PePOP – Recovery of bioactive peptides from olive pomace

Financiado por/Funded by:

Designação do Projeto | Project Name | PePOP – Recovery of bioactive peptides from olive pomace

Código do Projeto | Project Code | 2023.13538.PEX

Domínio Científico | Scientific Domain | Agricultural Biotechnology and Food Biotechnology

Entidade beneficiária | Beneficiary Entity | iBET – Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica

Data de aprovação | Approval Date | 15.11.2024

Data de início | Starting Date | 01.01.2025

Data de conclusão | Conclusion Date | 30.06.2026

Custo total elegível | Total Eligible Cost | 49.804,40 €

Apoio financeiro público nacional | National Public Financial Support | 49.804,40 €

Breve Descrição do Projeto | Brief Project Description | 

Bioactive peptides are short chains of amino acids that possess various health-promoting properties, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory activities. These peptides can be found in abundance in various by-products from the agri-food processing industries, particularly in the olive oil industry, where significant volumes of by-products are generated, namely olive pomace. Recovering these bioactive peptides is of great interest due to their potential applications in the food, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceutical industries. Traditional protein extraction and hydrolysis methods use expensive and time-consuming processes that include the use of acids, enzymes or microbes. A new alternative sustainable tool for protein extraction and hydrolysis uses subcritical water (SW), an environmentally safe solvent. Moreover, little is known about the bioactivity and health risks associated with peptides derived from this novel technology.

PePOP focuses on exploring the use of SW to recover peptide fractions from olive pomace. The main objective is to develop an eco-friendly innovative and sustainable approach to obtain valuable peptides. Futhermore, the SW process will be integrated with a sustainable purification step (using Centrifugal Partition Chromatography) to enhance purity, and chemical characterization of the peptides will be performed. A bioactivity screening (focused on the antioxidant, anti-hypertensive, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-hyperlipidaemia, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative effect and skin health) and toxicity evaluation of the peptides will be conducted using a bioassay platform to explore their potential application as functional ingredients in Nutrition or Cosmetic fields.

PePOP will improve the knowledge of green processes for protein extraction and hydrolysis of plant sources towards recovery of bioactive peptides.