Seaweed Research Symposium - 22nd January 2009

Seaweed and urchins The Marine Institute, in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland, Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Údarás na Gaeltachta, hosted a seaweed research symposium at its Rinville Headquarters, Galway on 22nd January 2009.

The symposium provided insights into current international seaweed research. Three presentations from invited international experts covered the production of bioactives from kelp, extraction processes and the research challenges faced by the international seaweed sector.

Enterprise Ireland and the industry consortium provided a briefing on a new industry-led research programme (ILRP) entitled ‘Bioactive Compounds from Seaweed’, which was launched by Enterprise Ireland in December.

The symposium also provided a forum for Irish researchers to share details of their scientific and technical capabilities and research interests with a wide audience of researchers and industrialists.

Symposium in progress; Atlantic Drift Auditorium, Marine Institute The symposium attracted 90 participants from Ireland's research community, seaweed sector and development agencies. The 59 researchers attending the symposium represented 18 different institutes of technology and universities in Ireland with wide-ranging backgrounds and research interests, including seaweed, marine bioprospecting, molecular biology, natural products chemistry, biochemistry, food and nutritional sciences and process engineering.

International Seaweed Research and its Relation to Industry

The three international speakers each emphasised the uniqueness and diversity of seaweed species and identified the reasons why they are such interesting organisms to work with scientifically. However, with a steadily rising global interest in exploiting the potential of seaweeds commercially, the sector faces many challenges in ensuring the sustainable exploitation of the natural stock...

Challenges in the Optimised Production of Bioactives from Kelp

Dr. Philippe Potin, Station Biologique de Roscoff, France

Dr. Philippe Potin

Dr. Potin summarised the factors affecting the bioactive content of seaweeds, which can make characterising individual species and optimising the production of desired bioactives particularly complex; the concentration of bioactive compounds can change with variations in season and location, and in response to biotic and abiotic stress.

Developments in genomics and biotechnology tools however can improve our understanding of the bioactives in seaweeds, including their biogenesis, role within the organism, and the factors affecting their production, which enables scientists to discover new interesting compounds, stimulate their production and potentially synthesise them. Superior traits and plants can also be selected and propagated to increase production. In Asia, the aquaculture of Laminaria japonica in particular is well established, and seaweed aquaculture is beginning to be developed in Europe.

Download Dr. Potin's presentation (PDF, 8.12MB)

Challenges and Options in the Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Macro-Algae

Elena Ibañez, IFI-CSIC, Spain

Dr. Elena Ibañez Once bioactive compounds have been identified, the challenge lies in extracting them at a high yield while retaining their bioactivity. Dr. Ibañez identified the features of an ideal extraction process as speed, selectivity, efficiency, the ability to extract high yields at low cost, with minimal environmental impact.

Three methods that go a long way towards meeting these criteria are based on subjecting solvents to high temperatures and pressures, which increase their transport properties and solvency; they are also quick and relatively cheap: supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) and subcritical water extraction (SWE). Both SFE and SWE in addition permit a high level of selectivity, the raw material from which compounds are extracted can be re-used, and they are very ‘green’, leaving no residue. However, as the polarity of solvents differs and hence their ability to extract low or high polar compounds, the technique and solvent chosen will depend on the target extracts. SFE is practised on an industrial scale, mainly with CO2. SWE and PLE need scaling up, although Dr. Ibañez believes this should not be a difficult process.

Download Dr. Ibañez's presentation (PDF, 6.87MB)

Seaweed Research – The Needs of International Industry
Dr. Alan Critchley, Acadian Seaplants Ltd., Canada

Dr. Alan Critchley Dr. Critchley highlighted the importance of ensuring the sustainability of the resource and environmental stewardship for the future of the seaweed industry, and outlined the issues associated with both the wild harvest of seaweed and its cultivation. Exploiting the natural resource requires integrative management based on a good knowledge of the resource and well defined access rights/licenses; chain of custody and seasonality of access are also issues that need to be considered. Seaweed aquaculture requires the development of cultivars, which can be time-consuming; if extensive it necessitates space and if intensive it will be more expensive. Worldwide competition, particularly from South-East Asia, where seaweed cultivation is well established, is high and should also be taken into account in developing new seaweed based product ideas.

In terms of product marketing, Dr. Critchley highlighted the diversity of seaweed species and the differences both location and manufacturing can have on the final product. He urged that this uniqueness be exploited and that effort is focused on developing niche products based on a solid understanding of the resource. Sustainable exploitation and environmentally sustainable production methods are important in their own right, however consumers now look for such assurances from manufacturers and also make product choices based on these factors. Finally, he pointed to the potential impact of climate change on the seaweed resource, and stressed the need for research and monitoring of climate impacts on natural stocks.

Download Dr. Critchley's presentation (PDF, 12.7MB)

The Industry-Led Research Programme (ILRP)

Industry Research Needs from the ILRP

Dr. Franck Hennequart, Oilean Glas Teo

Dr. Hennequart described the process whereby industry had come together and identified seaweed commercialisation and research priorities: from a series of Marine Institute facilitated workshops during the summer of 2008, through to the definition of an extensive research proposal that has been accepted by Enterprise Ireland and to which 18 companies have signed up.

The aim of the ILRP research programme is to enable all sectors of Ireland's seaweed industry to secure knowledge on which to base the development of new and improved added-value products and processes. The research outputs will enhance industry's competitiveness through the strengthening and validation of scientific and technical information on the seaweed resource and enhance industry's understanding of extraction and processing techniques leading to extract yields being maximised.

The industry identified five species to focus on that are already utilised commercially in Ireland, and three species of interest that have potential for development. Three work packages make up the two year research programme.

WP 1 Status of knowledge: Identify and review existing information on Irish seaweeds and their analysis and amalgamate it in an interactive database.

WP 2 The raw material, its analysis and potential: Assess the potential bioactivity and composition of the active ingredients in relevant seaweeds and their extracts, and provide a clear understanding of factors that influence this composition, such as location, seasonality, etc. Develop and validate reliable analytical protocols for industry to screen and profile seaweed.

WP 3 The processes, their effects and new techniques: Assess the impact of various processing methods on the yield, composition and bioactivity of compounds extracted from seaweed; specify the optimum conditions required to deliver high quality and high volume extracts; validate reliable techniques; and provide an understanding of methods to stabilise bioactive materials and hence improve the shelf life of products containing them.

Dr. Hennequart emphasised the collaborative nature of the research programme and urged researchers to be open and forthcoming with suggestions and ideas in their applications.

Download Dr. Hennequart's presentation (PDF, 256KB)

The ILRP Process
Dr. Cepta Duffy, Enterprise Ireland

Dr. Duffy outlined the ILRP process and invited applications from researchers and research groups to the seaweed ILRP. The closing date for applications is 18th February 2009. All proposals will be evaluated by an independent international expert panel after which interviews will be held. The successful proposal will be finalised by Enterprise Ireland, in conjunction with the ILRP representatives, before being finally approved by both the Industrial Research Commercialisation Committee (IRCC) and the Enterprise Ireland Board.

The full research brief and application can be downloaded via the Enterprise Ireland website.

Any queries regarding the ILRP process should be directed to Dr. Cepta Duffy, Lifescience & Food Commercialisation, Enterprise Ireland, East Point Business Park, Dublin 3 or e-mail cepta.duffy@enterprise-ireland.com.

Download Dr. Duffy's presentation (PDF, 1.94MB).