The results were presented at the final conference of the Bioprospecting of the Adriatic Sea project (BiProCro), which gathered together partners and associates from science and business at the National and University Library in Zagreb.
Bioprospecting is the scientific research of biological materials from plants, microorganisms or animals with the aim of finding biomolecules that have the potential to become useful in various industries.
"We have obtained new antioxidant compounds for use in the food and pharmaceutical industry, which not only have the potential to improve product quality, but also directly affect human health. We also obtained compounds with anti-tumour and anti-inflammatory properties that have promising potential in the creation of new drugs and therapies," BioProCro project manager Rozelindra Čož Rakovac said, adding that they also developed innovative systems for the cultivation of microalgae biomass.
"The results are truly extraordinary and we are very pleased that our work has resulted in the transfer of knowledge to the economy, in cooperation with companies, as well as in six patent applications filed. On top of that, we have submitted 15 and implemented seven international projects," she said.
Experts involved in the project developed protocols and innovative technological solutions for chemical characterisation of biologically active compounds and a web application for rapid identification of small molecules and proteins that are important for biotechnological and medical research.
The added value of the project is the education of young researchers in the field of blue biotechnology, as shown by 14 doctoral dissertations and 14 post-doctoral training programs, and the development of international cooperation with 14 renowned scientific institutions, the presentation was told.
The value of the BioProCro project is around €5 million, and for the first time it brought together all Croatian research groups investigating bioactive compounds isolated from marine organisms in the Croatian Adriatic. In addition to the IRB, the project partners include the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology in Zagreb, the University of Rijeka, the Faculty of Chemical Technology in Split and the Faculty of Food Technology in Osijek. Grants were allocated from the European Structural and Investment Funds and the European Fund for Regional Development through the Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020.