Development of novel seaweed-based ‘English breakfast’ black tea for improved nutrition and cardiovascular health support in postmenopausal women

Oshun Labs develops sustainable solutions for women's health, with a particular interest in postmenopausal health. Postmenopausal women require additional nutritional support due to decreased oestrogen which can lead to additional health challenges. This includes increased risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), a leading cause of premature death for women in the UK.

We will develop a novel tea enriched with bioactive seaweed extracts to deliver improved nutrition to postmenopausal women to improve cardiovascular outcomes. This will be an 'English breakfast' black tea comparable to popular everyday brands, with no discernible seaweed smell or flavour. The UK is a nation of tea drinkers, with tea consumed by 78% of the population (YouGov, 2020). This provides an excellent opportunity to deliver improved nutrition through a commonly consumed product, without need for significant consumer behaviour change. To achieve this, we are partnering with Abertay University who have significant expertise in food science, nutrition and development of seaweed-based foods.

Seaweed has significant potential as a sustainable source of nutrition as it doesn't require land, freshwater, fertiliser or insecticides during production. We will work with sustainable seaweed producers to source our seaweed, and a certified ethical and sustainable tea producer to source and manufacture our tea.

The Japanese traditionally eat a large amount of seaweed and their life expectancy is the highest in the world. Seaweed is particularly rich in fucoidan and polyphenols, with both believed to promote longevity through a wide range of effects, including anti-oxidant, cardioprotective and immunomodulating effects (Murray et al., 2018). Despite their potential, seaweeds remain poorly studied in clinical trials, and their effect on cardiovascular function remains largely unknown, especially in postmenopausal women. Therefore we will undertake a nutritional intervention to measure the anti-thrombotic and vascular effects of the product on a trial group of postmenopausal women, which will be used to evidence and support any cardioprotective claims.

We will develop a production process and exploitation plan that enables scalable production and maximises positive nutritional/health outcomes by delivering a product that is accessible and affordable.

By improving nutrition and cardiovascular health for postmenopausal women, this project will support the UK economy by helping people stay in work for longer and reducing pressure on health services. By working with UK-based seaweed and tea manufacturing partners, we will enable and support growth of the seaweed industry and sustainable manufacturing processes in the UK.