The biostimulant industry continues to grow at pace, more and more products enter the market to provide results for the farmers that use them. The claims made on products can often be similar: Ascophyllum nodosum extract. Seaweed-derived. Natural bioactives. Improves growth and stress tolerance.
The claims often look the same. But the products are not.
What separates a biostimulant that consistently performs from one that occasionally does is not the raw material alone. It is the depth of understanding behind the product. That is what functional characterisation means, and it is the standard that Brandon Bioscience holds itself to with every product in the PSI Technology range.
What Does ‘Characterisation’ Actually Mean?
In biostimulant science, characterisation means understanding a product at multiple levels simultaneously: what it is chemically, what it does biologically, and how it does it at a functionallevel. Most products can answer the first question. Very few can answer all three.
Chemical characterisation tells you the composition of a product: the types and concentrations of bioactive molecules it contains. This matters because the same raw material, Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed for example, can yield dramatically different chemical profiles depending on how it is extracted.
Research conducted by Brandon Bioscience scientists compared two products derived from the same seaweed: one extracted at neutral pH using an aqueous process, and one using an alkaline process at high pH. Despite sharing the same source material, the two products had distinct molecular compositions and, critically, distinct effects on crops. The aqueous extract showed higher concentrations of bioactive carbohydrates including mannitol, uronic acids, and fucose. The alkaline extract had higher polyphenol levels and greater total solid content. These are not small differences. They translate directly into different modes of action.
The Three Levels of Functional Characterisation
At Brandon Bioscience, every product goes through validation across three interconnected levels before it reaches the field.
Chemical Characterisation: What It Is
This establishes the precise molecular profile of a product. For Ascophyllum nodosum extracts, that means quantifying Complex carbohydrates such as alginate, laminarin and fucoida. It also means understanding how these concentrations change across batches and across seasons, and setting standards to ensure consistency.
Without this foundation, you cannot make meaningful claims about what a product will do. A product with variable composition will produce variable results.
Biological Characterisation: What It Does
This is where chemical composition is tested against plant biology. Using controlled laboratory systems, including model plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana and relevant agricultural crops such as tomato, researchers can test how a product affects root growth, stomatal function, osmolyte production, ion balance, photosynthetic efficiency, and a wide variety of other markers.
This is also where transcriptome analysis comes in. By measuring which genes are up- or downregulated in response to a biostimulant, researchers can identify the precise biological pathways a product is activating. This level of detail is rare in the industry, but it is what allows Brandon Bioscience to make specific, defensible claims about mode of action.
In the comparative study of the two Ascophyllum nodosum extracts, the aqueous extract dysregulated approximately 4.47% of total genes, with strong representation in transport, signalling, and carbohydrate metabolism pathways. The alkaline extract affected 0.87% of genes, with a different focus on nitrogen and sulphur metabolism. Same seaweed. Completely different biological profile.
Functional Characterisation: How It Does It
The final level connects the first two. Functional characterisation asks: given this chemical composition and these biological effects, what is the mechanism? What is the chain of events from molecular signal to agronomic outcome?
For BLOCSAL, the function is salinity stress tolerance. The mechanism involves upregulation of sodium transporter genes (SOS1, HKT1, NHX1), accumulation of osmolytes including proline and soluble sugars, and promotion of potassium uptake to restore K+/Na+ homeostasis. Each step in this chain is validated independently before the product is considered characterised.
For SEALICIT, the function is pod shatter reduction. The mechanism involves downregulation of the IND gene, the master regulator of pod opening, alongside changes to lignin biosynthesis in the replum and dysregulation of the auxin signalling pathway. A single measurable outcome, a specific identifiable pathway. That is what functional characterisation produces.
Why This Matters in Practice
For agronomists and growers, functional characterisation translates into something concrete: predictability.
A product with a defined, validated mode of action will behave consistently across locations, varieties, and seasons, because it is activating a specific biological pathway that the plant always has. A product without this validation may work sometimes and not others, because it is operating through mechanisms that are not fully understood.
It also matters for regulatory purposes. Under the EU Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR) 2019/1009, products making specific agronomic claims must demonstrate them through independent verification. BARRAMAR, MARTELLO, SEALICIT & PSI362 Precision Technology all carry the CE mark, verified by independent notified bodies, notified bodies and allowing them to access the EU single market.
The PSI Technology Standard
PSI Technology, which stands for Plant Signal Induction, is the framework Brandon Bioscience uses to ensure every product meets the three-level characterisation standard. It is not a marketing concept. It is a platform with defined endpoints and peer-reviewed publications underpinning each product.
To date, Brandon Bioscience has published 20 peer-reviewed papers across its product range. These cover grass, wheat, barley, tomato, potato, citrus, oilseed rape, and soybean, and they represent the kind of evidence base that growers and agronomists should expect from any biostimulant claiming a specific mode of action.
Explore our published research or visit our Our Science page to read the science behind the PSI Technology range.
ISKAMAR® is backed by three peer-reviewed publications and a consistent 15.4% yield improvement in stressed conditions across a diverse trial portfolio. Brandon Bioscience’s commitment to ongoing research ensures that the evidence base continues to grow.
Protect Your Crop Before Drought Strikes
ISKAMAR® with PSI® 433 Precision Technology gives growers in drought-prone regions a proven, science-led tool to maintain yield and quality when water is scarce. The best results come from applying ISKAMAR® early as part of a proactive programme. ISKAMAR® Water Use Efficiency to access trial data and application protocols, or contact our specialist team to build a programme tailored to your crops, region and irrigation system.
