Actiphen

Actiphen project

Phenolic antimicrobial compounds of plant origin for food preservation

Project reference : ANR-14-CE20-0005

Permanent BioDyMIA staff involved

Pr. Pascal Degraeve
Dr; Nadia Oulahal
Dr. Catherine Joly

Funding

ANR grant : 598 077 euros

Partners

•  ADDIKEM
• ISA Institute of Analytical Science
• Laboratory of Chemical Engineering
• NAT'EX BIOTECH

Summary

Phenolic antimicrobial compounds of plant origin for food preservation
ACTIPHEN aims to evaluate the potential of plant extracts containing antimicrobial phenols from 150 to 3000 gmol-1 molecular weight for food preservation. This choice is justified by the following observations:

- (i) the antimicrobial activity of the phenols present in the plant extracts has been evaluated less systematically than their antioxidant activity;
- (ii) the most studied antimicrobial plant extracts are essential oils

Direct or indirect application via packaging for the preservation of perishable foods

The plant extracts selected by the company Nat'ex Biotech and the University of Toulouse and prepared by the University of Toulouse are primarily co-products for the development of fruits or edible aromatic and medicinal plants (eg pomegranate peel , prune stones, eucalyptus leaves or green tea ...). The application objective is to select extracts suitable for incorporation (i) directly into perishable foods (eg minced beef from raw beef) or (ii) into materials in contact with food (eg active packaging). The scientific strategy is based on an integration of skills in analytical chemistry (University of Toulouse and ISA, University Lyon 1), food microbiology (BioDyMIA, University Lyon 1), materials science and technology (BioDyMIA, PTI Alimentec and Addikem / Addiplast) and chemometric approaches (ISA).