Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation, Universiti Malaysia Pahang and Evolva collaborate to establish centre of excellence for Malaysian Natural Products
Focus on Biosynthesis of High Value Indigenous Malaysian Natural Products
Evolva Holding SA announced that it will collaborate with Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) to establish a scientific Centre of Excellence for natural products from Malaysia as part of the Flavor and Fragrance Cluster in the state of Pahang.
The Centre of Excellence, which is being facilitated by the Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp), under Malaysia’s flagship Bioeconomy Transformation Programme, Bio-Accelerators for Technology Development and Innovation, will focus on the development of natural compounds using Evolva’s yeast fermentation production platform. The goal is to create a new paradigm in the sustainable production of Malaysia’s high value indigenous natural products.
The first programme at the Centre will focus on the production of agarwood fragrances via yeast fermentation. The development of a range of agarwood products by fermentation will allow Malaysia to significantly widen the use of agarwood worldwide, and will complement the existing traditional production approaches.
Agarwood of the Aquilaria and Gyrinops variety has been prized for centuries by incense and perfume makers, and traditional medicine practitioners. More recently, agarwood has been designated as an endangered species by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Despite conservation measures and concerted efforts to grow Aquilaria and Gyrinops in tree nurseries and organic tree farms, these evergreens are rapidly vanishing from forests due to high demand.
According to data collected by the Wild Trade Monitoring Network, the global supply of wild agarwood could vanish from the planet in less than two years.
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