FOOD TECHNOLOGY CENTRE Innovation for the Food & Bioresource Industries Prince Edward Island, CANADA NEWSLETTER Featured in this issue: Natural Sources for Modern Pharmaceuticals By Muhammad Yousaf, PhD, Organic/Purification Chemist
– 2008 CIFST/AAFC Conference– Supercritical Fluid Extraction
Approximately 63% of all approved small molecule drugs are
derived from natural products, or are nature-inspired
semisynthetic derivatives of natural products.
– Food Safety Workshops– Bioscience Technology Program
Chemical compounds or substances produced from livingorganisms – natural products – often have a biological activitywhich may be useful in pharmaceuticals. These naturalchemical compounds may be extracted from tissues of
terrestrial plants, marine organisms or microorganism fermentation broths. A crude extractfrom any one of these sources typically contains novel, structurally-diverse chemicalcompounds.
Most biologically-active natural product compounds are secondary metabolites which are
The 2008 Canadian Institute of Food
not directly involved in the normal growth, development or reproduction of organisms. The
Science and Technology/ Agriculture
function or importance of secondary metabolites to the organism is usually of an ecological
and Agri-Food Canada Conference will
nature as they are used as defenses against predators, parasites and diseases. Plants
be held in Charlottetown, PE, May 25 - 27.
have always been a rich source of useful drugs (e.g. morphine and quinine).
The conference is offering two full days of
Clinically useful drugs which have recently been isolated from plants include the
programming on a "green" theme and
antimalarial agent artemisinin from Artemisia annua, and the anticancer agent paclitaxel
of Prince Edward Island CulinaryExperience. See t
Microorganisms produce a large variety of antimicrobial agents which have evolved to give
their hosts an advantage over their competitors in the microbiological world. Someexamples of antibacterial drugs isolated from microorganisms are cephalosporins,tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, rifamycins, and chloramphenicol.
Success Stories We love to help our clients succeed! A
Marine sources such as coral, sponges, fish, and marine microorganisms have chemicals
few of their success stories are available
with interesting biological activities. For example, curacin A is obtained from a marine
cyanobacterium and shows potent antitumor activity.
Animals can sometimes be a source of new drugs. For example, a series of antibioticpeptides were extracted from the skin of the African clawed frog. Venoms and toxins from
animals, plants, and microorganisms are extremely potent because they have specific
interactions with a macromolecular target in the body and have been used as lead
compounds in the development of novel drugs. For example, teprotide, a peptide isolated
from the venom of the Brazilian viper, was the lead compound for the development of the
anti-hypertensive agents cilazapril and captopril.
If the active principle is present in a mixture of other compounds from a natural source, it
M icrobiology Laboratory Services
has to be isolated and purified. The ease with which the active principle can be isolated
and purified depends on the structure, stability, and quantity of the compound. The
development of experimental procedures such as freeze-drying and modern
chromatography and spectroscopy has made feasible the isolation and purification of
The Food Technology Centre has modern facilities to extract, isolate and purify natural
bioactive compounds. Please contact Dr. Muhammad Yousaf, Organic/Purification
bottles, or for further information about
Chemist, to learn more about our extraction, isolation and purification services: tel: (902)
microbiology laboratory at (902) 368-5937.
Supercritical Fluid Extraction Workshop “I was very happy to have participated in
With the assistance of Agriculture and AgriFood Canada, the
the workshop on Supercritical Fluid
Food Technology Centre was pleased to provide a
Extraction. It was great to learn about
Supercritical Fluid Extraction Workshop to ten participants on
such a unique and emerging technique in
March 25-27. The presenter was Rodger Marentis, of
the world of natural product extraction in
Supercritical Solutions LLC in Pennsylvania, a consultant with
North America. There are significant
many years of experience in this technology. The workshop
advantages to being one of the few
covered fundamentals of supercritical processing and
facilities to have this equipment. With
examples of industrial applications, with emphasis on practical
such growing interest in natural health
implementation of the technology. Following the workshop, there was an opportunity for
one-on-one and small group meetings with Mr. Marentis for those interested in discussing
environmental issues, it is exciting to see
potential extraction processes in detail.
a technology that is so progressive andattractive to both sectors. I am glad to“I appreciated the time I spent with the people at the PEI Food Technology Centre. Thehave had the opportunity to learn aboutseminars were well run and it was very beneficial to see the pilot plant in operation. As athis new and promising method.” (K. company we are very interested in the application of supercritical technology to our marineoil industry. It was helpful and informative to witness the work in person rather than merelyreading about it. The staff of at the Centre were friendly and accommodating. I look“The Supercritical Fluid Extractionforward to hearing of their progress and advancement in this unique extraction method.”W o r k s h o p p r o v i d e d e x c e l l e n t
(D. Richer, Sales and Marketing Director, AquaSource Products Inc., Surrey, BC)
opportunities for discussing the processitself and for networking with otherscientists in the community. I wouldOn-the-Job Trainee from the Bioscience Technology Program definitely consider attending a similarworkshop at the FTC!” (J. Livingston,
Mitchell MacRae, a student of the Bioscience Technology
Program at Holland College, Charlottetown, just completed a
six week on-the-job training term at the Food TechnologyCentre. He was mentored by the Natural Products Extractionstaff who provided training on specialized equipment such as
Food Safety Workshops
ultrasonicators, HPLC systems, rotary evaporators, fluidized
bed dryers, and supercritical carbon dioxide extraction.
MacRae said, “the staff treated me with kindness and respect
and helped me in any way they could. It is exciting to knowthat facilities such as the FTC are capable of extracting and
For further information on these, or if you
purifying compounds with green technologies here on Prince Edward Island.”
would like a course held in your area,please contact Jim Landrigan at 902-368-
Over the six weeks of training MacRae was introduced to the business and production side
of working with a client and developing a quality product. The training program providedhim with an opportunity to acquire new skills as well as experience working in an ISO 9001pilot production facility. Funding Programs Links to information about programs available from our funding partners are Featured FOODTECH Canada Centre: Canadian Institute of Fisheries Technology
Thirteen similar centres across Canada have formed a network incorporated as
Prince Edward Island Food Technology
FOODTECH Canada. The purpose of this network is to provide technical support forCanada's food processors to commercialise new products, to enable the centres to work
on large projects that they could not do on their own, and to allow the centres to focus on
their particular expertise. This month we are featuring a FOODTECH Canada Centre in
Dalhousie University was established in 1979 as a specialized
resource centre of advanced technology for research and
education in food science and process engineering with anemphasis on seafoods. The Institute promotes technology transferand the development of advanced technologies aimed at more
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effective commercial utilization of marine resources in Canada and throughout the world. list, please email:
Major areas of emphasis include aquaculture development, biotechnology, fish/food
process engineering, marine oils and nutrition, physical properties of foods, processchemical science, seafood biochemistry and toxicology.
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Canadian Institute of Fisheries Technology Tel: 902-494-6030
Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry xxx (2009) xxx–xxxProgress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biologicalj o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / p n pDecreased serum BDNF levels in chronic institutionalized schizophrenia onlong-term treatment with typical and atypical antipsychoticsMei Hong Xiu 1 , Li Hui 1 , Yu Feng Da
Eye conditions Patients with red and painful eyes frequently seek advice in the pharmacy. This article focuses on OTCtreatment options of the most common eye conditions: red eye and dry eye. It summarizes symptoms andunderlying causes and lists do’s and don’ts for healthy eyes. Dr. Klaus Rudolph “Now do you not see that the eye embraces the beauty remedies (camomile) can worsen
FOOD TECHNOLOGY CENTRE
Supercritical Fluid Extraction Workshop