NEWSLETTER
2022.05.17

Salutation
Professor Hiroko Isoda

University of Tsukuba Institute ofFaculty of Life and Environmental
Sciences
JST COI-NEXT "Tsukuba Digital-Bio
International Center Project"
Principal Investigator "Research andDevelopment Project 5 Development
and functional evaluation of
innovative food and drug resource
function evaluation systems"

Biotechnology Strategy 2020
(market area measures) as an
issue:
Environmental
improvements
topromoteresearch and innovation, such asdata linkages that will better
facilitate collaboration between
non-medicalfields(e.g.,
healthcare and medical fields).
The need to accumulate scientific knowledge to realize
new labeling will lead to further healthy expansion of themarket for functional foods. Using the functional
evaluation technologies accumulated through various
bioassays as a starting point, a unique database of 900
dietary medicines and a library of 100 functional
compounds can be exploited to construct a one-stop
functional research and development platform. This will
support the development of dietary medicinal materials
for social implementation in collaboration with AIST, NARI,
RIKEN, the University of Tsukuba's Department ofMedicine and Physical Education, and otherorganizations. We will contribute to productdevelopment through rapid and multifaceted
functional evaluation by developing an artificial
intelligence (AI)-based function prediction system thatutilizes the vast amount of genome information provided
by food and drug ingredients. We will also developfunctional evaluation technologies that meet social

vol.3. 2022 Early Summer

needs for lifestyle-related disease prevention, nerve
function regulation, and skin homeostasis maintenancethat are effective in preventing and improving various
disease states while proposing well-being that maintains
and promotes health through food and drugs.

Introduction of Participating
Researchers
Associate Professor Shinya Takahashi

University of Tsukuba Institute ofFaculty of Life and Environmental
Sciences

Plants produce a variety ofcompounds. The color of flowers
and fruits is due to the type andamount of flavonoids, especially
red anthocyanins. By producing
these compounds, plants protect
themselves from external stresses
such as drought, UV rays, andfood damage. We benefit fromthe functional properties of various compounds
produced by plants to improve our health. In this joint
research with the National Institute of AgrobiologicalSciences, we are trying to extract componentscontained in crops with potential functionality. By
studying their function in human cultured cells, we aretrying to clarify which molecular mechanisms areresponsible for their functionality in improving, forexample, minor ailments. We hope that this project willlead to the development of novel functional foodmaterials.

Tsukuba Digital-Bio International Center Newsletter 2022.05.17vol. 3 2022 Early SummerDeputy Director Kenichi Tominaga

National Institute of Advanced
Industrial Science andTechnologyFood and Drug Resource
Engineering (FoodMed-OIL)

Research on the functions ofdietaryand
medicinalresources
hasoftenevaluated extracted mixtures
and there is still much thatremains unknown about thefunctions
ofindividual
molecules. Many of thesefunctional molecules are difficult to obtain, but we areapplying the biomass conversion reaction technology
we have developed to synthesize these functional
molecules from natural products that are readily
available. As an example, we have developed a onestep reaction to synthesize oleacein, a type ofpolyphenol that is not commercially available, fromoleuropein, a molecule abundant in olive leaves. We
have synthesized and are able to provide more than 20types of functional dietary molecules. We welcome yourinquiry.

Team Manager Satoshi Fukumitsu
 NIPPN, INC. Functional Materials Team,
Innovation Center, Central ResearchLaboratory
We are diversifying our business from flour milling to pasta,
cold food, healthcare, etc., aiming to become adiversified integrated food company. In particular, forthe healthcare business, we are focusing on researchand development of functional food materials derived
from plants and are accumulating evidence offunctional foods for sarcopenia with the cooperation ofProfessor Isoda and Professor Ohkura of the University ofTsukuba under the “COI STREAM, a program forinnovative innovation creation by the Ministry ofEducation, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology ofJapan.” With the help of everyone at the Tsukuba
Digital-Bio International Center, we hope to develop
new ideas for food materials.

R&D Project 5 Leader, Professor Isoda of
the University of Tsukuba, has established.
a venture company (MED R&D Co., Ltd.).
Project leader and Research and Development Project
5 Leader, Professor Hiroko Isoda (University of Tsukuba,
Mediterranean and North Africa Research Center),established a venture company (MED R&D Co., Ltd.) onApril 9, 2021 to conduct functional evaluation of foodand drug resources and to develop products for social
implementation on the functional analysis platform forfood and drug resources that the project is aiming toestablish. A venture company (MED R&D Co., Ltd.) wasestablished on April 9, 2021 to conduct functional
evaluation of food and drug resources and tocommercialize them for social implementation.
Click here for company website→

Our project has been adopted by the Japan
Agency for Medical Research andDevelopment (AMED)The following project, led by Associate Professor Seiya
Mizuno of the University of Tsukuba, has been selectedby the Japan Agency for Medical Research andDevelopment (AMED) for the FY2022 Research Project
for the Promotion of Innovative Drug Development for
Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases and isentitled "Creation of a basic technology for producing
genetically humanized mice capable of expressing thepathogenesis of infectious diseases. " This project is a partof the project to create a new mouse model of
infectious diseases similar to humans, which is led byProfessor Atsushi Kawaguchi of the University of Tsukuba,
and is being carried out in collaboration with the groupled by Professor Satoshi Takahashi of the University ofTsukuba and Dr. Jun Yoshiki, Director of the Laboratory
Animal Development Office of RIKEN's BRC.
https://www.
amed.go.jp/koubo/11/02/1102C_00040.html

Greater Tokyo Biocommunity (GTB) was
certified as a Global Biocommunity by theCabinet Office

TOPICS
Tsukuba Digital-Bio International Center Newsletter 2022.05.17vol. 3 2022 Early Summer

Greater Tokyo Biocommunity (GTB), an affiliatedorganization of the Center, has received the "GlobalBiocommunity" accreditation from the national Cabinet
Office after a review by the Biocommunity Promotion
Committee. In conjunction with this, a transition
evaluation (second-stage evaluation) for full-scale
support will be conducted at this center.
Learn more about GTB accreditation→
https://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/stmain/20220422g_biocom.html

Associate Professor Naoya Yahagi of theUniversity of Tsukuba and Oishii Kenko Co.,
Ltd. have jointly launched an exploratory
study on "Dietary therapy using a smartphone
application for patients with type 2 diabetes.
Associate Professor Naoya Yahagi of the University ofTsukuba (Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism,and Diabetes, University of Tsukuba Hospital), incollaboration with the participating company, Oishii
Kenko, has started an exploratory study on dietary
therapy using a smartphone application for type 2
diabetes patients. Proper diet is important in thetreatment of patients with type 2 diabetes. A researchstudy will be conducted to analyze and improve eating
behavior and measure the effect of suppressing
elevated blood glucose levels by providing type 2
diabetes patients with "Delicious Health," a smartphone
application equipped with AI menu and nutrition
management functions.

https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000061.000043855.
html

https://tsukubadigitalbio.jp/Tsukuba Digital-Bio International Center Newsletter 2022.05.17vol. 3 2022 Early Summer