College: University of Freiburg, Germany

Email: mirjamstark@hotmail.com

Thesis title: Preformulation of puha for an antioxidant nutritional supplement

Co-supervisor: Prof. Thomas Rades (School of Pharmacy, University of Otago)

Project description:

Mirjam was working with a plant called puha. It is one of the traditional Maori food plants and it is rich in antioxidants.  The aim of her 6-month project is to evaluate the antioxidant activity of puha in comparison to blueberries, using a recently developed antioxidant activity (CAA) assay.

The CAA assay uses a cell culture model that better represents the complexity of biological systems than the traditional antioxidant chemical assays, addressing issues such as cellular uptake, distribution and metabolism.