New oleocanthal-based functional ingredients with anti-inflamatory properties obtained from olive pomace valorisation
Chronic inflammatory diseases (CID) have dramatically risen in the last decades. Current sole treatment for patients is the long-term intake of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with associated harmful side effects, such as ibuprofen, to mitigate their pain.
Research has demonstrated that there exist a strong relationship between nutrition and chronic diseases. This way, the extra virgin olive oil’s (EVOO) health effects have been assessed through diverse studies focusing on the Mediterranean diet. Researchers have recognised natural anti-inflammatory properties to oleocanthal, one of the phenols compounds present in the EVOO. Concentration of oleocanthal is 100 times higher in the olive pomace (OP), a highly pollutant by-product from the olive oil industry.
Santa Cruz Ingeniería is an agro-industrial engineering firm specialised in agronomic management and R&D. During last years, we have focused on the identification of oleocanthal-rich olive varieties and on the process to obtain stable oleocanthal extracts (Spanish patent application under study). NEOCANTAL is a great Circular Economy opportunity (cumulative turnover of €17.15M three years after its launching) to turn the environmentally harmful and low-cost OP into a valuable raw material for new oleocanthal-rich (60-70% pure) functional ingredients with anti-inflammatory pursposes. It will be produced in three different forms to be added to a wide range of food products: OP powder, liquid and encapsulated oleocanthal. Our target customers are food producers willing to differentiate their products as functional, while our end-users are CID’s patients, but also people who care of their wellbeing or follow healthy trends. In the future, we will address the cosmetics, food packaging and pharma industries. 
This Feasibility Study’s goal is to deepen in those key points to assess the economic, technical and commercial viability of NEOCANTAL (including a clinical trial) to tackle this challenge for us to scale-up.