First scalable food-grade technology for the direct extraction and purification of miRNAs-rich extracts from plants

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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, pose a significant health and economic burden worldwide, accounting for more than 60% of all global deaths. Increasingly, health organizations, governments and citizens themselves are taking a more pro-active stand towards healthier lifestyles. Dietary intake of fruit and vegetables - whose daily consumption recommended by WHO is at least 400g - is a key effective factor in reducing NCDs and chronic inflammation-related mortality risks. The anti-inflammatory capacity of fruits and vegetables is attributable to their microRNAs, which are small non-coding RNA (sRNA). Nevertheless, despite their immunomodulatory action, the poor availability of microRNA in the normal diet make them insufficient to carry out this function. Mirnagreen is the most extensive and sustainable platform of all-natural, non-modified functional microRNA extracts, based on an exclusive and proprietary food-grade technology to extract and purify microRNA from plants. Mirnagreen technology can extract between 40 to 100 mg small RNAs per kg of fresh plant biomass in a purification cycle of less than 3 hours. The production process enables full valorisation of all residues in the food chain, as it derives from plant waste generated by local food producers. Mirnagreen’s manufacturing is fully sustainable and promotes circular economy. Mirnagreen is a radically new solution that can be integrated into a wide range of products. Go-to-market applications of our extracts are nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. Future applications will include agro stimulants, oral care, pet food and, eventually, drugs. The proposed work in Phase 1 of the SME instrument fits into our overall plan to reach the market by contributing the financial resources needed to plan a fast sound wider deployment of Mirnagreen and its market uptake.