Use edible products such as tomato fruit and yeast to make antioxidant and anti-inflammatory drugs. Against eye diseases, but also for uses in the nutraceutical and cosmetic fields. This is the new scenario that could be possible thanks to the results of a study published in the journal Plant Physiology by the researchers of the Enea Biotechnology laboratory.
Against maculopathy
Scientists have, in fact, developed and patented an innovative low-cost process that allows the production of an important class of bioactive molecules such as crocins. The latter have a protective function against maculopathy, a highly disabling degenerative disease of the retina which, according to recent studies, will affect approximately 280 million people worldwide in 2040.
In nature, the stigmas of saffron are rich in crocetin (a fundamental substance for the production of crocin), but “to produce all the crocins necessary for the prevention of maculopathy, it would be necessary to double the world production of saffron, a rare and expensive spice, and allocate it all for this purpose, “he explains Sarah Fruscianteresearcher Enea, co-author of the study and inventor of the patent together with Giovanni Giuliano, Olivia Demurtas and Giuseppe Aprea. Therefore, the researchers’ goal is to use biotechnology to produce these molecules.
So far, production has been based on systems such as the bacterium Escherichia coli or tobacco leaves, i.e. inedible products and for which, therefore, a purification process is necessary. This new research could therefore represent a turning point, opening the way to the production of crocins starting from edible organisms recognized as safe as, in fact, the fruit of the tomato.
The crocine
As stated in the study, the researchers identified a new enzyme from a shrub native to South America (Bixa orellana), capable of synthesizing, that is, producing crocins starting from widespread carotenoids. Carotenoids are plant pigments characterized by red, orange and yellow color and have the function of photoprotective agents. They are contained in many foods of plant origin.
In particular, the scientists observed that tomato fruits, rich in beta-carotene and lycopene (two of the most important carotenoids), produced high levels of crocins, similar to those found in saffron.
Considering that the world production of tomatoes is around 180 million tons per year, if we were able to convert 10% of this production into “crocin-producing” tomatoes, we could have 180 tons of crocins, that is 60 times the quantity. higher when compared to world saffron production, the researchers write.