Recipient Organization
COLD CURRENT KELP LLC
6 TRIPLE G FARM
YORK,ME 03909
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Kelp farming is on the rise in the U.S. because it is versatile, regenerative, and renewable, and it can provide an additional income source for those on the working waterfront whose incomes are impacted by climate change.In the U.S., kelp is farmed mainly for human consumption. Yet there is a growing body of research from outside the U.S. describing other promising, high value applications for kelp. Skincare is one such application. Kelp is potentially a regenerative, renewable source of valuable skincare compounds at a time when consumer demand is increasing for natural, effective, non-toxic products.For this project, Cold Current Kelp LLC (CCK) will determine the feasibility of using a relatively novel "green" extraction method to obtain bioactive compounds from Maine-grown sugar kelp. Unlike conventional methods, the proposed extraction will not use toxic solvents and is expected to result in higher extraction yields in less time. The project will examine the effects of a variety of extraction conditions as well as the age of kelp at harvest. It will then identify, characterize, and quantify resulting compounds of interest. CCK anticipates the project will be an important step toward producing natural, non-toxic ingredients with quantifiable bioactive compounds that can be used by CCK to create effective skincare products.Diversifying kelp beyond food applications--particularly for high-value uses--incentivizes kelp production and increases the chances of success of this nascent supply chain. Recovering and analyzing extracts of bioactive compounds from domestically grown kelp is a valuable research endeavor and commercialization opportunity.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
0%
Developmental
100%
Goals / Objectives
The goal of the project is to use a "green" extraction technology to recover compounds responsible for certain enzyme inhibitory activities valuable in cosmetics applications (and possibly other applications) from New England-farmed sugar kelp.Objective 1: Determine the efficacy of green extraction method for seaweed extraction. Determine what quantities of the compounds of interest can be recovered using extraction methodDetermine whether kelp age and different extraction conditions affect the amounts of compounds recoveredObjective 2: Determine bioactivity of compounds in extract.Determine whether resulting seaweed extracts have the enzyme inhibitory activity we are interested inDetermine whether kelp age and different extraction conditions affect recoveries of enzyme inhibitory activityObjective 3: Characterize the bioactive compounds in the extract.Confirm the identity of and characterize the compounds of interestDetermine whether kelp age and different extraction conditions affect the characteristics of the recovered compounds
Project Methods
This project will be conducted in four stages: grow and harvest the sugar kelp S. latissima, use a "green" extraction technology to extract compounds of interest from the kelp, analyze the extracts for biological activity and characterize the extracted compounds, and analyze the data.(1) Grow and Harvest the Sugar Kelp S. latissimaThere is some evidence that the amounts of bioactive compounds in kelp vary with seasonality of harvest, so we will produce two batches of raw materials to determine if the age of the kelp at harvest affects our technical objectives.In preparation for this project, we started a new crop of kelp in November 2023 at our own expense to be sure we have raw materials available for the anticipated project start date. The "young" kelp will be harvested in the typical harvest month of April 2024; the "old" kelp will be harvested in July 2024.The kelp from each harvest will be immediately transported to our processing and drying facility, where it will be cut to remove the stipe (stem), rinsed with fresh water to remove invertebrate organisms and debris, and line-hung to dry in a greenhouse. Once dry, each harvest will be ground to a course powder, resulting in 15 kg each of "young" and "old" kelp powder.(2) Use "Green" Extraction Technology to Extract Compounds of Interest from the KelpA commercial extraction contractor will perform the extraction experiments using a two-stage process. The first stage will produce an oil-phase extract. A second-stage extraction of the de-oiled kelp residue will produce a powder presumed to contain the compounds of interest. The equipment utilization schedules in a contract services facility make it impractical to do the extractions in a directed, iterative fashion guided by analytical results. Therefore, we will perform extractions under a wide range of conditions prior to any analyses. The contractor will separately collect the oil phase and the powder extracts from each stage for each of the two different-age kelp harvests for subsequent analysis.There are several variables that affect the efficacy of the extractions, including temperature, pressure, and solvent:kelp ratio. With that many variables, the likelihood of interactions among the variables, and two sequential stages of extractions, the best way to explore the extraction space is by using a statistically designed experimental plan. As we expect the compounds of interest to be recovered primarily in the second stage, we will explore a limited set of conditions for the first stage with a more extensive exploration of these variables in the second stage.For the first-stage extractions, we will test two sets of extraction conditions--"mild" and "aggressive." The outcome will be two "levels" (using the terminology of factorial experimental designs) of first-stage extractions for each of the young and old kelp samples. Each of these four "batches" will then be extracted in a second stage under a variety of conditions.The overall experiment can be represented as a factorial design with 4 factors × 2 levels per factor, although for budgetary reasons, we will use a 3/4 factorial design rather than a full factorial design. In addition to the "designed" experiments, we will perform two second-stage extractions without a prior first-stage extraction, one with each young and old kelp.(3) Analyze the Extracts for Biological Activity and Characterize the Extracted Compounds The compounds of interest are those that act as enzyme inhibitors in skincare applications. We will focus initially on measuring enzyme inhibition rather than the concentration of specific compounds, as it is the enzyme inhibition that is important for skincare applications. If we focus analysis only on particular compounds, recovery is uncertain. In contrast, if we recover some enzyme inhibition activity, even from compounds other than the project's identified compounds of interest, the results may still be of value for skincare applications.The USDA ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (Peoria, Illinois), working with us under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), will analyze extracts to quantify enzyme inhibitory activities and confirm the identity of compounds recovered in the extracts.ARS will first utilize commercially available enzyme inhibition assays. The results will indicate whether samples exhibit enzyme inhibitory activities relevant to cosmetics applications.Next, ARS will confirm the identity of and characterize the compounds inhibiting the enzyme activities using a variety of techniques appropriate for analysis of polysaccharides and polyphenols.The compounds of interest are a complex polysaccharide and polyphenols, of which there are approximately 150 identified structures. We expect other compounds that might be identified to be similarly complex. Thoroughly characterizing these complex compounds will be an important step toward elucidating correlations between structure and enzyme inhibition activity.(4) Analyze the Data The experiment can be conveniently analyzed as a four-factor, two-level, three-quarter factorial experiment. The factor levels for such a design can be constructed using guidance from the National Institute of Standards and Technology web site (NIST). To the extent allowed by equipment and scheduling considerations, the second stage extractions will be carried out in random order.We will analyze the data for each of the measured outcomes: recovery of enzyme inhibitory activities and recovery of identified compounds. The experimental design will allow us to estimate the main effects of each of the four factors as well as the effects of most of the two-way interactions among the four factors. In each case, the size of the factor or interaction effect is equal to the average outcome at the "high" levels minus the average outcome at the "low" levels. The two second-stage-only extractions will be analyzed separately.