Nutrisciences research facility gets $2M support

Charlottetown, PEI – The National Research Council Institute for Nutrisciences and Health (NRC-INH) has received $2 million funding support from the federal government.

Within the facility, which is located on the University of Prince Edward Island campus, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) scientists and technicians will collaborate with NRC and UPEI scientists to identify and refine naturally occurring compounds from plant, animal and marine life that can benefit human and animal health.

Under the agreement, up to 14 AAFC employees will be located in the new facility by 2009. The team will contribute to the identification of bioactive molecules and will help develop sustainable production systems for these new products that will be of higher value.

“With Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on board, research will span the full continuum, from discovery to commercialization,” says Dr Pierre Coulombe, National Research Council president. “It will start with the discovery and extraction of important bioactive compounds found in renewable resources, continue with research into the role they play in human and animal health, and on to the sustainable production of new crops and commercialization of functional foods and nutraceuticals.”