Project Number: 1935-41000-089-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Jun 15, 2010
End Date: Jun 14, 2015

Objective:
1. Develop plant cell wall polysaccharide-based bioplastic composites with tailor-designed thermal, mechanical and biological properties for active packaging, construction and automotive materials. 2. Convert plant cell wall polysaccharides into biomedical materials for tissue regeneration, cosmetic personal care products, carriers of bioactive substances for the colon-specific delivery and to produce synbiotics (probiotic + prebiotic). 2a. Develop regeneration medicine and drug delivery biomedical products 2b. Develop skin-care biomedical products 3. Develop plant cell wall oligosaccharide-based prebiotics from agricultural processing residues rich in pectins and hemicelluloses and test the hypothesis that prebiotics can selectively promote the growth of gut bacteria associated with lean tissue growth to potentially control obesity. 3a. Conduct in vivo analysis of candidate prebiotics 3b. Discover new pectic and hemicellulosic prebiotics 3c. Determine if prebiotics can alter the colonic microflora to potentially control obesity 4. Screen plant cell wall oligosaccharides for biological activity (anti-adhesion of pathogenic bacteria, immunomodulation, induction of apoptosis).

Approach:
A multidisciplinary biorefinery approach will be used to develop health-related and biobased co-products from plant cell wall polysaccharides in fruit and vegetable processing residues. Plant cell wall polysaccharides will be converted into biomedical materials for human tissue regeneration, cosmetic personal care products, carriers of bioactive substances for colon-specific delivery and to produce synbiotics, in which probiotic bacteria are encapsulated in a prebiotic. Plant cell wall oligosaccharide-based prebiotics will be isolated from agricultural processing residues rich in pectins and hemicelluloses. The hypothesis that prebiotics can selectively promote the growth of gut bacteria associated with lean tissue growth to potentially control obesity will be tested. Plant cell wall oligosaccharides will also be screened for biological activity such as preventing the adhesion of pathogenic bacteria to intestinal epithelial cells, immunomodulation, and induction of cancer cell apoptosis. Bioplastic composites will be designed with bacteriocins for control of food-borne pathogens with active packaging. Weight-bearing, light weight bioplastic composites will also be produced with construction and consumer product applications in mind.