Hydrolysis of herring seed and production of high value-added biomolecules

The company Ocean Nutrascience is a company working in the marine biotechnology sector and established in Eastern Quebec for twenty years (ABK Gaspésie until 2009). It has the only factory accredited by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, dedicated to the transformation of marine biomasses in order to produce high added value biomolecules for the natural health products market, in Quebec.

Among other things, the company produces a hydrolyzate from the gonads of male herring intended for the North American and European market. This hydrolyzate is rich in nucleic acids (DNA 20%), various amino acids (including a large proportion of alinin), and polyamines. This combination of biomolecules is associated with demonstrated biological activity, including anti-inflammatory activity on white blood cells in humans. This product has already been on the market for several years, but its profitability is undermined by its production cost determined by a sub-optimal production process and excessively long durations. The project aims to optimize certain stages of the transformation process and in particular the grinding techniques, the enzymatic hydrolysis process, filtration and refrigeration processes. Following this optimization, the composition of the product must be validated as well as its biological activity. This project will improve the profitability of the product, but above all will ensure the sustainability of our flagship company in the marine biotechnology sector.