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Description
The PhytoBlueFrac project rises from the company current capacity to produce microalgae with high nutritional value and economic potential, and the need to diversify and differentiate itself in the national and international markets. The main purpose is to produce food supplements from the lipid fraction with high market value and high nutraceutical capacity. These compounds are known for their great antioxidant capacity, and its production and enhancement can be modelled according to the cultivation conditions (e.g. culture medium). The nutraceutical products developed have an outstanding biological ability that allows to prevent and treat some diseases that affect the world population. Phytoalgae company interest in developing these highly innovative and differentiated products is to increase its microalgae production capacity and consequently produce food supplements rich in carotenoids, fatty acids, and sterols, with the aim to become, in the short term, market leader in this economic field. The food supplements developed in this project come from microalgae cultivated in planar photobioreactors, in which the nutrients made available in the culture will be the target of an optimization process. The direct beneficiaries are the consumers, as they will have at their disposal novel nutraceutical, natural, and biological products, manufactured to provide a superior and differentiated quality level, accompanied by the "Made in Portugal" stamp. The partnership established between the company Phytoalgae (promoter) and the University of Madeira, in this project, allow a reinforcement in the investigation and analytical characterization of these products, as well as the implementation of high productive quality parameters and biological certification. The project financed under the EEA grants program “SGS #1 – Support to initiatives that promote the growth of Startups”, has a duration of 18 months, and runs between March 2021 and August 2022.