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Hifas da Terra leads the R&D project ‘DIGITAL BIO CoV’ focused on the prediction of the anti-COVID-19 activity of fractions and biomolecules from medicinal mushrooms and some microalgae.
- Hifas da Terra (HdT) receives support from the Galician Innovation Agency of the Xunta de Galicia to carry out an R&D project focused on the prediction of the anti-COVID-19 activity of new fractions and natural biomolecules of medicinal mushrooms. In the future, they may become natural active ingredients of new pharmaceuticals to treat this complex disease.
- The project entitled ‘Early prediction of anti-COVID-19 activity on biomolecules present in fungi and microalgae by applying Machine Learning techniques integrating biological and chemical data (DIGITAL BIO CoV)’ will launch an accelerated development through prediction based on the integration of biological and chemical data for the discovery of new anti-COVID-19 pharmaceuticals.
Hifas da Terra receives support from the Galician Innovation Agency of the Xunta de Galicia for the project ‘Early prediction of anti-COVID-19 activity on biomolecules present in fungi and microalgae by applying Machine Learning techniques integrating biological and chemical data (DIGITAL BIO CoV)’. This is a study led by HdT in collaboration with AMS Biopharma, Cifga and Plexus.The Galician company has received a grant under the Conecta COVID programme of the Galician Innovation Agency-Galician Government for R&D&I projects related to COVID-19, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the Feder Galicia 2014-2020 operational programme, as part of the European Union’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ‘DIGITAL-BIOCoV’ project aims to integrate chemical and biological data at a bioinformatics level for the discovery of new natural anti-COVID-19 drugs.
The data, obtained from laboratory tests carried out with new fractionated extracts of fungi and microalgae, will allow specific development of software for predicting anti-Covid-19 activity. Using algorithms, it will be possible to predict the anti-Covid-19 activity of these natural active ingredients that could form part of future therapy against this pathology. To this end, an existing collection of 150 fungi with proven medicinal potential and more than 15 species of microalgae will be used to develop fractions that will be subjected in isolation or in combination to in vitro anti-COVID-19 bioactivity studies and characterisation in the laboratory. The resulting data will be integrated using specific software allowing the validation of algorithms for the early identification of fractions active against COVID-19. To maximise the chances of success, a fungal species will be included, whose extracts have provided anti-COVID-19 activity in previous studies, the compounds responsible for this activity being unknown.
Medicinal mushrooms against COVID-19
The integration of large amounts of chemical and biological data may allow early prediction of the activity of compounds present in fungal and microalgae-derived fractions. This would contribute to accelerating processes and a more efficient selection of fractions with the potential presence of anti-COVID-19 active compounds. These strategies would also allow for the potential to explore the complex synergies between different compounds that are usually responsible for higher activity.
Governmental bodies are attaching increasing importance to research into compounds of natural origin with pharmacological activity, as in the case of medicinal mushrooms in the fight against COVID-19 with this collaborative project led by HdT and supported by the Galician Innovation Agency of the Xunta de Galicia.
For example, the FDA has recently approved a multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial led by the University of San Diego evaluating fungal supplementation in patients with COVID-19.
As a result of the scientific revolution that occurred in the 2020 pandemic, the usefulness of natural active ingredients with anti-COVID-19 activity in adjuvant to standard treatments is increasingly being investigated. These include the study of medicinal mushroom extracts or active biomolecules that can be isolated from these fascinating organisms, as carried out by Hifas da Terra for more than 20 years.
Hifas da Terra, research as the company’s mainstay
PROFESSIONAL AREA Ι Contents of interest and tools for health professionals.
Hifas da Terra (HdT) is Europe’s leading biotech in the development of medicinal mushroom-based products for human health. Its commitment to research, innovation and sustainability to improve health and wellbeing around the world translates into the development of organic nutraceuticals, medical devices and high-quality, value-added drugs for the comprehensive treatment of pathologies. HdT allocates 62% of its profits to R&D, mainly in gastroenterology, oncology, immunology, musculoskeletal and mental-emotional health. The company currently has more than 15 active clinical studies evaluating the health benefits of supplementing its products, including two oncology clinical trials in patients with colorectal cancer (Micromarker project), breast cancer (Microimmunomama project), two highly innovative clinical trials in the area of women’s health and clinical studies in patients with SIBO in irritable bowel syndrome, DAO deficiency and diverticular disease, among others.
Catalina Fernández de Ana Portela is responsible for this success, as Founder and President of Hifas da Terra, applying a know-how, based on more than 20 years of experience, together with a large, international team of experts. Hifas da Terra is a biotech company based on research and innovation, with a high degree of specialisation in the development of nutraceuticals from medicinal mushrooms.
Professional Area
At Hifas da Terra we are committed to innovation and scientific research, offering solutions that improve people’s health and wellbeing through pre-clinical and clinical trials in which the efficacy of our products is guaranteed. Research areas include:
- gastroenterology
- oncology and quality of life
- immunology
- musculoskeletal and mental-emotional health