Fermentation for Bioactive Metabolites

• Microbial Fermentation of Plant Secondary Metabolites

BOC Sciences provides custom fermentation services for bioactive metabolites, such as antibiotics, enzyme inhibitors, mycotoxins, and other biologically active by-products. In addition, we offer an extensive product portfolio of these metabolites from milligram to kilogram scale. Our strong microbial fermentation capability of metabolites supports our customers to explore the potential applications of bioactive molecules in the fields of medicine, agriculture, graziery, environment, pharmaceutical, and food industries.

What is metabolite?

In biochemistry, the metabolite is an intermediate or end product of metabolism. Primary metabolites, also known as the central metabolites, such as lactic acid and certain amino acids, directly participate in the normal growth, development, and reproduction of the organism. Conversely, secondary metabolites, also called specialized metabolites, are not directly involved in those processes but usually have an important biologically active role.

Moreover, secondary metabolites are usually produced by bacteria or fungi that preserved enormous biological activities, mainly in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics, food, agriculture and farming fields. Among all, antibiotics are the best known secondary metabolites. However, the production of these valuable metabolites in nature is minimum. Thus, restoration of microbial fermentation technology is necessary to achieve industrial production of these secondary metabolites.

Application of Metabolites

Metabolites have various functions, including fuel, stimulatory and inhibitory effects on enzymes, and catalytic activity. They usually act as a cofactor to an enzyme and interact with other organisms. These metabolites revealed significant potential for various industrial applications.

In the pharmaceutical industry, microbial fermentation has been the preferred solution for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) production, which economically provides safer and more effective medicines.

In the food industry, fermentation processes produce a wide range of critical metabolic products, such as fatty acids, sugars, and bioactive peptides that improve food quality, flavor, and safety.

In the agriculture field, microbes contribute to plant nutrition by converting essential macromolecules into biofertilizers for plants. In addition, specific metabolites produced by microbial fermentation can protect plants from other invasive, parasitic plants and pests, such as herbicides and pesticides.

Our Product Portfolio of Metabolites

We offer an extensive product portfolio of metabolites from milligram to kilogram scale. Our strong microbial fermentation capability of metabolites supports our customers to explore the potential applications of bioactive molecules in the fields of medicine, agriculture, graziery, environment, pharmaceutical, and food industries.

Our Advantages

• Over 20 years of experience in traditional strain culture and fermentation production.
• Advanced fermentation process and modern fermentation facilities.
• One-stop fermentation, analysis and purification service for desired metabolites.
• Complete strain expression systems cover bacterial systems and eukaryotic systems.
• Various valuable secondary metabolites fermentation.
• Large-scale fermentation capability to meet the requirements of industrial production
• Comprehensive analytical capabilities for compound characterization.
• Cost-effective and high-quality products.

Our Methods

Strain development and improvement

• Mutation: mutation is an alteration in the nucleotide sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA.
• Gene cloning: Genes may be transferred between unrelated strains which are producers of known substances
• Genetic recombination: exchange of genetic material occurs between different organisms
• Strains selection: random selection or screening from the surviving population to define improved strain; identification of improved strains through assay of fermentation broth for products

High-throughput screening

Scale-up fermentation and commercial fermentation

Fermentation downstream process optimization

• Process characterization
• Stability development
• Recovery and purification of fermentation products

Compound characterization

GC-MS, LC-MS, NMR, XRD, etc.

Project Workflow

• Customer advisory
• Project discussion, fermentation formulation (customers can provide fermentation strains)
• Strain development and improvement
• Lab-scale fermentation and scale-up fermentation
• Targeted-compounds extraction and purification
• Product Delivery