Fecha de publicación: 22/11/2024 Fuente: Foods - Revista científica (MDPI) Foods, Vol. 13, Pages 3741: Screening Algal and Cyanobacterial Extracts to Identify Potential Substitutes for Fetal Bovine Serum in Cellular Meat Cultivation
Foods doi: 10.3390/foods13233741
Authors:
Nikolina Sibinčić
Maja Krstić Ristivojević
Nikola Gligorijević
Luka Veličković
Katarina Ćulafić
Zorana Jovanović
Aleksandar Ivanov
Lora Tubić
Carole Vialleix
Thibaut Michel
Tatjana Srdić Rajić
Milan Nikolić
Marija Stojadinović
Simeon Minić

Cultured meat technology is a form of cellular agriculture where meat is produced from animal cells grown in a lab, instead of raising and slaughtering animals. This technology relies heavily on fetal bovine serum (FBS) in cell media; hence, production is costly and contributes significantly to ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving the successful commercialization of cell-cultured food requires the critical resolution of manufacturing cost and safety concerns. Hence, our research efforts are focused on identifying commercially viable and ecologically sustainable alternatives to FBS. In this study, we evaluated the potential of twenty-six water-based algal and cyanobacterial extracts to stimulate cell growth for meat cultivation under 90% reduced serum conditions. The extracts were compared in viability, proliferation, and Trypan blue exclusion assays. In the first screening phase, the extracts were evaluated in a ZEM2S (zebrafish) cell culture in a 1% FBS regimen. Based on their ability to exhibit protein tolerance or promote cell proliferation, ten extracts were selected and further assayed in a QM7 cell culture. The QM7 cell line (myoblasts from Japanese quail) is highly relevant for meat cultivation because of its ability to differentiate into muscle fibers. Extracts derived from two microalgae species, Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina) and Dunaliella tertiolecta, demonstrated the highest tolerance in cell culture, above 10 μg/mL (expressed as total protein concentration). Tolerance at a 100 μg/mL concentration was demonstrated exclusively using an extract of blue spirulina (commercially purified Spirulina), which supported cell growth through multiple passages.