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XANTHOPHYLL BIOSYNTHESIS IN BACTERIA

Award Information

Agency:
Department of Health and Human Services 		Branch:
N/A 		Award ID:
16403 		Program Year/Program:
1991 / SBIR
Agency Tracking Number:
16403 		Solicitation Year:
N/A 		Solicitation Topic Code:
N/A 		Solicitation Number:
N/A
Small Business Information
Applied Food Biotechnology, In
300 Biltmore Drive Fenton, MO 63026
View profile »
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No
 
Phase 1
Fiscal Year: 1991
Title: XANTHOPHYLL BIOSYNTHESIS IN BACTERIA
Agency: HHS
Contract: N/A
Award Amount: $49,638.00
 

Abstract:

NUMEROUS CLINICAL INVESTIGATIONS HAVE STRONGLY INDICATED THAT HIGH DIETARY INTAKE OF CAROTENOIDS AND RELATED COMPOUNDS CAN REDUCE THE INCIDENCE AND/OR REVERSE THE SYMPTOMS OF CERTAIN TYPES OF CANCER. IF THESE STUDIES CONTINUE TO BE CONFIRMED, CAROTENOIDS MAY INCREASINGLY BE CONSIDERED VALUABLE FOOD ADDITIVES, AS WELL AS CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS IN THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF CANCER. FURTHERMORE, SINCE MANY CAROTENOID COMPOUNDS POSSESS HIGH TINCTORIAL PROPERTIES, THEY OFFER A POTENTIAL USE AS REPLACEMENTS FOR SYNTHETICALLY PRODUCED FOOD, DRUG AND COSMETIC DYES. TO DATE, THE MAJOR SOURCES OF CAROTENOIDS HAVE BEEN CAROTENOGENIC PLANTS, ALGAE AND FUNGI AND ORGANIC SYNTHESIS. BIOLOGICAL SOURCES HAVE, THUS FAR, SHOWN THEMSELVES TO BE INEFFICIENT AND UNECONOMICAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS, WHILE ORGANIC SYNTHESIS IS LIMITED BY STEREOCHEMICAL CONSIDERATIONS LEADING TO HIGH PRODUCTION COSTS. IN CONTRAST, AFB, INC. HAS SUCCESSFULLY ISOLATED A FAST GROWING BACTERIAL SPECIES WHICH PRODUCES A SIGNIFICANT QUANTITY OF NATURAL CAROTENOID. IT IS FELT THAT THROUGH CONTINUED GENETIC TECHNIQUES, THIS ORGANISM CAN BE INDUCED TO EFFICIENTLY AND ECONOMICALLY PRODUCE COMMERCIAL QUANTITIES OF SEVERAL NATURAL CAROTENOID COMPOUNDS. AS A FIRST STEP IN THE ENDEAVOR TO INCREASE PRODUCTION, THE PREFERRED PRECURSORS AND PATHWAY INTERMEDIATES UTILIZED FOR CAROTENOID FORMATION IN THIS ORGANISM WILL NEED TO BE ELUCIDATED. ALSO, THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ORGANISM GROWTH AND PIGMENT FORMATION WILL BE INVESTIGATED. IN PHASE II, THE GENETICS OF CAROTENOID FORMATION WILL BE STUDIED. COMPATIBLE PLASMIDS WILL BE ISOLATED IN PREPARATION FOR RECOMBINATION EXPERIMENTS LEADING TO FURTHER XANTHOPHYLL PRODUCTION AND THE PRODUCTION OF OTHER CAROTENOID COMPOUNDS.

Principal Investigator:

Gierhart, Dennis L
Principal Investigator
3143491575

Business Contact:

1 r43 ca53991-01a1
Small Business Information at Submission:

Applied Food Biotechnology, In
300 Biltmore Drive Fenton, MO 63026

EIN/Tax ID:
DUNS: N/A
Number of Employees: N/A
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No