Conagen develops flavonoid by precision fermentation

Published: 6-Jan-2022

Kaempferol is a flavonoid with health-promoting properties found in tea, fruits, and vegetables, especially rich in green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale

Conagen, a Massachusetts-based biotech, has announced the development of antioxidant kaempferol produced by precision fermentation. The development is positioned to enable brands in nutrition, beauty, and personal care products to adopt a more natural position by formulating with the sustainable ingredient.

Kaempferol is a flavonoid with health-promoting properties found in tea, fruits, and vegetables, especially rich in green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale.

“We’re bringing to market a pure and natural kaempferol at affordable prices that were not possible or available until now,” said Casey Lippmeier, VP of Innovation at Conagen. “Conagen’s scalable, precision fermentation for producing flavonoids like kaempferol is more efficient and sustainable than what can be achieved with the chemically-synthesised or botanically-sourced molecule.”

Plants protect themselves and their fruits against biological intruders such as fungi and bacteria by using phenolic phytochemicals, including flavonoids. Accordingly, the company claims, kaempferol provides anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and immune system benefits to humans.

In multiple studies, the ingredient has reportedly demonstrated a range of promising beneficial activities, primarily as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, for reducing the risk of chronic diseases, especially cancer.

The company derived kaempferol from its molecular platform for flavonoid antioxidants, including the previously announced molecules. Its commercialisation partner, Blue California, will use the kaempferol to expand its offerings of specialty ingredient solutions.

“This launch further demonstrates our talent for delivering innovative compounds which are ideal for dietary supplements and ‘clean-label’ ingredients for functional foods, beverages, and cosmetics,” said Lippmeier. “Our vision for promoting health and wellness is to continuously leverage our precision fermentation capabilities for high-quality phenolic and flavonoid phytonutrients, thus confirming our position as a leader in the development of strains and processes for making clean-label ingredients and nutraceuticals.”

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