Comprehensive platform for selecting and producing algal extracts as cell media components for meat cultivation.

Project acronym:   ALG2MEAT

Project type:   International Research Projects

Grant agreement No.:   HF-169

Project is funded by:   Good Food Institute (Delaver, United States)

Instituions where the research is conducted:

• University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry (Belgrade, Serbia) – Beneficiary
• GreenSea (Monpelje, France) – Beneficiary
• Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, CEA-CNRS (Saklej, France) – Beneficiary
• Innovation center of the Faculty of Chemisty in Belgrade (Belgrade, Serbia) – Beneficiary

Project realization is scheduled from February 17, 2023 till February 16, 2025.

Project staff

Short description of the project

Cultured meat requires less land and water, is less polluting, but is still costly to produce. The critical challenge in cultivated meat science is to identify/develop fetal bovine serum (FBS) alternatives as growth supplements and sources of abundant micro/macro-nutrients. Algal extracts (AE) are promising candidates for serum replacement due to the high abundance of phycobiliproteins (PBPs), vitamins, essential fatty acids (FA), and minerals. Algal production is low cost and eco-friendly, and recent studies revealed the high potency of algal extracts to be used as a medium supplement. We aim to comprehensively screen ~50 algal strains and produce AE as cell medium components in meat cultivation. An original multidisciplinary approach, combining high-pressure processing, biophysical and molecular docking/dynamics studies, cell biology, and biotechnology, will identify and provide detailed findings about the critical components of AE required for the successful replacement of albumin (ALB) in cell medium. These findings will enable us to cost-effectively optimize AE production as potent medium components for meat cultivation.