“We’re thrilled to launch Brightseed Bio 01, the first of many bioactive ingredients in Brightseed’s pipeline that will enable companies to innovate for health and bring science-backed solutions forward for consumers,” said Sofia Elizondo, cofounder and COO at Brightseed.
The San Francisco-based company will introduce the new ingredient in a first-to-market protein crisp at the SupplySide West trade show in Las Vegas that runs from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4.
Food for gut health
Elizondo said that “more than ever, people are turning to the food and beverage industry for proactive and personalized health solutions.”
As such, Brightseed partnered with plant-based food pioneer Puris to create the BioCrisp+ made with Brightseed Bio 01. Puris was named Fast Company’s most innovative food company of the year in 2021 for its cultivation of “a pea variety that will fuel the alt-meat industry for years to come”.
“Sustainability and innovation are the core of what we do at Puris,” said Tyler Lorenzen, CEO at Puris Proteins. “Partnering with Brightseed on a crisp that revitalizes a fiber stream to create a complete plant protein encompasses what we see as the future of the plant-based space.”
Designed to be easily integrated into cereals, granolas, nutrition bars and functional beverages, Brightseed Bio 01 is formulated to optimize bioactive content and target the fiber deficit as strategy to support a healthy gut. The company cites research that only 5% of the US population meets recommended daily intake for fiber.
Discovered by artificial intelligence
Brightseed Bio 01 is the first ingredient in the company’s own portfolio of bioactives discovered by its artificial intelligence platform Forager. The technology was previously deployed to assist partners like Danone, Pharmavite and Ocean Spray in identifying compounds from Brightseed’s extensive library of biologically active plant compounds.
“Forager discovers bioactives in nature and maps them to human health outcomes at a rate and accuracy that was previously impossible,” the company says. “To date, Forager has mapped over 2 million plant compounds and cataloged 28,000 bioactive compound predictions and counting.”
For Brightseed, Forager identified two naturally occurring plant compounds, N-trans-caffeoyl tyramine (NCT) and N-trans-feruloyl tyramine (NFT), as beneficial to maintaining gut barrier integrity. It also pinpointed hemp hulls as the richest known source, predicting the presence of the compounds in more than 80 plants.
Pre-clinical research supports Forager’s compound-for-gut-health predictions, and clinical studies are underway to validate the health effects. Brightseed presented its research on the “Impact of two novel plant bioactives on rescue of impaired gut barrier function using human primary cell intestinal epithelium” findings earlier this month at the International Society for Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods annual conference in Turkey.
“Brightseed Bio 01 not only demonstrates how Forager is rapidly translating insights into tangible products for the marketplace but offers a true evolution in the field of nutrition science to benefit consumer health,” said Alina Slotnik, VP of Bioactives at Brightseed.
Building on the NCT/NFT discovery, the company is continuing to build its gut health portfolio, and Forager is hard at work exploring novel bioactives to support metabolism, weight management, glucose management, cognitive health, sleep, stress and immunity for the Brightseed pipeline.
