“Ulva lactuca: A delicate green alga which grows on the rocks of the lower foreshore and the shoreface but which is also easily broken by the swell and cast up on the shore.” This is a description by the French Oceanographic Institute of sea lettuce, a green alga which regularly invades our beaches. The Centre d’Etude et de Valorisation des Algues (Algae Research and Development Centre) in Pleubian is undertaking research which will enable the development of sea lettuce as an important raw material for cosmetics.

The algal cell walls contain polysaccharides, so-called “ulvans”, which are of particular interest in the areas of health, immunity and cosmetics. Provided that a tool, in this case an enzyme, can be perfected it will be possible to extract these valuable substances on an industrial scale and to maximise their potential effect. This represents the first stage of the ULVOLIGO project.
Using this ulvanolytic process, oligosaccharides can be produced and then incorporated into cosmetic formulae and tested with potentially promising results on skin and in particular on elastin and the collagen-hyaluronic acid synthesis.

Recognised by the Pôle Mer Bretagne, ULVOLIGO has secured funding from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (French National Research Agency) as part of its 2007 programme "Recherche et Innovation en Biotechnologie" (Biotechnology Research and Innovation).

ULVOLIGO PARTNERS:

Research centres:

• Centre d’Etude et de Valorisation des Algues (Algae Research and Development Centre), Pleubian,
• Station Biologique Roscoff (Roscoff Biological Research Station),

Company:

• Bioeurope (Solabia Group), Anet, Eure et Loir.
  

Contact: philippe.potin@pole-mer-bretagne.com