NUTRITIONAL AWARD – iBET Nutraceuticals and Controlled Delivery Lab

iBET Nutraceuticals and Controlled Delivery Lab, in collaboration with ITQB Analytical Chemistry Lab,  and the Particles, Polymers and Biomaterials group from Coimbra University, were awarded the 1st prize of the second edition of the "Nutrition Awards”, in the category of " Innovation and Development of Products and Services”. The awarded project  on "Cherry extract obtained from supercritical technology – a chemotherapeutical agent against colon cancer” aims at developing functional ingredients with applications on pharmaceutical and food industry. The Nutraceuticals lab was among 70 participants, running in 7 different categories, of which research groups from food industry, such as PepsiCola Portugal, F.LIMA S.A., JMV S.A. and research groups from Escola Superior Agrária de Beja, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, among others were present. The project follows a sustainability strategy, on the one hand, making use of wastes from processing cherries of the Portuguese variety, Saco da Cova da Beira. On the other hand, by applying supercritical fluids, a clean technology, that allows the extraction of pure compounds of increased value, with high pressure gas (e.g. CO2) leaving no  trace of solvents, a downfall of traditional methodologies. This project is part of the PhD work of Teresa Serra, researcher at the Nutraceuticals lab, headed by the researcher Catarina Duarte. The "Nutrition Awards” are promoted by the Portuguese Association of Nutritionists, along with the GCI group, and aims at awarding and give visibility to projects in the area of nutrition in Portugal. The ceremony was held at Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian on the 19th September.