TÜBİTAK MAM is developing a project to transform the wastes released as a result of food production into value-added products for the domestic production of products that our country is dependent on foreign resources.
TÜBİTAK MAM Under the coordination of the Vice Presidency of Life Sciences; Ankara University, Konya Selçuk University and Tarım Kredi Yem San. ve Tic. A.Ş., the project "Development of Fermented Feed Additives with High Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity from Rosemary and Thyme Pomace" is supported by the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Our country is located in a favorable geography for the cultivation and cultivation of many types and numbers of medicinal aromatic plants. Extracts obtained from medicinal aromatic plants are added to feeds as flavor and yield enhancers due to their antimicrobial activity and antioxidant effect.
In our country, the market for plant-based fermented feed additives is largely composed of imported products. These products are produced by extracting active ingredients from dried raw materials and processing the extracts together with fillers. The pulps remaining after the extraction of essential oils from medicinal aromatic plants are generally used as organic waste by compost producers. In addition to essential oils, aromatic plants contain many bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, conjugated tannins and flavanoids. The majority of bioactive substances are bound to larger molecules such as aglycones or conjugated tannins. These molecules need to be freed in order to increase their bioavailability and to avoid interfering with digestion, especially by binding to proteins.
These pulps will be fermented with starter culture strains to release bioactive compounds. The pulps fermented with starter cultures will be screened for digestibility, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities and the successful products will be produced on a pilot scale, dried by appropriate methods and tested for their effectiveness in animal trials.
This study aims to reduce imports, while at the same time reducing raw material costs through the use of pulps left over from extraction and transforming waste pulps into value-added products. An environmentally friendly and low-cost production method will be developed by releasing active substances through fermentation instead of the extraction step, which requires high energy use and infrastructure investment.
With this project, it will be possible to contribute both to the zero waste vision of our country and to the vision of the production of products that we are dependent on foreign resources with national capabilities.
The organization supporting the project:
T.C. MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY
GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND POLICIES
