
Plant sterols are good for the human body. They do not only occur in crops that grow on land, but also in seaweeds, among other things. In the project ‘Seaweed Sterols’, the Lectorate Marine Biobased Specialties is investigating how the production of sterols from seaweed can be optimized.
We have known since the 1950s that plant sterols are good for the human body. You don’t have to look beyond your carton of butter to find phrases like, “Natural power of plant sterols lowers cholesterol!” Like plants, seaweeds also make plant sterols. However, seaweed produce plant sterols that often have special structural features, which can lead to remarkable bioactive effects, including disease fighting. The special nature of seaweed sterols is partly due to the fact that seaweed is immobile, but has a highly variable living environment. The seaweed must therefore be able to chemically adapt to the environment.
Harvest later
We exploit the latter at the Marine Biobased Specialties (MBBS) research group: by expressly stimulating seaweed with high or low light intensities, temperatures or nutrients and then analyzing the effect on the plant sterols, we can find culture conditions in which the production of sterols is higher than normal. For example, this research provides us with insight into the biochemistry of seaweed and gives the seaweed farmer insight into the cultivation conditions under which valuable substances such as sterols are produced in larger amounts.
“For example, we have found that when you grow sugar kelp (a commercially important kelp species) under low nutrients and high light, the sterol content more than doubles,” says project leader Dylan de Jong. “For the seaweed farmer, this means that postponing the harvest until a little later in the summer, where these conditions apply, will result in a higher yield of these valuable substances.”
Further research
Obviously, this is only one aspect of the total understanding and use of seaweed sterols. For example, there are different culture conditions to stimulate and it is also important for the commercial translation, for example, to understand how extraction and processing techniques influence the sterol content. The MBBS professorship translates these questions into research that we focus on now and in the future.
There has been a publication about ‘Effects of nutrient availability and light intensity on the sterol content of Saccharina latissima’
This project is supported by TKI BBE

Martijn Zieverink appointed as professor for the Biobased Transitions Research Group at MNEXT

In memoriam: Max Drath

Educate more professionals for the energy transition

10th Biorizon Annual Event on Bio-Aromatics

Kick-off conference Energy(k) Education

The Biobased Innovation Student Challenge – Europe

BIO-CAPPP

Energy(k) Eductation

BIO-CAPPP

GESCHIKT: energy transition on business parks

Rapid Renewable Materials: the next step in sustainable construction.

Mycelium on Board

From orange waste to a green future

Blueprint of fungal genomes

BioGov.net

Water-resistant mycelium composites

Sustainable Particle Board

Circular Emergency Shelters

FACET

Totally Nuts: Circular Biobased Thermosets from Cashew Nutshells

Biodegradation Coatings Stahl

Green Hub: Information hub value chains green residual flows

Acceleration of nature-inclusive area development

Reflow

Biobased Insulation – Lifespan Determination (BILD)

Setting up and performing biodiesel trials in a coaster ship

Mythic

PyroCHEM: Waste2Chem Innovation Cluster

Membrane Technologies

Flestic

Direct extrusion of PHA-rich biomass

Production of bioplastics from residual streams (WoW! Capitalisation)

Powering Agrifood

Smart Circular Bridge

Fungal Colourants

Learning Network Biobuilders

Orange in the Sea

Amino Acids!

Building on Mycelium

Follow-up S4G

Colour Application Centre

Making disposables disposable

Making shipping more sustainable (Russia – Benelux)

Zircular Seaweed food

Extraction of pectins from onion skins

Growing Leather

Learning Community Renewable fuels

PHA accumulation capacity of Sewage Treatment Plant

NACO – Zero Waste Collective Oosterhout

Bio Iso (RAAK MKB)

Design with RRM (rapidly renewable materials)

Resin biodegradation

Biobased gadgets

Biobased foam

Biobased flocculants for water purification

Viberscrete – biobased concrete

Innovation Traineeships

Building light

BioADD

CurCol

Learning community

Professors’ platform Biobased Economy

Porter’s lodge Delfland

Smart Circular Bridge

Biobased, circular Christmas bauble with packaging

Mycelium boards

Coloring Mycelium

Back to the Materials of the Future

National Biobased Database

Structural Health in Biobased Constructions

Beauti-Fully Biobased Fibers

Coffee Silverskin Biomass Utilization

Sustainable solid biofuels

Biobonding: Improved biocomposites

ZCORE (from Seaweed to COating Resin applications)

Cashing cashew

Material research for 3D printing

Seaweed Sterols

Onion deserves more

Circling in construction

Biomass flows in the province of South Holland

Circular Bio-based Construction Industry (CBCI)

Biodegradability of biopolymer and biopolymer composites

BBM+

Opportunities for composting in Brazil

Stadsjutters Breda

Innovation tables

Tomatozyme

MAA’s from algae

Sensor wise Biobased

Pyrolysis Experimental Garden South

Grassification

REFAWOOD

Valuable ONION

Biobased Network

Living Lab Biobased Brazil

Biopolymer Application Center

Borderless Biobased Education

Living Colors

Mycelium

BioCOLOUR

BioCannDo

Blue Chain

WOW!

Green Growth

Biobased Challenge

Biobased bridge

Pure Nature: 100% Biobased

National Biobased Knowledge Network
