Morning routine! Besides light stretches and meditation, I love to begin my day with a glass of delicious Vii Nutrition mixed fruits & vegetables with microalgae for an extra boost of energy. An active lifestyle is essential for physical health and wellbeing, but did you know strenuous physical activity also causes the body to produce large amounts of free radicals? Not only loaded with powerful nutrients, microalgae effectively helps the body to remove free radicals produces by intense exercises, relieve muscle soreness and fatique, as well as accelerates the recovery of damaged cells.
Seeing the potential in microalgae, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)'s Bioprocessing and Biomanufacturing Research Centre (BBRC) has collaborated with biotechnology company PNT Research to work on enhancing the efficacy of microalgae to contribute towards a society with healthy ageing. PNT Research is a subsidiary of Vii Biohealth Sciences, a biotech conglomerate headquartered in Madrid, Spain producing premium functional ingredients and nutraceuticals. They pride themselves on having a full-fledged R&D team contributing towards sustainability and positive socio-economic impact.
The collaboration will delve into the huge potential microalgae bring in preventing oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress had been linked to many chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetics, Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). It is caused by an excess of free radicals in the body's cells which can damage cells, proteins and DNA, therefore leads to premature ageing and is increasingly common due to many factors including ageing, lifestyle changes, stress and pollution.
To help find a solution, BBRC head Professor Dr. Arbakariya Ariff is leading his team to study marine
microalgae TetraSOD®, which is touted as the most potent antioxidant and nutritious marine microalgae functional ingredient.
“We are excited to work with PNT Research, starting by enhancing the efficacy of TetraSOD® (Tetraselmischuii) and followed by other functional ingredients. It will minimise the damage of time and let people achieve healthy ageing, so that they may recover from illness more quickly and reduce the risk of getting a chronic disease,” he said.
PNT Research managing director, Lee Bin Hao, said the partnership with UPM builds on a simple yet
powerful goal: to make quality and affordable functional ingredient products accessible for people.
“The world population is ageing, and Malaysia is no exception. As patriotic citizens, we want to contribute back to the community, starting with TetraSOD®. Our work will be built on a foundation of serious science, with the best interest of academia, industry and consumers in mind,” he said.
BBRC associate researcher, Dr. Fadzlie Wong Faizal Wong, said the collaboration is not a norm but an
extraordinary success.
“It is clear that the collaboration’s success story was not crafted in the boardrooms of skyscrapers. It is the result of a shared vision and mission to promote, protect and improve the lifelong health of people.
“We will give our best to deepen scientific and technological innovations to achieve high-quality output,” he said.
PNT Research scientist Jass Kwa Jia Sim described the collaboration as a prime example of how academia and industry can enhance innovation-driven growth.
“More can be done to uplifting Malaysia’s scientific output to be on par with first world countries like Japan and South Korea. We all have a role to play in bettering the lives of others,” she said.
Also present were representatives from Spanish side Fitoplancton Marino; the world leader in marine
microalgae production, Swiss side DKSH which is the world leader in market expansion services; Germany’s Gelita which leads the world in collagen technology.
Strategic alliance
Fitoplancton Marino
The inventor of TetraSOD®, marine biotech company Fitoplancton Marino, lauded the collaboration as a partnership that will inject new vitality into the R&D of functional ingredients.
Fitoplancton Marino director general Carlos Unamunzaga said: “We are delighted to see our partners
expand their innovation capabilities. The industry will significantly benefit from the new on-the-ground
expertise in Malaysia as a result of the collaboration between UPM and PNT Research. We are committed to collaborating closely with our business partners, sharing technical know-how and
explore new ways to improve product performance,” said Unamunzaga.
“We look forward to strengthening our strategic alliance with PNT Research, which is to push the
boundaries of science in delivering health and wellness. We are confident they will achieve great things with UPM, which is among the best and has been ranked 28th best university in Asia this year,” he added.
DKSH
DKSH, the world’s leading Market Expansion Services provider, congratulated PNT Research on its
collaboration with UPM.
DKSH South East Asia director (Performance Materials, Indonesia, Malaysia & Singapore), Victor Liew, said “DKSH enjoys a strong working relationship with PNT Research – based on a mutual purpose to enrich people’s lives – supporting our business partner with dedication that combines Swiss reliability and our Asian can-do attitude. DKSH shares the mission and vision of PNT Research and looks forward to working closely with PNT Research in delivering functional ingredients and nutraceutical solutions of the highest standard, comprehensive technical expertise and sophisticated solutions. We are delighted to see our business partners expand their innovation capabilities,” he said.
Gelita
Gelita, the world’s number one company in collagen research, also sent a congratulatory message.
In his message, Gelita representative manager for Southeast Asia, Louis Emmanuel Jaillon, stated that Gelita and PNT Research are committed to delivering innovation to drive functional ingredient products to the market. He expressed Gelita’s readiness to do more with the Malaysian side to improve the quality of life for people.
“We are very much looking forward to working with PNT Research to explore the possibilities of making functional ingredients more mainstream,” he said.
Sariya Chubpailin, business coordinator at Gelita Thailand, said: “We believe that the collaboration between UPM and PNT Research will make a useful contribution to improve health and wellness for people,” she said.
Hopefully more of such collaboration can be made to address even more pressing issues.
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