Polyphenols are on everybody’s lips right now – quite literally. Agents of this plant compound can be found in wine, tee and cocoa and are known to be beneficial for ones health. Polyphenols can cause a variety of activating, regulating or protecting effects, e.g. being anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory or even protecting from cancer. Which is why these substances find more and more use in analysis and research, as ingredients for cosmetics and food, but also as active components in medication.
The team working in the microbiology workgroup “Glycodiversification and Biotransformation” at the University of Hamburg is designing a biotechnological method to enhance the functionality of polyphenols. Target attachment of glucose residue increases effectiveness, stability, solubility and bio-availability. The goal is the development of active ingredients in cosmetics and food, but also pharmaceutical applications seem possible. Additionally, the new pure substances can serve as special tracing substances for purposes of research and development.
Staff: Dr. Ulrich Rabausch, Henning Rosenfeld, Norwin Kubick
Cooperation partner: Universität Hamburg, Mikrobiologie
Project site: Glyconic
The GLYCONIC project aims at becoming a start-up of the University of Hamburg. For this purpose HITeC managed to secure funding from the BMBF in 2013. A business model was created and the project was readied for further funding during this probing phase. As a result, support by InnoRampUp of the IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH could be secured in 2014 for further technical developments and an increase of production quantity. Subsequent support was secured as a GO-Bio-Sponsorship (BMBF) which enables further developments until methods and first projects are ready for the market.