A spoonful of sugarcane by-product helps the medicine go down
Introducing the amazing new fibre that’s healing wounds, delivering nutraceuticals and improving diets – all from an agricultural by-product that’s currently burned…
Three years ago, a nascent company called Nufiba developed a process to turn ‘bagasse’ – the rather inelegant name for mulched sugar cane waste – into a suite of valuable products.
Critical to the process was three proprietary food-safe steps: a cold, water-based sterilant developed to kill bacteria in the mulched bagasse; a mild food-grade chemical process to change the structure of the material and make it more absorptive; and a bespoke milling and drying process.
“We took this by-product – that is actually burned in the cane fields and sugar mills – and turned it into a fibre with remarkable properties,” says NuFiba CEO, Dr Mike Patane.
“We ended up with a whole plant foodstuff that acts like sponge. In the same way a sponge can suck up a fluid and be squeezed dry, so this fibre can both encapsulate and release nutrition, as well as absorb oils and fats.”
“Because the fibre is more open in its structure, good bacteria is able to feed off it and produce lots of short-chain fatty acids. This in turn helps the gastro mucosal cells to regenerate and better absorb vitamins and minerals.”
As a simple food additive, CelluFibre also quickly proved beneficial outside of simply being a dietary fibre (which western diets are sorely lacking).
“When you put it into bread, noodles or pasta, it has no calorific content – in fact, its absorptive qualities mean it can actively reduce sugars without compromising product texture or taste.”
Tests have also shown the fibre possesses enzyme inhibitors that can weaken the metabolic breakdown of sucrose, potentially providing health benefits for individuals with blood sugar management needs, including those with Type 2 diabetes. It can also be crystallised into a low-calorie white sugar, using fibre at the core of the crystal, maintaining an authentic sweetness profile for 30 percent less calories.
The process to produce CelluFibre has also led to another breakthrough with medical potential. As mentioned, to rid the bagasse of bacteria, the mulch is steeped in a cold sterilant that was developed by the team’s biochemists. This solution has been branded HiWater.
“We’ve found HiWater has a unique ability to also kill a range of bacteria present in wounds, including burns, blisters, scrapes and sores. As a first line of treatment, it’s able to reduce the bacterial load so that the skin will start its repair process.”
In October, Dr Patane took up residence in the Accelerator – AusHealth’s collaboration centre in Underdale – to develop potential products for wound care and gut health.
“We’re working with AusHealth to focus on utilising HiWater as a first-line, gentle and effective sterilant treatment for their wounds.
“In Bir Hospital in Kathmandu, we completed a clinical study for the treatment of bedsores. We found wounds healed faster because we killed bacteria associated with secondary infection – and it was as simple as spraying a solution of HiWater and then dressing the wounds with gauze soaked with the same solution.”
CEO of AusHealth Dr Justin Coombs is delighted to welcome Dr Patane and NuFiba to the Accelerator. “The Accelerator is very much about bringing together science and entrepreneurship to create a bigger whole,” he says. “It’s hard not to be genuinely excited by the rescue of a by-product to create so many potential technologies and treatments!
“The next steps in the project include scaling up production of HiWater and CelluFibre and the beginning of a number of clinical trials. We’re behind them all the way.”
Find out more: NUFIBA