Federal University of Pará (UFPA) and Research Development and Support Foundation (Fadesp)
(i) To install a pilot plant in UFPA’S food laboratory to produce and characterize extracts rich in bioactive compounds; and (ii) to develop new products and technological applications from bioactive compounds extracted from plants and fruits typical of the Amazon
UFPA, suppliers of raw materials for the production of bioactive compounds and companies from the Amazon region that work with products derived from bioactive compounds
State of Pará
The state of Pará has a large part of its economy focused on the exploitation of raw materials, such as rubber, nuts, minerals, fruits, and other primary products with low added value. The fruit sector has its enormous potential still little explored, since most of what is produced is as pulp or juice, products of low added value and little diversity.
The development of new products and technological applications from the Amazonian biodiversity can add value to the raw materials of the region and become an alternative for its economic development. It should be noted that these new products and technologies aim to enhance the standing forest, create alternatives to deforestation activities and increase attractiveness to the sustainable exploitation of the products of the region.
The Amazon Bioactive Compounds project, presented by Fadesp and executed by UFPA, aimed to develop new products and technological applications from bioactive compounds extracted from plants and fruits typical of Eastern Amazon. For this purpose, a pilot plant has been installed, where the bioactive compounds undergo extraction, purification, concentration and fractionation processes.
In this project, research for developing new products or technological applications, such as sunscreens, anti-aging creams and capsules of food supplements, were divided into two different lines: one carried out in partnership with a private company and a cooperative, and another executed solely by UFPA, without participation of private partners.
The project is part of the "science, innovation and economic instruments” (4) component of the Amazon Fund’s Logical Framework, and the effect expected is the production and dissemination of knowledge and technologies aimed to develop new products from bioactive plant compounds typical of the Amazon biome.
The project was aimed at contributing to the activities of science, technology and innovation to enable the sustainable use of natural resources in the Amazon, generating employment and income for the population, adding value to forest products and, consequently, valuing native forests. For this purpose, a pilot plant for the production of bioactive compounds was installed, and research was performed to develop new products and technologies from plant compounds from the Amazon biome.
| Date of approval | 01.03.2012 |
| Date of the contract | 08.21.2012 |
| Date of conclusion | 03.31.2018 | Disbursement period | 69 months (from the date the contract was signed) |
| date | amount | |
|---|---|---|
| 1º disbursements | 06.10.2014 | R$1,073,559.00 |
| 2º disbursements | 12.16.2016 | R$278,809.48 |
| Total amount disbursed | R$1,352,368.48 |
UFPA installed in a 200-m2 area at Espaço Inovação, at the PCT Guamá, in Belém do Pará, a pilot plant focused on developing extracts rich in bioactive compounds from the Amazon, besides new products which employ them to add greater value to the raw materials. The pilot plant includes areas for storage, supplies, processing and conditioning, and has equipment for washing, drying, pulping, grinding, centrifuging, homogenizing, partially purifying, freeze-drying and vacuum packaging.
A study was carried out on 20 Amazonian plants, evaluating their antioxidant capacity, antimicrobial and/or regulating activity on the production of methane by cattle and/or photochemioprotection (for skin). Among the plants, seven extracts¹ stood out and have been produced in pilot scale following process optimization. It was possible to observe which bioactive compounds were responsible for these properties, and monitor them online.
The project was performed within the scope of the Center for the Valorization of Amazonian Bioactive Compounds (CVACBA) at PCT Guamá, in Belém (PA). The group of researchers, with undergraduate, masters and doctoral students, in addition to the professors, gathered about thirty people from UFPA’s Faculties of Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Food Science and Technology and Chemical Engineering. Work was also produced jointly with the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Université Catholique de Louvain.
Founded in 1957, UFPA is one of the most important research and teaching institutions in the North region. With 14 institutes, seven nuclei, 36 university libraries, two university hospitals and one application school, the university houses a community of more than 50,000 people.
The PCT Guamá is the first technological park to operate in the Amazon. The target is to stimulate applied research, innovative entrepreneurship, service delivery and technology transfer for developing higher value-added and competitive products and services.
The project activities contributed to the results related to the "science, innovation and economic instruments" (4) component of the Amazon Fund’s Logical Framework.
Outcome 4.1: Technologies and knowledge for developing new products from bioactive compounds of plants typical of the Amazon biome produced and disseminated.
The main indicators agreed to monitor these objectives were:
Target: Not defined. Result achieved: two
As a project result, two patents were deposited in the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), one for a utility model and one for invention¹.
Target: not defined. Result achieved: 14
The project allowed the publication of eleven scientific papers and the defense of three theses, 13 dissertations, seven term papers and eight reports on scientific initiation.
Target: not defined. Result achieved: 35
Target: 2. Result achieved: 10
Target: not defined. Result achieved: 6
Target: 30. Result achieved: 31
Target: 160 m2. Result achieved: 200 m2
Target: Not defined. Result achieved: R$ 165,248.85
Target: not defined. Result achieved: 6
The project investments and the scholarships funded with the Amazon Fund’s resources helped the CVACBA, located at PCT Guamá, provide quality control services for plant products destined to food, pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology and cosmetics industries. There was development of new products, such as the defatted açaí and the cosmetic formulation containing plant extract.
In addition to new products, new processing methods were developed for a cooperative involved in the project. The project provided technology transfer to the cooperative, improving monitoring and quality of production, notably açaí and cacao. For example, it is possible to highlight the optimization of the defatting of passion fruit seeds and the extraction of piceatannol, which is a high value-added compound due to its high antioxidant properties.
By providing complete infrastructure and research support, in addition to the direct participation of a cooperative (Cooperativa Agrícola Mista de Tomé-Açu – CAMTA) and of a company with a vocation for innovation (Amazon Dreams), the project contributed directly to a higher value-added byproduct, prepared from fruits of high natural occurrence in the region.
The project achieved satisfactory results, despite significant delays in its execution. One reason for postponing the deadline was a fire that destroyed part of the CVACBA infrastructure in January 2012. The project was also impacted by a delay of four years in the delivery of the Espaço Inovação at PCT Guamá, where the laboratory and the pilot plant would be based. The building in question was not the object of support of this project, having been inaugurated in April of 2015, late delivery compared to the planned schedule.
In this context, it was necessary to change some items to be acquired by the project in relation to what that had been initially foreseen, either because other projects had already made possible the purchase of certain equipment, or because the demand for certain innovations had evolved over the years.
Some operation specific features also influenced its execution time. Initially, it was necessary to reformulate the proposal originally presented in order to segregate and make it explicit in the project the different responsibilities and the scope of each partner involved in the research, namely UFPA, a private company (Amazon Dreams), and a cooperative (CAMTA). The operation also involved the negotiation between UFPA and the aforementioned partner entities on intellectual property and participation in the research results, as well as the legal discussion raised by Judgment 2,731/2008 of the Federal Court of Accounts on the relationship between federal educational institutions and their foundations of support, culminating in the edition of Law 12,349/2010.
Among the lessons learned, it should be mentioned that the fire in the laboratory in 2012 caused safer systems to be installed in its reconstruction, such as exhaust circuits in the units with storage and/or use of flammable material, smoke detectors connected to an alarm, in addition to performing a rigorous balance of the electrical circuits to prevent overloads. The adoption of these standards is expected in all new interventions.
The project was relevant for the valuation of bioactive compounds from Amazonian plants, through innovative and competitive processes of extraction, purification, fractionation and isolation. Having been held at a public university, the project provided the engagement of undergraduate and graduate students and interaction with local productive organizations, thus expanding the interaction between the university community and society.
By providing a complete infrastructure and research support, in addition to the direct participation of a cooperative and a company with a vocation for innovation, the project contributed directly to the production of higher value-added byproducts, prepared from fruits of high natural occurrence in the region. It should be mentioned that the pilot plant installed due to the project continued to be used after its conclusion for the performance of new studies.
In this area we offer some PDF files with the main publications generated by the project. Click the filename to start the download.
Life Center Institute (ICV)
Amazonas State University (UEA) and the Muraki Institutional Support Foundation
Peabiru Institute
Society, Population and Nature Institute (ISPN)
Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute (IDSM)
Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (Funbio)
