MOSCOW - Chinese scientists have developed a technology that could help turn carbon dioxide into the powerful antioxidant lycopene, reported Sputnik, citing the South China Morning Post on Monday.
Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that provides many health benefits, including sun protection, improved heart health and a lower risk of certain types of cancer.
It is also believed to be effective in fighting obesity, diabetes and some respiratory diseases.
Lycopene, widely used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries, is reportedly not easy to produce.
For instance, extracting it from natural plants is time-consuming, while chemical synthesis is a laborious and demanding process.
Lycopene is also quite expensive, costing up to five million yuan (US$708,800) per tonne.
However, a team at Qingdao Agricultural University has managed to develop a synthetic biology technology that can overcome these problems, the newspaper reported.
Team leader Prof Yang Jianming decided to use a biological method called "carbon fixation technology". In this method, organisms convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds, such as in plant photosynthesis.
The technology developed by Yang and his team uses microorganisms as bioreactors to produce chemicals, materials or medicines, and is capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The professor said the technology has the advantage of being a simple, low-cost and an environmentally friendly way of producing lycopene. - BERNAMA