CP Kelco, Fluxome to Develop and Commercialize Bio-derived Resveratrol

CP Kelco U.S., Inc., and Fluxome Sciences A/S, a Copenhagen-based Danish biotechnology company, announced a joint venture to develop and commercialize fermentation-derived resveratrol for the dietary supplement, food, beverage and cosmetics markets.

According to reports, resveratrol, a potent antioxidant typically found in grapes and red wine, has been associated with positive effects on aging, cardiovascular health, diabetes, obesity and certain cancers. The material is believed to be a contributing factor to the “French Paradox,” which refers to the fact that despite a diet that is rich in saturated fats, the French population has a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease.

Among the many physiological effects of resveratrol, research has shown that it can activate sirtuins that play a key role in mitigating cellular damage and age-related disorders. Sirtuins are critical to the function of mitochondria and this is thought to be, in part, the mechanism that explains the life-extension benefits associated with resveratrol observed in certain laboratory animals. These and other findings have generated interest in products based on resveratrol from the dietary supplement, food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

The collaboration between CP Kelco and Fluxome Sciences will reportedly focus on the development and scale-up of a novel fermentation process based on Fluxome Sciences’ proprietary metabolic engineering technology platform. A novel baker’s yeast strain developed by Fluxome will be scaled up by CP Kelco to commercially produce the active form of resveratrol.

According to Fluxome, CP Kelco’s application development expertise and access to key food, beverage and personal care companies will also speed up the penetration of resveratrol products into these applications. The fermentation-derived resveratrol product will be initially positioned as an ingredient for human nutritional supplements in late 2008. Additional commercial applications in foods, beverages and cosmetics will also be developed.

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