NutriNeuro and Abyss Ingredients Collaborate to Advance Cognitive Health with Marine Bioactives
Cognitive disorders, encompassing memory and mood disturbances, significantly impact quality of life and contribute to cognitive aging by affecting cognitive reserves. Recognizing this growing public health concern, the NutriNeuro laboratory (INRAE, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux INP) and Abyss Ingredients have joined forces in a collaborative research effort.
The LabCom SeaMind project represents a proactive and innovative approach, combining the expertise of the NutriMind team at NutriNeuro in cognitive health with Abyss Ingredients’ capabilities in extracting marine bioactive compounds. Their shared goal is to develop scientifically validated marine-based active ingredients for use in dietary supplements, aiming to preserve cognitive health throughout life and address consumer demand for natural solutions.
A Decade of Collaboration Culminates in a Joint Laboratory
According to Corinne Joffre, a researcher at NutriNeuro and the project leader, “LabCom SeaMind is the result of a humanly and scientifically rich collaboration which began around ten years ago between Abyss Ingredients, and NutriNeuro. This joint laboratory is scientifically decisive because it will strengthen NutriNeuro’s scientific expertise in cognitive health and marine bioactives and consolidate its positioning as a leader in this field, both nationally and internationally. It is very motivating to work on the development of innovative natural marine ingredients effective on mood and cognitive disorders during target periods of life with the aim of maintaining memory capital and thus ensuring successful aging of the population.”
Alexis Mehaignerie, President of Abyss Ingredients, added, “our LabCom SeaMind, formalizes, perpetuates, strengthens, and above all accelerates our fruitful collaboration with NutriNeuro to innovate and develop high-performance marine active ingredients for cognitive health and more particularly the health of women throughout their lives. We are very proud and very happy with this new step, very strategic for Abyss.”
By enhancing scientific understanding of preventing memory and mood disorders at critical life stages and developing innovative nutritional solutions, LabCom SeaMind aims to transform current approaches to cognitive disorder prevention and treatment.
Funding and the ANR LabCom Program
LabCom SeaMind is funded by the National Research Agency (ANR) with up to €363,000 over 54 months. The ANR’s LabCom program, established in 2013, supports public-private research partnerships, fostering collaboration between companies (VSEs, SMEs, ETIs, and start-ups) and academic research institutions. The program aims to develop industrial partnerships and facilitate knowledge transfer. As of 2024, the program is open to start-ups and offers an accelerated process for companies pursuing CIFRE theses.
The next LabCom call for projects is currently open and will remain so until September 2026. More information about the call can be found on the ANR website.
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