The Gyeonggi-do Business and Science Accelerator (GBSA) has been selected for a national government project by the Korea Forest Service and will pursue domestic production of health functional food ingredients for cholesterol improvement.
GBSA announced on the 6th that it was selected for the Korea Forest Service's "Forest Sector Green Bio Future Value Chain Technology Development Project" and will begin developing health functional foods for dyslipidemia improvement based on Evodia daniellii (swinamu) extract. The project runs from this month through December 2030, a five-year period, with a budget of 3.495 billion won ($2.6 million).
The project focuses on domestically producing cholesterol-improving functional ingredients that are currently highly dependent on imports. Dyslipidemia is a major condition that raises the risk of cardiovascular disease through abnormal levels of blood cholesterol and triglycerides. GBSA researchers plan to scientifically verify the cholesterol-improving effects of fruit extracts from the Evodia tree, a native Korean forest resource, and develop them into functional ingredients.
The research will proceed through industry-academia-research collaboration. GBSA serves as the lead institution, with Gyeongsang National University and 3H Labs Co. participating as joint research organizations. Ildusanbang joins as a commissioned research institution, with roles divided across functional verification, process development and commercialization strategy.
Gyeonggi Province and GBSA explained that the project builds on research outcomes from last year's "Domestic and International Natural and Synthetic Material Development Project." The initiative will apply artificial intelligence-based heat treatment and extraction process optimization along with quality control systems to enhance raw material production efficiency.
GBSA plans to register the ingredient as an individually recognized raw material with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety while also pursuing U.S. Food and Drug Administration novel food ingredient certification and halal certification to establish a foundation for entering global markets.
"We have laid the groundwork to re-examine the value of domestic native forest resources and cultivate them into high-value-added functional ingredients," GBSA President Kim Hyeon-gon said. "We will contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of Korea's bio industry and improving public health."