Spiru - Grow Spirulina At Home

Spiru - 在家种植螺旋藻

• 批准号: 77230
• 金额: $ 17.93万
• 依托单位: BOTANICO DESIGN LTD
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Collaborative R&D
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=77230
• 关键词: Spiru; Grow; Spirulina; Home

Spiru focuses on the development, protection and launch of a novel consumer biotechnology system, capable of growing daily servings of fresh spirulina, a blue-green algae nutraceutical that is recognised as one of the world's most nutrient-dense foods, containing high concentrations of antioxidants, beta-Carotene, iron, protein, and an array of vitamins and minerals.A second, more severe COVID-19 outbreak is expected to claim as many as 120,000 lives in the UK by next year. The public health sector would consequently be under immense pressure and, therefore, the active management of health and our subsequent immune function could play a major role in addressing this challenge. While it is estimated that a COVID-19 vaccine could be ready by mid-2021, there are ongoing concerns with the safety of such a rushed development process, as well as the mutability of the virus and subsequent efficacy of the vaccine. The global nutraceutical market is reported to have seen a demand increase of 20% since the pandemic began, and in addition to this demand shift, COVID-19 has weakened the UK's food supply chains that heavily rely on importing nutritional foods. This not only highlights an opportunity for a UK-derived nutraceutical product, but more evidently signifies the _need_ for such a product.Spirulina has been shown to have anti-viral, anti-inflammatory properties which are thought to boost immune function. Daily spirulina consumption could therefore serve as an effective barrier against future COVID-19 outbreaks, reducing lung tissue inflammation and lowering the risk of pneumonia, the most common cause of COVID-19-related deaths.Spirulina is a popular nutraceutical, most commonly purchased as a powder and added to juices and smoothies, but the process of drying and shipping to the UK from China (where most of the supply originates) reduces its nutritional value by up to 50%. Spiru responds to the sharp increase in demand for nutraceuticals following COVID-19, offering a UK-based solution which retains 100% of available nutrients and does not depend on vulnerable food supply chains. It will be highly relevant in the expanding grow-at-home market, and will address the food industry's production, transport, cooking and waste disposal emissions throughout its lifetime.Spiru will be designed within the circular economy, using bioplastic components and non-polluting processes where possible, and will have a net positive environmental impact. Launching a sustainable, user-friendly product, which can be manufactured at a fraction of the cost of lab-scale spirulina cultivation systems, will be a key challenge of this project, requiring intensive research, product development and testing.

Spiru专注于开发、保护和推出一种新型的消费者生物技术系统，能够每天种植新鲜螺旋藻，这是一种蓝绿藻营养品，被认为是世界上营养最丰富的食物之一，含有高浓度的抗氧化剂、β-胡萝卜素、铁、蛋白质以及一系列维生素和矿物质。第二，到明年，更严重的COVID-19疫情预计将在英国夺走多达12万人的生命。因此，公共卫生部门将面临巨大压力，因此，积极管理健康和我们随后的免疫功能可以在应对这一挑战方面发挥重要作用。虽然估计COVID-19疫苗可于二零二一年年中前准备就绪，但人们持续关注如此仓促的开发过程的安全性，以及病毒的变异性和疫苗的后续功效。据报道，自疫情开始以来，全球营养保健品市场的需求增加了20%，除了这种需求转变外，COVID-19还削弱了英国严重依赖进口营养食品的食品供应链。这不仅凸显了一个机会，英国的营养产品，但更明显地意味着_需要_这样的产品。螺旋藻已被证明具有抗病毒，抗炎特性，被认为是提高免疫功能。因此，每天食用螺旋藻可以有效地抵御未来的COVID-19爆发，减少肺部组织炎症，降低肺炎的风险，肺炎是COVID-19相关死亡的最常见原因。螺旋藻是一种受欢迎的营养品，最常见的是作为粉末购买，并添加到果汁和冰沙中，但是从中国（大部分供应来源地）干燥和运输到英国的过程会使其营养价值降低50%。Spiru应对COVID-19后对营养保健品需求的急剧增长，提供一种基于英国的解决方案，该解决方案保留了100%的可用营养素，并且不依赖脆弱的食品供应链。它将与不断扩大的家庭种植市场高度相关，并将解决食品行业在整个生命周期中的生产、运输、烹饪和废物处理排放问题。Spiru将在循环经济的范围内设计，尽可能使用生物塑料组件和无污染工艺，并将对环境产生积极的净影响。推出一种可持续的、用户友好的产品，这种产品的制造成本仅为实验室规模螺旋藻培养系统的一小部分，这将是该项目的一个关键挑战，需要进行深入的研究、产品开发和测试。