CrhomaQuest at UL 84th international scientific conference section "Multidisciplinary perspectives on climate change and environmental sustainability"

On April 16th, 2026, the ChromaQuest team presented their work at the 84th Scientific Conference of the University of Latvia within the section Multidisciplinary perspectives on climate change and environmental sustainability. The oral presentation, delivered by Alise Zommere, was titled “From forestry residues to food colourants: optimised extraction and encapsulation-based stabilization of chlorophyll from conifer needles.”

The presentation addressed the valorisation of conifer needle biomass from forestry residues as a source of chlorophyll for potential use as natural food colourant. The study combined extraction optimisation with response surface methodology and encapsulation to improve pigment stability in food applications. Results showed that fresh spruce needles provided the highest chlorophyll yield, and that extraction efficiency was strongly influenced by biomass-to-solvent ratio. Encapsulation allowed incorporation into a yoghurt, with noticeably better colour stability under refrigerated storage compared to room temperature conditions. The work demonstrated a technically feasible pathway for transforming forestry side-streams into functional, more stable natural pigment ingredients.