsulation technology of Austrian tech firm, GAT Food Essentials.

The undisclosed deal will see the Canadian fish oil leader take exclusive rights to GAT’s wowCAPS technology that has proved particularly suitable to dairy formulations, although ONC’s own PowderLoc encapsulation technology has had success there too.

ONC will also take control of GAT’s existing customers in the fish oil space, with there being potential for the two to work together on research and development and formulation.

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NutritionalFinds to Sell Maritech’s Seaweed Extract Joint Blend in North America

Admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:46:23 +0000

NutritionalFinds.com, a division of Natural Discoveries LLC, announced that they have been granted the exclusive rights to represent Maritech^® Joint Blend bioactive for nutraceutical applications in North America. Maritech^® Joint blend is a proprietary, certified organic combination of 3 unique fucoidans extracted from seaweed which has been clinically proven safe and effective for reducing the symptoms of osteoarthritis. NutritionalFinds will promote Maritech^® as a trademarked raw material for joint health in the U.S. and Canadian markets.

Recent human clinical research (Biologics: Targets & Therapy 2010:4 33-44) conducted at Southern Cross University NatMed Research Centre demonstrated that the natural seaweed extract can reduce osteoarthritis symptoms in some patients by up to 52%. Fucoidans are bioactive polysaccharides thought to be responsible for many of the health benefits attributed to brown seaweeds such as wakame.

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Seafood Byproduct Seminar in Ireland mid June

Admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:47:29 +0000

The Irish Farmers Assoiciation (IFA) Aquaculture and the Irish Sea Fisheries Board, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM)’s Aquaculture division will host a special seminar in the Sheraton Hotel, Athlone on June 16, starting at 11.00am.

The seminar will be open to all seafood processors and aquaculture operators and will look at the two main issues on by-products through specialist talks and discussions: 1. Regulationof by-products and 2. Options and opportunities for disposal / sale.

Options for the industry for alternatives to rendering of seafood by-products are gradually coming on stream, including incineration, composting, anaerobic digestion and transformation into technical products. All of these areas will be looked at in detail at the seminar.

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Aker Biomarine’s Krill Fisheries Receives Marine Stewardship Council Certification

Admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:36:47 +0000

Aker BioMarine has today received confirmation that its krill fisheries will be certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an independent, global, non-profit organization that works to promote the best choices in sustainable seafood.

In future purchases of Aker BioMarine’s Superba(tm) and Qrill(tm) products, consumers can be assured that their Omega-3 rich krill products are harvested in an environmentally sustainable way.

MSC’s fishery certification program contributes to the health of the world’s oceans by recognizing and rewarding sustainable fishing practices, influencing the choices people make when buying seafood and working with partners to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis. The MSC certification is a visible demonstration of Aker BioMarine’s long term commitment to the environment.

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Aqua Bio Tech Signs Major Supply Development Agreements

Admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:39:39 +0000

Aqua Bio Technology ASA (ABT), a marine biotechnology and ingredient company, signed two major supply and development agreements. The first agreement is with Bioforskning AS to supply ABT’s patented bioactive ingredient Zonase X™, an ingredient with origins from salmon hatching fluid for use in Bioforskning’s Skin Science professional skincare line. ABT has also secured a major supply and development deal with a global market leader in the health care sector.

Biofoskning’s Skin Science is an exclusive skincare line sold in the Scandinavian professional skincare market. Bioforskning AS is currently preparing a sales expansion of their Skin Science line to several major European markets during the second half of 2010, in addition to developing new lines of products incorporating ingredients such as ABT’s Zonase X, which will be launched during the second half of 2010 and first half 2011.

ABT’s supply and development agreement with the global health care company, who does not wish to be disclosed at this time for strategic reasons, involves development of new products based on certain components contained in ABT’s patented Zonase technology, including Zonase X. The agreement represents a breakthrough for ABT’s new ingredient technology and has significant commercial potential for the company, as it comprises development of products outside of the original application areas of Zonase (which include exfoliation, moisturization and rejuvenation of skin), proving the versatility of the Zonase X technology. A patent application has been filed securing both parties’ common commercial rights within the new product area.

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Carlson Laboratories Introduces Liquid CalaOmega from Calamari

Admin — Fri, 14 May 2010 22:30:22 +0000

Carlson Laboratories is proud to introduce Liquid CalaOmega, its newest Norwegian marine oil. Liquid CalaOmega from calamari oil is naturally rich in DHA. Although both DHA and EPA provide cardiovascular benefits, DHA is almost exclusively the only omega-3 fatty acid in our brains and eyes. Unlike most harvested marine life, the DHA levels in calamari oil are over twice as high as the EPA levels making it a preferred source. Liquid CalaOmega provides 800 mg of DHA and 400 mg of EPA per delicious lemon-flavored teaspoon.

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