Title: Scientific production and patent applications on prebiotic ingredients: evidence from Brazil

Authors: Maria Geovânia Dantas Silva; Heliana Mary da Silva Quintino; Ana Karla de Souza Abud

Addresses: Instituto Federal de Sergipe, Avenue Gentil Tavares, 1166, Bairro Getúlio Vargas, Aracaju, SE, 49055-260, Brazil ' Department of Economics, Federal University of Sergipe, Avenue Marechal Rondon Jardim s/n, Rosa Elze, São Cristóvão, SE, 49100-000, Brazil ' Department of Food Technology, Federal University of Sergipe, Avenue Marechal Rondon Jardim s/n, Rosa Elze, São Cristóvão, SE, 49100-000, Brazil

Abstract: This study aims to evaluate the impact of scientific research on the technological development of prebiotic functional ingredients used in Brazil's food sector. Data were collected from the scientific databases Web of Science, BVS, Scopus, SciELO, and Derwent Innovations Index from 1996 to 2019. Bibliometric methods and a distributed lag regression model were used. The results show fewer patent applications regarding scientific production by Brazilian residents. A total of 16.9% of inventors published scientific articles on prebiotic ingredients. The study illustrates the dependence of patent application filings on scientific research and demonstrates that the influence of scientific knowledge lasts for at least five years. Further, industrial protection through patent applications has a more significant impact about three years after scientific production. However, these impacts are considered moderate, requiring public measures and policies promoting scientific knowledge.

Keywords: scientific production; patents; prebiotics; distributed lag model; Brazil; intellectual property assets; scientific documents; technological development; prebiotic functional ingredients; techno-scientific production.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTPM.2023.133903

International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management, 2023 Vol.23 No.4, pp.431 - 448

Received: 17 Jan 2022
Received in revised form: 26 Sep 2022
Accepted: 07 Oct 2022
Published online: 05 Oct 2023 *

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