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EXTRACTING BIOACTIVES FROM AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD PROCESSING STREAMS
Launched in Melbourne, the Concentration and Separation of Bioactives in Food Science Research Cluster will develop techniques for extracting bioactive compounds from plant, meat and dairy agricultural and food processing streams. “Grape skins and seeds, olive leaves, cartilage and cow hides are commonly thrown away by the food industry, but some of these materials are known to contain compounds with valuable bioactive properties,” says Food Futures Flagship Director, Dr Bruce Lee. “The Cluster aims to make the extraction of bioactive materials like these more cost-effective thereby reducing the cost of the ingredients and ultimately cutting food production costs,” Dr Lee says. According to Cluster Leader, Monash University’s Professor Milton Hearn, the research program could lead to the production of foods and nutraceuticals which assist in maintaining the health of consumers. “Over the next three years the Cluster will develop environmentally acceptable techniques, using molecular imprinting of polymers and foam fractionation, to extract these materials in the laboratory,” Professor Hearn says. “The Flagship Collaboration Fund is designed to facilitate the involvement of the wider Australian research community in addressing the critical national challenges targeted by the Flagships.” “The Flagship will test the resulting bioactives using biochemical, cell-based and physiological systems and then optimise the production processes to ensure they meet the needs of industry. “These technological developments will also be licensed to give the Australian agri-food industry a competitive advantage in the international food, feed and nutraceutical markets.” University of Melbourne Associate Professor, Mathupandian Ashokkumar, says the Cluster will develop a new ultrasonic atomisation technique to concentrate and separate bioactive compounds. The Flagship Collaboration Fund is designed to facilitate the involvement of the wider Australian research community in addressing the critical national challenges targeted by the Flagships. As part of the $305 million over seven years provided by the Australian Government to the National Research Flagships, $97 million was specifically allocated to further enhance collaboration between CSIRO, Australian universities and other publicly funded research agencies.
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