Reef sponges have potential to bring new developments to the industry
The sponges, some as old as 300 years, play a role in holding onto nutrients, renew their own filter system, rejuvenate constantly, are sustainable and protects against disease.
In the last 50 years or so, efforts have been made to harvest these rich and fertile sponges, originally discovered to have potential anti-cancer properties.
Culturing
Goeij, an expert in sponge cell kinetics, is the CEO of Porifarma, a company dedicated to researching and cultivating sponge rejuvenating materials in an effort to bring new developments to markets like the cosmetics industry.
“A lot of time has been invested into discovering sponge compounds, however they can be very difficult to culture”, he explains, in regards to the length of time that’s been invested with a definitive product yet to enter any market.
“We are working on collagen and anti-aging products for the cosmetics industry at the moment. We want to get it right and do things in the right order, in 3 - 5 years we hope to be able to control the culture,” he says.
The sponges, obtained by the marine biologist’s team from tropical regions, the Mediterranean, Antarctica and even the canals of Amsterdam are beginning to draw interest from cosmetic companies.
“We have interested parties in a finished product, we approached companies like The Body Shop to use sponges for sustainable creams, they told us if we can demonstrate it works, they’re in”, he revealed.
Industry
Goeij says it is very difficult at this time to tell whether the sponges are likely to do better on the cosmetics market rather then the medical.
However he points out, “Cosmetics is a simpler market to target, there’s less clinical trials and products that give a medical effect but are superficial are popular right now.”
“Also, a lot of products from the sea are easier to cross over to cosmetics as the sea resembles fresh, natural and environmentally friendly,” he concluded.
SPECIAL
Ten EU institutions have invested alongside Dr. Goeij in a (Sponge Enzymes and cells for innovative applications) project to culture marine sponges.
