The culinary world is currently enamored with saffron. Derived from the dried stigmas of a demanding crocus flower, saffron is highly valued for the bright yellow hue and the subtle flavor and scent it imparts to dishes. The saffron threads are carefully harvested, dried, and packaged by hand, leading to market prices that can reach approximately $50 per ounce. Frank Jaksch highlights that consuming saffron also offers notable health and wellness benefits. However, the challenge lies in extracting these benefits and making them commercially viable. “How can you take such a high-value botanical and turn it into a health and wellness solution suitable for various products?” he asked. “The answer is it’s impossible.”
Jaksch, who co-founded the botanical-based supplement company ChromaDex in 1999, is determined to change that. Recently appointed as the inaugural CEO of Ayana Bio—a company that emerged from Ginkgo Bioworks last year—he aims to utilize plant cell culturing techniques to derive biological components from ingredients like saffron, ginger, blueberries, and cacao for use in food products and supplements, including now calcium citrate tablets.
Jaksch founded ChromaDex to integrate chemistry into the natural products sector, focusing on delivering ingredients for food and supplements. ChromaDex succeeded in developing a form of vitamin B3 known for its anti-aging properties, marketed under the brand name Niagen. With Ayana Bio, however, Jaksch seeks to return to his roots: employing science and technology to create innovative ingredients from the plant kingdom in ways that significantly enhance human health, while ensuring they are easily accessible for consumer products.
He believes that Ayana Bio’s plant cell technology platform is revolutionary, enabling the introduction of new and sustainable ingredients to the market. Last September, Ginkgo Bioworks, a publicly traded biotech leader in cell programming, announced the establishment and funding of Ayana Bio, which aims to leverage Ginkgo’s advanced cell programming technology to produce high-purity, reliable medicinal bioactives in convenient forms. The venture was backed by a $30 million Series A investment from Viking Global Investors and Cascade Investment.
Jaksch explains that the best way to scale these bioactives consistently is through plant cell culture, which involves growing individual plant cells in a bioreactor. Although this method utilizes technology, the cells produced are identical to those found in nature. Ayana Bio plans to use these cells independently rather than combining them or engineering plants outside of their natural environments.
Despite years of research on plant cell culture, few companies have advanced their R&D in this area. Many are focusing on precision fermentation to create single compounds suitable for food applications, but Jaksch argues this approach falls short in producing the diverse nutritional compounds found in plants. “Plant cells are naturally designed to generate multiple compounds, not just one,” he said.
By employing cell culture techniques, Ayana Bio can harness the inherent power of plant cells and refine the production of these complex compounds. Some of these compounds are presently challenging to obtain, with cost being a significant factor. Transitioning wild plants to mass cultivation can alter their nutrient profiles, according to Jaksch. However, through cell culturing technology, Ayana Bio can consistently grow identical cells. This method also presents a non-agricultural solution to ensure the survival of these compounds amid climate change threats to food crops.
“Extraction from agriculture is outdated; ingredient cultivation is the future,” stated Effendi Leonard, Ayana Bio’s co-founder and chief technology officer. “We depend on plant-derived molecules in many aspects of our daily lives, and Ayana Bio’s mission to democratize plant bioactives without agricultural constraints is ambitious.” Leonard noted that Ayana Bio is uniquely positioned to leverage life science technology, computational methods, and cellular cultivation.
The company’s product pipeline includes bioactive compounds from ginseng, berries, cacao, ginger, and other valuable botanicals. Utilizing Ginkgo Bioworks’ cell library and analytical capabilities, Ayana Bio aims to identify the best cell lines for production. Jaksch envisions that this technology will enable Ayana Bio to create ingredients that encapsulate the beneficial health aspects of plants, making them suitable for supplements, beverages, protein bars, and consumer packaged goods. The objective is to enhance the health benefits of these ingredients while ensuring they are accessible for widespread use.
For instance, while blueberries are packed with vitamins and antioxidants, Jaksch notes that most people cannot consume enough to fully benefit from their properties. Although he refrained from disclosing how close Ayana Bio is to developing any specific ingredients, he mentioned a broad array of potential business partners, including beverage mix companies looking to enhance nutritional value and consumer packaged goods firms aiming to provide healthier options.
Jaksch observed that the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the shift towards healthier choices, and he believes Ayana Bio can fulfill the ingredient needs of consumer packaged goods companies. “I was actively involved in discussions with major CPG food and beverage firms, where top executives were focused on integrating health and wellness into their offerings,” he said. “The goal is to offer healthier versions of products, not just chips and snacks.”
He expressed his enthusiasm for optimizing nature’s resources to improve health and wellness, stating that Ayana Bio presents an opportunity to provide manufacturers and consumers with innovative yet familiar products that are recognized as healthy. “We’re essentially saying, ‘We’ve discovered a better way to produce these ingredients and fulfill the promises supported by clinical studies and existing data,'” he concluded.