An Interview with Danilo Basnillo Largo,Manager, Innovation and Technology Support Office, University of San Carlos, Philippines

November 2022

By Catherine Saez, WIPO

Can you introduce yourself and describe your current position?

My name is Danilo Basnillo Largo, and I am currently the manager of the Innovation and Technology Support Office of the University of San Carlos, in Cebu, in the central part of the Philippines. I am also a professor and head of the marine biology section of the department of biology. I have been doing research in aquaculture, in particular, the brown seaweed sargassum as a source of biomass for industrial applications.

Can you talk about your professional path and your particular interest in marine biology and seaweeds?

I did not start my career as a marine biologist. I started as a micro technician in the department of biology. I then became a research assistant, working on a project about sea cucumber, and was subsequently hired to prepare specimens for microscopic examination, including microalgae for use in laboratory classes of undergraduate students. That is how I became familiar with some of the algae and I chose phycology, which is the scientific study of algae, as my specialty for my Master’s degree. A senior colleague of mine who trained at the Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center in Washington D.C. prompted my love affair with seaweeds. He became my mentor in the subject and took us on many algae-collecting trips to different Philippines islands. I was amazed by the variety of colors and shapes from microscopic to macroscopic forms.

My interest in algae was further enhanced by my other mentors in the program, all well-known in the field of phycology in the Philippines and the world. Seaweeds and seagrasses enthralled me at that point. When a group of Japanese phycologists came to the Philippines to map out the marine algae resources of the Philippines to participate in a 5-year research project, funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, I joined in. That experience made me more appreciative of the use of seaweeds, as food, a source of natural products, and as a means to sequester carbon. One of the Japanese scientists became my professor when I took my Ph.D. in Japan, expanding my interest and expertise from taxonomy to utility.

What would you say are the main interests in cultivating seaweeds and which industries might take advantage of seaweeds’ properties?

Aside from being a rich source of nutrients, many seaweed species are a source of important algal alkaloid extracts, like agar from the red seaweed Gracilaria, and carrageenan from another red seaweed Eucheuma, and Kappaphycus, which is widely cultivated in the Philippines. Another extract is alginate from brown seaweeds, kelp, like Macrocystis, Saccharina, Undaria and Ecklonia from the temperate region, and other brown seaweeds such as Sargasssum from the tropical region. These hydrocolloids have wide applications, from processed food to beverages, from pharmaceuticals to nutraceuticals, and cosmetics. Some of their metabolites are used as anti-oxidants. They have numerous properties such as anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, and anti-lipidemic. Alginates also serve to produce bioplastic, as scaffoldings in bone tissue regeneration for orthopedic patients, and as biostimulants for agricultural applications.

So there are a variety of uses for seaweeds, but the most important reason why I specialized in seaweeds is the realization that the Philippines is one of the world’s top producers of hydrocolloid carrageenan. Carrageenan has wide applications in the food and medicinal industries, such as Carraguard vaginal gel, preventing the spread of the AIDs virus, which has been used in Africa. A carrageenan-based composite developed by scientists in Argentina was also used as a nasal spray against Covid-19..

Would you say that seaweed properties are sufficiently researched? What would you say are the most promising research areas?

In my opinion, seaweeds are underrated and probably under-researched but the world is starting to see seaweeds as the savior of humanity, in particular in relation to global warming and climate change. Being plants and photosynthetic, they can remove the carbon dioxide dissolved in oceans and the atmosphere. This is part of the blue economy and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 13 (climate action) and 14 (life below water), which are recognizing the potential of seaweed in climate change mitigation. I think research on this topic needs to be expanded in the Asia-Pacific region, where seaweed research is already the most active, especially where most seaweeds are cultivated, such as in China, South Korea, Japan, and of course the Philippines. One of the focuses of the United Nations Ocean Conference this year was on seaweeds, in recognition of their role in the economic development of several countries. Research on seaweeds as food, food ingredients, and a source of biomolecules for industrial applications are promising topics that would promote the blue economy. Those are quite exciting areas to explore.

It seems that the antiviral properties of seaweeds are being somewhat overlooked by the pharmaceutical industry, why do you think that is?

This is part of an editorial that I co-edited in the Botanica Marina review (Vol 63, Issue 4) in which we said that research on seaweeds shows they have anti-viral properties and wondered why large pharmaceutical companies are not exploiting this knowledge. Maybe because the focus of those companies is more on vaccines rather than anti-viral drugs for financially lucrative returns

How important is seaweed production for the Philippines, the region, in terms of economics?

Almost half a million Filipinos are dependent on seaweeds for their income, in particular in coastal areas. There are seaweed farmers and vendors in wet markets, and several species of seaweed are cultivated in the Philippines. In Asia alone, at least 10 species are cultivated for direct human consumption, such as nori (Pyropia), and wakame (Undaria). Seaweeds, such as several species of kelps are also used as animal feed ingredient. We also have green seaweeds Ulva that are under-exploited because Filipinos tend to consume more western-like food and forget that we have a wealth of nutrient-rich seaweeds around the corner. Asia and the Philippines are the largest producers of carrageenan in the world. Because of high demand, seaweeds are widely cultivated using culture lines that are floated in the open sea, either using vegetative fragments or from sexually-derived seedlings from hatcheries.

Seaweeds are very useful in fighting climate change, but the industry also contributes to plastic pollution by using plastic lines in seaweed culture. Seaweeds can improve water quality by absorbing excess nutrients such as nitrogenous waste pollutants released from the culture of aquatic animals.

Are seaweeds produced in the Philippines exported to other countries/regions?

We export the bulk of the carrageenan that we produce from the red seaweed to Europe and the United States to be used as an ingredient in processed food, beverages, and industrial products. Some companies in the Philippines export raw seaweed, as chips or seaweed meals. A small amount of cultivated seaweed goes to the national market, but very few regions in the Philippines are still eating seaweed-based meals.

Are there any national efforts to promote seaweed production and exploitation?

The Philippines is blessed with over 1,000 species of seaweeds many astronomically under-researched, less than 10 species have been exploited for food and biomolecules. Our government has created a National Seaweed Technology Development Center with experts from academia to promote the development of the seaweed industry. This national center is supported by regional offices.

You head the Innovation and Technology Support Office of the University of San Carlos. How did you develop an interest in IP?

I am an academic, a professor, and a research director so when I was tasked by the university to establish an IP policy, I started learning about IP. The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) provided training and we applied what we learned to our internal IP policy. University stakeholders became aware of patents, utility models, and industrial designs. We participated in the WIPO technology and innovation support center (TISC) and took part in a series of training on IP, to build our knowledge, including commercialization and technology transfer. That’s how I immersed myself and developed more interest in IP. I promote IP practice by doing it myself as a researcher, applying IP to my research.

Do you have any registered IP under your name?

I have a pending patent on Sargassum hatchery. We developed a hatchery technique for the mass propagation of seedlings. This is a new vector for propagating brown seaweeds in the open sea to produce alginate. Hopefully, if we cultivate Sargassum, we can start producing our own alginate, which otherwise is imported. We have a trademark for the invention: Sargatek, and copyright on culture manuals, which we produced in 10 different Philippine dialects. When we collaborate with other institutions and companies, we always insist on using our trademark. I do not own the patent because we have an IP policy under which if the invention is part of your work as a researcher, ownership of the IP belongs to the institution, but I am a co-inventor. We started a project on Sargassum this October, and maybe by the same time next year, we will be harvesting Sargassum and extracting alginate. We can roll out the technology without the fear of being copied. Our proprietary hatchery technique is shared with the government on the condition that they also share the seedlings that they produce from the technology free of charge to the seaweed farmers.

How important would you say IP protection is for researchers/startups/spinoffs?

The Innovation and Technology Support Office encourages researchers to use IP and explains why they need to protect their creations, whether it is an invention or some other creative works. That ensures that their work will not be copied. Most researchers are not so aware of IP so we try to raise their awareness through webinars and face-to-face seminars. I always say: If you don’t protect it, someone else will!

Having patents also allows a better negotiating position with the private sector for the commercialization of the invention, and with investors.

Our IP policy can guide them through the process of protecting their creation so it can go from the laboratory to the market through various means of commercialization. Although we are still very young in terms of technology transfer, we do have a technology transfer office and work closely with IPOPHL

How do you see the future of the seaweed industry in the next five years?

From a global perspective, the demand for seaweeds as a source of products and services for various industries will remain very high. Seaweed gastronomy is on the rise as seaweeds are increasingly considered a healthy food. The increased interest in seaweeds of avant-garde chefs has created a new trend in culinary fields.  Biomolecules for various industrial applications, for example, to produce bio-degradable plastics, colloidal ink for 3D printing, and scaffolding in tissue culture, are increasingly being recognized.

Seaweed cultivation for these products and services is now being looked at from the perspective of climate change mitigation through carbon dioxide removal in the oceans. In the Philippines, we have more water than land so we have to encourage seaweed cultivation.