Biotech Takes Up Occupancy at Centrum

A new company that will be using biotechnology to manufacture sought-after bioactive ingredients for the cosmetics industry was the first of two spin-outs to occupy the new Centrum facility at Norwich Research Park.  Persephone Bio Ltd, established by BBSRC’s Most Promising Innovators of the Year, Professor Cathie Martin and Dr Eugenio Butelli from the John Innes Centre, will be progressing further with Professor Martin’s award winning research in which she developed several varieties of fruits, including tomatoes and oranges, containing high levels of nutrients and useful plant products. The prize money that she and Dr Butelli received from BBSRC will allow them to take their research out of the lab and  turn it into an economy-boosting commercial enterprise.

Professor Martin said: “Tomatoes grown for food contain small amounts of cosmetically useful products such as flavonols and isoflavones, so we have developed varieties that contain much higher levels of these and related compounds that absorb ultra-violet light and protect plants against damage from the sun. We’ve also created ‘chemical-free’ commercial-scale system s to extract the ingredients directly from cold-pressed tomato juice.”

Tomato extracts are new to skincare products, but Professor Martin and Dr Butelli believe their naturally processed ingredients will be very attractive to the cosmetics industry. With further research it is also hoped that tomatoes could become natural factories for not only cosmetic ingredients, but also therapeutic ingredients to treat skin conditions or promote wound healing