SBIR Phase II: Genomics and AI technology to benchmark biological effects of active ingredients in dietary supplements, food, beverages and skincare to ensure safety and efficacy

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is an innovation to test functional ingredients used in the health and wellness industry, ultimately being a critical first step in the development of efficacious and responsibly sourced consumer products. Using this innovation, companies within the functional food and beverage, dietary supplement, and skincare (FFBDS) industry including, ingredient suppliers, manufacturers, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) can produce safe and effective products backed by scientific rigor. Additionally, this technology enables companies to quickly and cost effectively assure ingredient consistency and quality. The end result is consumers' access to products that are supported by science, bringing clarity, trust, and ease to the purchasing process in a confusing market. Long-term, the data from these studies can help with understanding which ingredients have the most beneficial effect on human health and can be used to develop personalized nutrition products. The data can also be tied to ingredient traceability insights and to optimize sustainable farming, harvesting, extracting, and manufacturing practices to produce ingredients with the most advantageous biological effect. Ultimately, the outcomes from this project could benefit all stakeholders in the functional ingredient supply chain, from farmers to producers to the end consumers. The proposed project creates a new testing standard for ingredients used in FFBDS products that measures the ingredient’s biological effect quickly and cost-effectively. Functional ingredients have benefits beyond normal nutrition, including ingredients such as curcumin (turmeric), cranberry, and elderberry. However, companies face challenges sourcing ingredients that are consistent in batch-to-batch quality. Currently available batch-to-batch testing methods fall short, measuring only the amount of ingredients but not their biological activity. In the present proposal, using commercially available human cells, and genomics and artificial intelligence technologies, biological effect benchmarks will be developed for the functional ingredients. Processes and protocols established for turmeric benchmark development in Phase I of this project will be used to optimize cranberry and elderberry benchmark development through this Phase II project. The final product will be a lab test that compares the commercial functional ingredients’ biological effectiveness to that of the benchmark. Upon test completion, customers will receive a report detailing the biological effect score of the ingredient, a list of key genes affected with a description of their relevance to human health. This high-throughput, cost-effective test will enable companies to develop products that help build consumer trust and confidence as well as mitigate compliance risk. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.