03.01.02
The health benefits of substances as diverse as orange peel, licorice, myrrh and quinoa are among the areas of focus within Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. The university's Center for Advanced Food Technology (CAFT) has-as a result of grants and industry support-evolved as a key player in nutraceutical research that plays a role in cancer prevention and health promotion.
By way of background, "CAFT was established in 1984 as part of a program by the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology to create economic development in the state of New Jersey through university-based innovation," explained Dr. Jozef Kokini, chair and director, Department of Food Science and CAFT. "One of our major goals was to contribute to an increase in employment in the state. We were charged with innovating to bring new companies into the area."
He continued, "One of our first projects was to bring the food industry together, solving generic industry problems such as shelf life issues. At that time," he said, "we had 20 companies join as members. We then developed multidisciplinary teams within various departments at the university to solve these problems."
As the program continued, he said, the industry started evolving and new tools became available. "Then," said Dr. Kokini, "about seven years ago we hired Dr. Geetha Ghai, a molecular pharmacologist, who started working on a new hypothesis, testing the effects of nutraceuticals on human disease genes. We started out doing simple experiments, such as using a component of black tea in the colon cancer pathway. To our amazement, it worked," joked Dr. Kokini. "This gave birth to a whole new initiative."
With that initiative came grant money from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology; the five year grant-which started in January 1997-led to a comprehensive patent on the evaluation of any food or natural substance in gene screens. This led to a second grant to study further what is important in food and wellness. "We will make an effort to better understand the marketplace and consumer needs and look at processed foods consumed in daily life," said Dr. Kokini.
The main push with this second grant, according to co-principal investigator Robert Rosen, associate director, CAFT, is the modulation of gene expression of inflammatory mediators by processed foods. The five year grant-which began in January 2002-is part research, part technology transfer, with a large multidisciplinary team within Rutgers and with outside organizations such as the Unilever Center for the Study of Diet and Nutrition in the Prevention of Chronic Diseases at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Temple University Medical School and the Blueberry & Cranberry Research Center.
The logistics of how to share these discoveries with the public led to the creation in 1998 of WellGen, Inc., the commercial arm of these Rutgers programs. The university is the largest shareholder. WellGen CEO David Evans explained the setup. "We have an exclusive license to the technology as part of a long term agreement with the university. We are a disease prevention and wellness company that will work with dietary supplement, food and pet food companies. We will take our technology platform and develop patents from the program, then license or commercialize the products," he said. WellGen will also fund university research.
In addition to the above-mentioned screening patent, WellGen has eight patents-and a number of proprietary sub-patents-pending. All patents relate to reducing the risk of cancer.
Additionally, said Dr. Evans, "We have finalized agreements with three companies and completed our first two rounds of equity financing. We also have a separate grant from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology for technology transfer."
One of the industry agreements is with ingredient supplier Danisco A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark, which is processing an orange peel extract that will be the subject of a clinical trial due to start within the next few months. The clinical trial, which is partially funded by NIH, will take place in high risk colon cancer patients. The product is a very small molecule isolated from the orange peel extract, said Mr. Evans. "It enhances the expression of cancer-suppressing genes and in tests in mice has reduced the risk of colon cancer by 40%. It is already on the GRAS list," he continued, "and it is shelf stable for 12 months. We've also done some dosage and toxicology studies that are favorable." The company filed for a revised patent in September 2000.
Mr. Evans explained the basic chain of events at WellGen. "We start with a food extract, which may have 500 chemicals in it. We see if any have activity on tumor cell lines. Then we start the process of isolating various components to see which is active. Once we have isolated the compound, then we need to figure out the mechanism of action and whether certain variables-such as where it is grown or how it is processed-make a difference in tumor-fighting activity."
The best ingredients are taken from a knowledge base of centuries. "We look at folklore, at Traditional Chinese Medicine and at local plants," said Dr. Rosen. "Many of these plants have been believed to prevent cancer-by inhibiting inflammation-for many years."
Much of the research is ongoing and in addition to the orange peel extract project, another ingredient, licorice, is also about to enter clinical trials. Again aided by NIH grants, the ingredient will be tested on prostate cancer risk reduction. According to researcher Dr. Mohamed Rafi, assistant professor in nutrigenomics, "We have isolated a molecule, DHP beta, in licorice root that has significant anti-tumor activity. It does the job like Taxol," he said. The ingredient is the subject of a peer-reviewed article in the February issue of the Journal of Food Chemistry.
Other cancer-preventing ingredients under study include Vietnamese coriander, Inula brittanica, which is a Chinese herbal plant, myrrh and a particular component of black tea. Rutgers scientists are also investigating quinoa, buckwheat, almond, noni and garlic. "Down the road we would like to develop a specific diet for preventing inflammation," said Dr. Rosen. Dr. Rafi suggested delivery vehicles such as antioxidant cereals, COX-II cereals or ginger cookies.
Finally, Rutgers was also awarded a contract from the Department of Defense to investigate "Combat Rations for Improved Cognitive and Physical Performance." Scientists are investigating if there is a link between inflammation, immune function and performance.
For further information on the nutraceuticals research underway or on membership in the cooperative research program at CAFT, contact Dr. William Franke, associate director, 732-932-8306, ext. 315; E-mail: franke@aesop.rutgers.edu.-Ellen Schutt
By way of background, "CAFT was established in 1984 as part of a program by the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology to create economic development in the state of New Jersey through university-based innovation," explained Dr. Jozef Kokini, chair and director, Department of Food Science and CAFT. "One of our major goals was to contribute to an increase in employment in the state. We were charged with innovating to bring new companies into the area."
He continued, "One of our first projects was to bring the food industry together, solving generic industry problems such as shelf life issues. At that time," he said, "we had 20 companies join as members. We then developed multidisciplinary teams within various departments at the university to solve these problems."
As the program continued, he said, the industry started evolving and new tools became available. "Then," said Dr. Kokini, "about seven years ago we hired Dr. Geetha Ghai, a molecular pharmacologist, who started working on a new hypothesis, testing the effects of nutraceuticals on human disease genes. We started out doing simple experiments, such as using a component of black tea in the colon cancer pathway. To our amazement, it worked," joked Dr. Kokini. "This gave birth to a whole new initiative."
With that initiative came grant money from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology; the five year grant-which started in January 1997-led to a comprehensive patent on the evaluation of any food or natural substance in gene screens. This led to a second grant to study further what is important in food and wellness. "We will make an effort to better understand the marketplace and consumer needs and look at processed foods consumed in daily life," said Dr. Kokini.
The main push with this second grant, according to co-principal investigator Robert Rosen, associate director, CAFT, is the modulation of gene expression of inflammatory mediators by processed foods. The five year grant-which began in January 2002-is part research, part technology transfer, with a large multidisciplinary team within Rutgers and with outside organizations such as the Unilever Center for the Study of Diet and Nutrition in the Prevention of Chronic Diseases at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Temple University Medical School and the Blueberry & Cranberry Research Center.
The logistics of how to share these discoveries with the public led to the creation in 1998 of WellGen, Inc., the commercial arm of these Rutgers programs. The university is the largest shareholder. WellGen CEO David Evans explained the setup. "We have an exclusive license to the technology as part of a long term agreement with the university. We are a disease prevention and wellness company that will work with dietary supplement, food and pet food companies. We will take our technology platform and develop patents from the program, then license or commercialize the products," he said. WellGen will also fund university research.
In addition to the above-mentioned screening patent, WellGen has eight patents-and a number of proprietary sub-patents-pending. All patents relate to reducing the risk of cancer.
Additionally, said Dr. Evans, "We have finalized agreements with three companies and completed our first two rounds of equity financing. We also have a separate grant from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology for technology transfer."
One of the industry agreements is with ingredient supplier Danisco A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark, which is processing an orange peel extract that will be the subject of a clinical trial due to start within the next few months. The clinical trial, which is partially funded by NIH, will take place in high risk colon cancer patients. The product is a very small molecule isolated from the orange peel extract, said Mr. Evans. "It enhances the expression of cancer-suppressing genes and in tests in mice has reduced the risk of colon cancer by 40%. It is already on the GRAS list," he continued, "and it is shelf stable for 12 months. We've also done some dosage and toxicology studies that are favorable." The company filed for a revised patent in September 2000.
Mr. Evans explained the basic chain of events at WellGen. "We start with a food extract, which may have 500 chemicals in it. We see if any have activity on tumor cell lines. Then we start the process of isolating various components to see which is active. Once we have isolated the compound, then we need to figure out the mechanism of action and whether certain variables-such as where it is grown or how it is processed-make a difference in tumor-fighting activity."
The best ingredients are taken from a knowledge base of centuries. "We look at folklore, at Traditional Chinese Medicine and at local plants," said Dr. Rosen. "Many of these plants have been believed to prevent cancer-by inhibiting inflammation-for many years."
Much of the research is ongoing and in addition to the orange peel extract project, another ingredient, licorice, is also about to enter clinical trials. Again aided by NIH grants, the ingredient will be tested on prostate cancer risk reduction. According to researcher Dr. Mohamed Rafi, assistant professor in nutrigenomics, "We have isolated a molecule, DHP beta, in licorice root that has significant anti-tumor activity. It does the job like Taxol," he said. The ingredient is the subject of a peer-reviewed article in the February issue of the Journal of Food Chemistry.
Other cancer-preventing ingredients under study include Vietnamese coriander, Inula brittanica, which is a Chinese herbal plant, myrrh and a particular component of black tea. Rutgers scientists are also investigating quinoa, buckwheat, almond, noni and garlic. "Down the road we would like to develop a specific diet for preventing inflammation," said Dr. Rosen. Dr. Rafi suggested delivery vehicles such as antioxidant cereals, COX-II cereals or ginger cookies.
Finally, Rutgers was also awarded a contract from the Department of Defense to investigate "Combat Rations for Improved Cognitive and Physical Performance." Scientists are investigating if there is a link between inflammation, immune function and performance.
For further information on the nutraceuticals research underway or on membership in the cooperative research program at CAFT, contact Dr. William Franke, associate director, 732-932-8306, ext. 315; E-mail: franke@aesop.rutgers.edu.-Ellen Schutt
