Method for the production of ectoine, substance with protective action used in medical and cosmetic industry, has been developed and patented by researchers at the Catholic University of Lublin. They used bacteria colonizing barren sedimentary rocks from Bogdanka coal mine (Lublin region).
A novel method of producing ectoine has been developed by a team of scientists from the Department of Biochemistry and Environmental Chemistry of the Catholic University of Lublin under the supervision of Prof. Zofia Stępniewska. The patented invention has been announced by the university press office.
Ectoine is an amino acid which has protective functions in the body, including as a stabilizer of enzymes, nucleic acids, DNA-protein complexes and whole cells. It provides protection to cells against various external factors such as UV radiation, but also prevents the aging process and facilitates the normal development of cells.
In medicine ectoine is used, fr example, with the radio and chemotherapy. It also increases the immune response to HIV. According to some studies, it may also be helpful in the treatment of Alzheimer\'s disease. In cosmetics, it is used in moisturizing and anti-wrinkle creams.
Ectoine for industrial purposes is currently obtained in the process of chemical synthesis. The process is expensive, it is based on expensive substances (L-amino acids), requires a complicated synthesis technology consisting of 22 stages, and then purifying the product. The price of 1 g of ectoine reaches about 18 dollars.
In nature, ectoine is produced by microorganisms living in extremely adverse conditions such as geysers and salt lakes.
In the coal mine Bogdanka, Lublin scientists studied methanotrophic bacteria colonizing the sedimentary rocks occurring near coal, and their behavior in the local environment.
"The premise, forming the basis of our patent, was the discovery that methanotrophic bacteria found in the microflora of the sedimentary rocks from the Bogdanka mine, survive in conditions of low humidity and high levels of salt in the environment. It then turned out that the mechanism that allowed the bacteria to survive in adverse conditions is ectoine they produced" - explained Stępniewska.
Scientists have developed a method of obtaining ectoine produced by methanotrophic bacteria. In this production process, cultured bacteria are subjected to various factors and then the valuable amino acid they produce is isolated.
Ectoine production method using methanotrophic bacteria should be cheaper (about 2.5 thousand . zlotys per kg) than obtaining ectoine in chemical synthesis. According to Stępniewska, ectoine obtained in natural processes also has a high level of purity.
Talks continue on the implementation of the new method.
PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland
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