The Eurecat technology centre has demonstrated, at a preclinical level, the neuroprotective effects and cognitive performance–enhancing properties of polyphenol-rich extracts obtained from red onion skins, chicory leaves, and vine and olive pruning residues, as a starting point for the development of ingredients that can be transferred to nutritional products with beneficial effects on mental and cognitive health.
The results, published in a scientific article in the journal Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, show the therapeutic potential of these agricultural by-products, particularly red onion skins, for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, thanks to their anti-inflammatory effects.
In the study, the extracts were tested using two alternative models of neurodegeneration that consisted in an in vitro model of human neurons and a zebrafish larval model. Both systems “contribute with scientific evidence to the validation of robust alternative methodologies to animal experimentation for evaluating the beneficial effects of bioactive compounds, ingredients or nutraceuticals,” explains Antoni Caimari, Director of Eurecat’s Biotechnology Area.
Regarding the findings, researcher Xavier Escoté, a collaborator with Eurecat’s Nutrition and Health Unit and a professor at Rovira i Virgili University, points out that “the next natural step will be to identify which specific components of red onion skin and the other extracts are responsible for the observed effects and how they behave in more complex models. This will make it possible to progress towards truly transferable neuroprotective ingredients for nutritional products with potential beneficial effects on mental and cognitive health.”
The research was carried out in collaboration with the Belgian company CELABOR within the framework of the Phenolexa project, which aims to innovate in the revalorisation of agricultural by-products containing high-value bioactive compounds, particularly polyphenols.
In recent years, driven by the circular economy, there has been a growing interest in the recovery and valorisation of compounds left over from agricultural activities, due to their environmental benefits as well as their promising applications in the food, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical sectors.
Within the field of life and health sciences and technologies, Eurecat is a leading player in food and nutrition, omics sciences, digital health, medical devices and neuroscience, that applies these capabilities to transform technology into advances for health and wellbeing, with solutions and medical devices that improve personalised care, precision nutrition, food safety and clinical decision-making.
The Phenolexa project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme, is a European initiative focused on processing various types of agricultural waste to create a range of new functional polyphenolic bioactives with properties beneficial to human health.
