Nutriearth's Innovative Source of Vitamin D3
Nutriearth, a French startup, has discovered a new source of light-activated vitamin D3: mealworms.
According to CEO Jeremy Burks, while raising mealworms for bulk protein is economically challenging, they are well-suited for producing vitamin D3, a more lucrative product.
There are several forms of vitamin D, however, the dominant form in supplements is vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), which humans and some other animals produce when UV-B light from the sun converts a sterol in skin (7-DHC) to “pre-vitamin D3.”
Vitamin D3 deficiency is common, even in sunny regions, due to limited time outdoors and varying efficiency in producing and using cholecalciferol.
Nutriearth is scaling production of vitamin D3 from mealworms for human consumption, offering a new solution to this common deficiency.
Author's summary: Nutriearth produces vitamin D3 from mealworms.