Recently licensed technology yields a purer, high-quality product
Researchers from the Pluridisciplinary Center for Chemical, Biological and Agricultural Research (CPQBA) and the Faculty of Dentistry of Piracicaba (FOP) at Unicamp have developed a process that allows obtaining a purer jambu extract, with the presence of spilanthol – mainly responsible for the effect anesthetic – and chlorophyll-free. Also called Watercress, Agrião-Pará or Agriãozinho, the plant extract is used not only as a culinary ingredient – especially in Pará – but also as an anesthetic and antibiotic in oral treatments for toothache and sore throat, for example. . Another possible use is in the manufacture of cosmetics and anti-aging products.
The process was licensed, on a non-exclusive basis, to Brasil Aromáticos. The company, which operates in the development of cosmetics and products aimed at the well-being market, became interested in the technology when faced with a problem commonly found in the industry: the limited supply of raw materials in the desired consistency, previously sold by just one supplier, characterizing a type of market monopoly.
We have an important product from the company that uses jambu extract. I pay 10 thousand reais, per kilo, for the raw material. But, because it is a simple extract from a plant and is not something as technological, it does not justify being so expensive”, says Raquel da Cruz, founding partner of Brasil Aromáticos. Researcher Rodney Alexandre Ferreira Rodrigues, who worked on the development of the process, reveals that, in addition to making jambu extraction cheaper, the technology also presents numerous benefits. “Our extraction process allows for a more powerful and pigment-free extract, it is simple, fast, cheap and 'green' as it does not use toxic or carcinogenic products, for example,” says Rodrigues.
Raquel says that she came to Unicamp's technology after carrying out an Internet search, aiming for a solution that would effectively enable a reduction in expenses for the production of a specific product, whose names and purpose the company could not reveal due to market strategy. . “With the use of technology, we will drastically reduce the production cost of jambu extract. My expectation is that the values will be reduced by up to 70%. I saw that there were other options, but they were all very diluted and did not contain spilanthol. When searching for this last substance, I found all the work developed by Rodney, in the area of dentistry, with jambu extract and spilantol”, she recalls.
Professors Francisco Carlos Groppo and João Ernesto de Carvalho and Dr. Verônica Santana de Freitas Blanco also participated in the development of the process. In addition to reducing costs, licensing the technology also aimed to improve the performance of the product already sold by Brasil Aromáticos. “Currently, all jambu extract obtained is green in color, which makes its application difficult. As the technology developed by Unicamp does not result in the presence of chlorophyll, the result is a colorless extract, which makes its use more flexible. Another interesting point is that the jambu extract obtained with the technology has stimulating properties and not just anesthetic properties, like the others”, confirms Raquel. Rodrigues, on the other hand, bets on the simplicity of the technology as a positive point for its use. “Because it is simple, it allows industrial application without requiring complex and sophisticated equipment, it is also safe and fast. She is an innovator for plant anesthetics,” she comments.
Although the technology has already been licensed by the company, Raquel says that it is not yet being used, as it requires new research to further evaluate the levels of spilanthol, the main active ingredient in jambu extract with an anesthetic function and an important substance for the product. be commercialized, present in the jambu extract obtained. The studies will be conducted in complementary development between the university and the company. The company's partner reveals that, for the next stages, the research will receive financial support from the PIPE program (Innovative Research in Small Businesses) of the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp). As it is an extraction process, Raquel comments that the company even intends to test it to obtain extracts from other plants.
The company's spokesperson considers Inova's actions to be essential for generating innovations of interest to the market. “If I had to summarize Inova’s role in one word, it would be connection. Inova has this ability to connect those interested in taking research from the university to the industry”, she points out.
About the company
Feitiços, which owns the Brasil Aromáticos brand, is a group that has existed for 16 years and has 15 employees on its staff. Feitiços Brasil is located in the Itaquera region, in São Paulo. The company won the IstoÉ Most Conscious Companies Award in 2014, for its socio-environmental actions and for promoting local development.
