DianaPlantSciences, Portland, OR, is offering a limited number of research & development partnerships to companies in the nutrition industry interested in producing novel, proprietary ingredients through plant cell culture technology. Plant cell culture technology is the growth and reproduction of plants, plant tissues, and/or plant cells in a controlled environment. This technology offers the sustainable production of plant cells with desired bioactives for human use.

“We’re very excited about the opportunity to partner with companies seeking to realize the significant benefits of producing ingredients through plant cell culture technology,” said Marc Philouze, president of DianaPlantSciences. “A company can benefit by having a sustainable, consistent ingredient supply along with the ingredient being proprietary.”

The process of producing ingredients from plant cell culture technology utilizes non-GMO methods where the whole plant cell remains intact through the entire process and cells are carefully selected to exhibit the best concentration and distribution of targeted actives naturally inherent to the plant. In 2013, DianaPlantSciences commercialized its first ingredient – Cocovanol Cocoa Actives – based on the technology. A number of additional ingredients are in the research pipeline.

Novel ingredients can be developed by plant cell culture technology from a wide range of plants. Some of the plants that are ideal targets would include popular botanicals or rare and endangered plant species. A prospective partner may also come to DianaPlantSciences with a specific plant type or targeted active. From this, DianaPlantSciences will conduct a feasibility assessment where it determines the scientific viability along with financial analysis to develop the ingredient.