Researchers from Qingdao Agricultural University in China have developed a new technology that captures carbon dioxide and uses it to produce lycopene — the antioxidant that gives tomatoes and watermelons their red color — Interesting Engineering reported.
The researchers described the "synthetic biology technology" as a low-cost and easy-to-implement method of producing lycopene, which is already used in industries such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics and may have protective properties against certain diseases such as heart disease, some cancers, and diabetes.
"Although promising data from epidemiological, as well as cell culture and animal, studies suggest that lycopene and the consumption of lycopene-containing foods may affect cancer or cardiovascular disease risk, more clinical trial data is needed to support this hypothesis," scientists from North Carolina State University and Ohio State University wrote in a paper titled "An Update on the Health Effects of Tomato Lycopene" that was published in the peer-reviewed Annual Review of Food Science and Technology.
The paper explained that most people get lycopene from tomatoes, although it is also now sold in supplement form.
The new process developed by the Qingdao Agricultural University scientists involves "carbon fixation," which mimics the natural process that plants use to create organic compounds. By using a naturally occurring bacterium called Rhodopseudomonas palustris along with advanced gene-editing technology, the scientists were able to produce lycopene as a byproduct of carbon fixation.
In short, the process could both store carbon and create lycopene, all at minimal cost.
The technology is valuable not just in theory but monetarily as well, Interesting Engineering reported. Lycopene can cost up to $708,000 per ton, and the patent for the new technology was sold to a local investment company for around $140,000.
"The investment company and the university plan to collaborate on future projects, including green biomanufacturing technology, to help achieve global carbon reduction goals," the South China Morning Post wrote.
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