Institute of Life Sciences

In fiscal 2010, Ajinomoto Co., Inc. reorganized its research bases.
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Generation of “Ashita-no-moto,” with state of the art research capability

Institute of Life Sciences has been playing a key role in basic science and technology with over 50 years of Ajinomoto’s research and development heritage. It is our mission to seek for “Ashita-no-moto,” i.e., novel and original idea for the potential product that is beneficial for human life, as well as promotion of the Ajinomoto Group’s growth. The Institute is committed to investigate various biological aspects and physiological roles of umami taste materials or to develop new products for the next centenary with the frontier of science and technology.

Institute of Life Sciences focuses on several projects. With advanced analytical technology, we develop detailed indexing method to evaluate the function of amino acids in vivo and we guarantee the quality and safety of our products. The discovery of novel roles of glutamate has been leading us to further investigate at the molecular level on sense of taste and the visceral information into the brain. With our strength in microbial handling and fermentation and enzymatic technologies, we also explore the production of useful and novel functional compounds.

Analytical technology

Mass spectrometry

Our analytical technology group offers basic analytical chemistry and structural biotechnology. The analytical chemistry section provides the world fastest and most sensitive amino acid analysis method to support product quality as well as establishing a novel human health diagnosis method called “AMINO INDEX®” The structural biotechnology section contributes to the development of pharmaceuticals and industrial enzymes applying the newly developed analytical equipments with the leading technologies in conjunction with bioengineering technologies.

Physiological and nutritional research on amino acids

Metabolic analysis

Amino acids are not only the components of proteins but also have various important physiological roles. However, many of their physiological roles remain unclear and they have been subjected to unveiling novel functions in collaboration with distinguished scientists worldwide.

Research on taste

MRI and cerebral imaging for animals

It has been discovered by recent studies that glutamate, an umami taste substance as the origin of Ajinomoto Co., Inc., possess the important roles for the promotion of our healthy life. Based on the recent advances of research on taste perception mechanism, it is now possible to find novel “savory taste” substance from cuisine. We will contribute to human wellness through our research by uncovering the mechanism of taste perception.

Research on new materials and biotechnologies

Searching for useful enzymes

Discovery and development of novel metabolites from microbes and the use of genomic information have been carried out and leading to innovative and environmentally friendly bio-manufacturing system. Our existing microbe library and freshly screened microbes are used for the investigation of novel enzymes and elucidation of their mechanism of action for improvement of food materials. Plants are also subjected to genetic and metabolic analysis for development of new materials and environmental conservation.