Yakult Signs Industrialization MOU for 'Spirulina Extract' with KIOST

- Strengthening Public-Private Friendly Cooperation System as a Case to Enhance Domestic Marine Resource Utilization Technology and Establish a Foundation for Developing Cognitive Function Improvement Products

Yakult has signed a business agreement with the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (hereinafter KIOST) for the "industrialization of cognitive function improvement materials derived from marine microalgae." The signing ceremony, held on the 15th of last month at the KIOST headquarters, was attended by about 10 officials including Kim Byung-jin, CEO of Korea Yakult, and Kim Woong-seo, Director of KIOST.

The core of this agreement is the industrialization of a new marine source material derived from marine microalgae called "Spirulina extract."

KIOST developed an extract through efficacy research that has superior memory and cognitive function improvement effects compared to the raw Spirulina itself. In fact, the memory and cognitive functions of experimental mice administered with this substance, which are known to be critically involved in dementia or Alzheimer's disease (amyloid-β) in experimental mice, improved by up to 90%. Additionally, when elderly subjects consumed the "Spirulina extract" for 12 weeks, significant improvements were observed in visual memory, visuoperceptual working memory, vocabulary, and antioxidant markers.

Through this agreement, Yakult will promote the industrialization of related technologies such as formulation development and establishment of product standards for the "Spirulina extract." In the future, it plans to secure individual recognition of the functionality of this material and product commercialization technology.

Shim Jae-heon, head of the Central Research Institute at Korea Yakult, said, "As the proportion of the elderly population increases recently, research to overcome dementia and Alzheimer's disease is becoming more active," adding, "We will continue research using marine resource materials together with KIOST to contribute to public health."

Meanwhile, since 2017, Yakult has participated in the national project "Development of cognitive function improvement materials using marine microalgae" with KIOST. It plans to continue developing various functional materials and products through ongoing public-private collaborative research.