The kick-off meeting of the new CIIMAR European project "Cyanobesity" took place at CIIMAR facilities at Leixões Cruise Terminal, Matosinhos, Portugal on May 17, 2017.

CYANOBESITY - Cyanobacteria as a source of bioactive compounds with effects on obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities - coordinated by Ralph Urbatzka, aims to develop novel nutraceuticals that have the potential to improve the quality of life for millions of people worldwide.

During the project marine cyanobacterial strains of a culture collection will be screened for beneficial properties towards obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities (obesity, fatty liver disease, diabetes, appetite and hyperlipidaemia) and the chemical structure will be elucidated. By applying an innovative biotechnological platform, the interactions from oral administration to the blood stream will be analyzed and with different target tissues in vitro.

Cyanobesity is co-funded by the FCT through the ERA-MarineBiotech.