4 July 2008 - Researchers at the University of Tuscia in Italy are looking into the development of nutraceuticals and novel (or better) functional foods for both feeding and health of astronauts.
As forthcoming space programmes are going to be mainly focused on long-term manned missions, researchers are investigating feasible solutions for life support on space.
The University of Tuscia scientists studied the application of microorganisms as Single Cell Proteins (SCP) integrators, in either nutraceuticals or probiotic foods.
An innovative experiment implied the exposure of microorganisms inside the International Space Station (ISS) for a maximum time of 226 days; the aim of the experiment was to study the response of representative non pathogenic microorganisms to the environment inside the space vehicle and at different mission stages.
The following microorganisms belonging to the three domains were chosen: Escherichia coli, Thermococcus guaymasensis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (a commercial strain and a type strain), Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium (a commercial strain and a type strain), Pseudomonas fluorescens, Rhizobium tropici.
According to the researchers, the data collected during the experiment enabled new insights into the biological traits of microorganisms exposed to space environment during a flight on a spacecraft. The scientists were also able to evaluate the feasibility of long-term storage of beneficial microorganisms on space for their application as food integrators or plant growth supports.
They observed different survival rates for all investigated strains and different responses were obtained according not only to the species but also to the strain under study.
For instance, both strains of S. cerevisiae and both strains of E. faecium showed different survival responses. Moreover, morphological alterations were observed in the samples kept aboard for 226 days for E. faecium, E. coli and S. cerevisiae, particularly as far as regard the cell wall structure.
"The limitation of astronauts diet and the physiological stress occurring during long-term missions certainly require new efforts in food research, including the addition of novel probiotic microorganisms and/or nutraceuticals with the aim to improve the wellness of humans and eventually to allow the in situ production of fermented foods", said the researchers in a recent presentation at a scientific meeting in Slovakia.