Immunoveg develops cell culture systems from plant lines for the production of bioingredients for the nutraceutical, cosmetic and novel-food sectors. This is achieved using mixers and bio-fermenters and does not involve the use of pesticides.
ImmunoVeg is an innovative start-up, spinoff of the Federico II University of Naples and the CNR. It is one of the first companies to work on enhanced native cells, as Maria Manuela Rigano, co-founder and COO of the company, tells us: “Native cells are stem cells produced from small parts of plant tissue and bred in the laboratory. The enhanced native cells are treated with substances that stimulate the production of bio-ingredients”.
ImmunoVeg's patented natural elicitation method significantly increases the production of bio-ingredients such as antioxidants and polyphenols in plant cell cultures. The technology is highly versatile and applicable to different plant lines. In the nutraceutical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors, savings of up to 40-70% on the costs of bio-ingredients can be achieved by using the technology developed by the Campania-based start-up, which is currently involved in the Terra Next acceleration programme.
‘We take care of the production of the native cells,’ Rigano continues. ‘The production takes place at the Department of Agriculture of the University of Naples Federico II. The raw materials come from different plant sources and we usually collect the material from certified farms.’
With a molecular farming approach, ImmunoVeg offers companies the possibility to produce efficiently biomolecules - such as peptides and proteins - using plant cell lines, algae and roots. ImmunoVeg has fine-tuned the technology by developing different plant cell lines. For example, basing on the annurca apple (a variety of apple native of Campania), ImmunoVeg increased the production of certain bio-ingredients such as ursolic acid by up to 150%. ‘The next step to enter the market is to increase production,’ Rigano concludes.
Website:
Name:
ImmunoVeg
Sector:
Biotechnology
Plus:
Production of bio-ingredients for the nutraceutical, cosmetic and novel-food sectors
Characteristics:
Cell culture systems from plant lines
Image: Envato