Three years of crop research trials have proven that lupins are a viable alternative for Alberta farmers.
The crop has also caught the attention of Ceapro, a personal care company from Edmonton.
“Lupin is a crop that fixes its own nitrogen,” said Mark Olson, provincial pulse specialist with Alberta Agriculture.
“Nitrogen is by far the most important nutrient for crop growth, and the nutrient most required by all crops. Pulse crops are legumes that not only fix their own nitrogen from the air, but provide for a rotational benefit to the crop following. From a farmer’s perspective, this can result in significant fertilizer cost savings.”
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Few acres are devoted to lupin in Western Canada because the crop has not been grown commercially. While only 46 acres were seeded in Alberta in 2006, a substantial growth potential appears to exist for this crop in food and feed applications.
Alberta Agriculture’s research originally focused on the aquaculture feed market, but there are other potential uses for the crop.
Lupins have a wide range of functionally active components found primarily in the seeds. They are high in protein, for example, which is what captured Ceapro’s initial interest.
The company’s core technology is the extraction of functional, active ingredients from plants and other renewable resources. It adds further value to its extracts by manufacturing medical and therapeutic products, and by supporting the use of its extracts in products for human and animal health.
The manufacturers of cosmetics and personal care products have become increasingly concerned by potential allergens associated with traditional protein extracts such as wheat, soy and nuts. Lupin protein has unique properties, making it useful in cosmetic and personal health care formulations.
Using seed supplied by Alberta Agriculture, Ceapro’s sweet lupin peptide extract is produced without chemically modifying the protein, which produces an all natural extract. This extract is expected to be launched worldwide this spring.
Ceapro’s scientists are now investigating the potential for other added-value products from this new prairie crop.
