2023-12-07 12:45:46
Cellular agriculture proposes new ways of producing food and is presented as an alternative to the massive use of natural resources such as soil and water that traditional agriculture entails.
Biotechnologist Antares Martínez from the National University of San Luis (UNSL) cultivates cells from a plant whose medicinal properties could help regulate cholesterol levels and mitigate digestive disorders. From this crop, a potentially edible, protein powder is obtained, rich in fiber and minerals and low in fat.
The aforementioned plant is a wild vegetable, native to South America, whose scientific name is Tessaria absinthioides and is popularly known as “dummy bird” or “pitch.”
Antares Martínez’s work at the Chemical Technology Research Institute (INTEQUI), with dual dependence UNSL / CONICET, consists of cultivating organism cells to generate products that society can take advantage of. For example, plant biomass can be grown from plant cells for consumption.
The process
From a segment of the plant, a leaf or part of the stem, the culture is carried out in a specific gel with nutrients and growth regulators, under controlled conditions of light and temperature. In this way, the formation of cells is induced. This is how cellular aggregates, called calluses, grow. These take about a month to form and also age within a month.
Each of the cells that make up the callus has the capacity to form a new plant. “With growth regulators in the Laboratory one can induce the formation of roots, stems, or a complete plant,” the specialist told Argentina Investiga. The calluses go through a drying process where they are dehydrated (lyophilization). They are then ground and a powder is obtained, which is what is consumed. “It is potentially edible, we evaluate the toxicity and properties,” she added.
Antares Martínez. (Photo: UNSL Institutional Press)
The organism
Tessaria absinthioides is a wild plant found in the countryside. As the scientist explained, in the Laboratory, there was already a cell culture of that organism, which has several medicinal properties and is widely used in popular medicine for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant richness. The scientist focuses the study on the freeze-drying process to extract a powder that can be used in food. “We carried out different determinations to characterize it at a nutritional level and in that sense we had very good results,” she said.
Based on tests, we seek to determine its properties. For example, determining phenolic compounds present in the extracts “would be like making a tea with the powder where the compounds can be extracted,” he said. Phenolic compounds are substances that have antioxidant properties and can impact the prevention of oxidative damage, related to the onset of various diseases.
Another point on which the biotechnologist worked was determining the functional properties. This analysis is useful to evaluate what type of food products it can be used in or what properties it has that favor the production of certain foods. For example, due to its solubility, it could be used to make juices, supplements and also bread or dough in general, due to its swelling power.
The society
The scientist explained that this knowledge is an interesting proposal because it seeks to improve nutrition and health on a daily basis while leaving aside traditional practices of exploitation of resources and organisms, especially due to the volume of the population, the crops and livestock that is increasing and requires an alternative.
“We believe that it is very important to disseminate these topics to generate acceptance by people, transmit security and knowledge that it is a safe product, suitable for consumption and with multiple benefits,” he added. A natural product is obtained, prepared under aseptic and controlled conditions. “We leave aside all the contaminants present in a plant grown in the open field,” he concluded. (Source: Argentina Investiga / UNSL)
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