Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019).

Ocean Pride Fisheries Limited is a company that specializes in sea cucumber-based products and is veryx000D
interested in the pursuit of advanced research into these products along with the development of novelx000D
nutraceuticals. My research group has studied species of berries for several years and has found neuroprotectivex000D
effects of various extracts from the fruits and leaves of these plants. The goal of the current project is tox000D
develop and test a new sea cucumber-based nutraceutical product combined with blueberry extracts. Seax000D
cucumbers are excellent sources of dietary antioxidants, however to our knowledge there are no studies on thex000D
effects of sea cucumber extracts on nervous system tissue. This project aims to find an optimal combination ofx000D
sea cucumber and blueberry extracts for the formulation of a novel and effective nutraceutical product that hasx000D
the potential to counteract the effects of brain aging and neuroinflammation, which may contribute to variousx000D
brain disorders. We will measure antioxidant capacity and other biochemical parameters in various blends ofx000D
sea cucumber and blueberry extracts. We will then test these blended extract preparations in cell culturex000D
models, which mimic neurotoxicity, in order to detect potential neuroprotective effects. This project can bex000D
completed within a six month time period, therefore producing rapid results for the company. The describedx000D
experiments and analysis will aid in discovering a novel nutraceutical based on sea cucumber and blueberryx000D
extracts. The scientific validation of the new sea cucumber-based nutraceutical will be extremely useful to thex000D
marketing of these products in Canada and beyond, and to the development of future products. This wouldx000D
have a positive economic impact, especially for Atlantic Canada in particular.