Research & Development

Making Protein 'Superfood' from Marine Algae

Marine microalgae-based cellular agriculture is a promising new way to sustainably produce plant-based 'meat' and healthy 'superfoods' for the future. Researchers at Flinders University's Centre for Marine Bioproducts Development (CMBD) in Australia are responding to growing interest from consumers looking for healthier, more environmentally friendly, sustainable and ethical alternatives to animal proteins.

Marine microalgae, single-cell photosynthetic organisms from the ocean could be the solution to the world's meat protein shortage, says CMBD director Flinders University Professor Wei Zhang, who is also co-leading a bid to establish a national Marine Bioproducts Cooperative Research Centre (MB-CRC) in Australia. The CRC's mission is to find ways to develop the third-generation of Australian high-value marine bioindustry (as opposed to the first-generation of fisheries and the second-generation of aquaculture) and transform Australia's emerging marine bioproducts sector into a globally competitive industry.
The Centre's focus will be on industry and market-driven innovations to improve both the supply chain and value chain to deliver costs savings, improved production and competitive capacity for Australia to access high value marine bioproducts markets across the globe.

"Our research spans the entire value chain, from microalgae cultivation and circular advanced biomanufacturing to the development of high-value functional food," Professor Zhang says. "Microalgae come in a diverse range of nutritional profiles and advanced cultivation strategies can be developed for tuning microalgae to produce protein-, oil- and carbohydrate-dominant types that can be processed into a broad range of functional foods, including healthy cell patties, chips, pastes, jams and even caviar."
Along with research into processing techniques, the CMBD team is also investigating the use of waste or harvested seaweed for biodegradable plastics production, another sustainable solution to non-degradable petroleum-based plastics.

(Source: Agriculture and Food News, ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com)