Marine Biotechnology: Challenges and Development Market Trends for the Enhancement of Biotic Resources in Industrial Pharmaceutical and Food Applications. A Statistical Analysis of Scientific Literature and Business Models

Abstract

Biotechnology is an essential tool for the sustainable exploitation of marine resources, although the full development of their potential is complicated by a series of cognitive and technological limitations. Thanks to an innovative systematic approach that combines the meta-analysis of 620 articles produced worldwide with 29 high TRL (Technology Readiness Level) European funded projects, the study provides an assessment of the growth prospects of blue biotechnologies, with a focus on pharmaceutical and food applications, and the most promising technologies to overcome the main challenges in the commercialization of marine products. The results show a positive development trend, with publications more than doubled from 2010 (36) to 2019 (70). Biochemical and molecular characterization, with 150 studies, is the most widely used technology. However, the emerging technologies in basic research are omics technologies, pharmacological analysis and bioinformatics, which have doubled the number of publications in the last five years. On the other hand, technologies for optimizing the conditions of cultivation, harvesting and extraction are central to most business models with immediate commercial exploitation (65% of high-TRL selected projects), especially in food and nutraceutical applications. This research offers a starting point for future research to overcome all those obstacles that restrict the marketing of products derived from organisms.

Evaluating the Efficacy of Probiotics in IBS Treatment Using a Systematic Review of Clinical Trials and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

“…The PRISMA 2020 Statement is an integral part of the method. This study used the new PRISMA guidelines, "The PRISMA 2020 Statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews", published in March 2021 as an updated edition, with new insights from the 2009 version [5,27,28]. The following paragraphs summarise the process and criteria adopted in applying the PRISMA method to assess the qualitative and quantitative trends and perspectives of scientific research on IBS based on prebiotics, probiotics, and symbiotics.…”

Bioactive Compounds of Nutraceutical Value from Fishery and Aquaculture Discards

“…In the last ten years, 620 scientific contributions related to marine biotechnology have been published, with a particular focus on the pharmacological and food industry [ 191 ]. More than 1000 novel compounds have been, annually, described with a focus on seafood wastes, and several examples of nutraceutical products are already sold in the market [ 192 ].…”

Purification and Properties of a Plasmin-like Marine Protease from Clamworm (Perinereis aibuhitensis)

“…The ocean is a large potential source of bioactives [1,2]. Due to the particular living environment, marine organisms have generated bioactive substances with significant specialization [3], especially enzymes, which have properties related to their living environment, such as thermal stability, salt tolerance, cold adaptation, etc., and offer good prospects for industrial applications [4] and biomedicine [5]. Marine organisms are important resources for the production of enzymes, and through isolation and purification from marine microorganisms, a variety of enzymes have been obtained, which exhibit antimicrobial activity [3,[6][7][8], hydrolytic activity against blood proteins [9], collagen solubilizing activity [10] and hydrolysis of alginate for efficient production of alginate oligosaccharides [11], and others.…”