Bioactive compounds from Olea europaea: investigation and application in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry

ended

The goal of Olive-Net project is to introduce a novel approach for the exploration, valorization and marketing of new products based on bioactive compounds from Olea europaea. This will be achieved through an extended and well-balanced scheme of researcher’s secondments between universities and enterprises from EU & Associated countries as well as universities from Third countries. A mutual scientific project developed on the needs and interests of both sectors exploiting the existing expertise will be the base of this proposal. Products and side-products of the olive tree such as olive oil, edible olive fruits, olive mill waste and olive tree leaves, will be subjected to a series of state-of-the-art extraction and isolation cascades in order to provide extracts, enriched fractions and isolated compounds of high purity. Target chemical categories will involve the well known olive oil polyphenols and secoiridoids, that will be assessed for their safety and pharmacological effects against inflammation, osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, etc. in cell-based and in vivo assays. All active ingredients will be identified and characterized with advanced analytical techniques, in order to be integrated in formulations and products in the area of nutraceuticals/dietary supplements. Within this project, core scientific multidisciplinary knowledge from different research areas will be integrated creating valuable synergies. Expertise will be transferred by means of the seconded researchers training in environments with different research orientation where complimentary skills are required. Special attention will be given to dissemination activities aiming to public awareness of benefits of healthy diet(s). Olive-Net aspires to create a successful model promoting considerably researchers’ competences and long-lasting collaboration between Industry and Academia.