Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Essential amino acids metabolism and the impact of gut microbiota on h...
Coordinator
Identification of nutrient and non-nutrient food components (and their metabolic products) potentially involved in the promotion of consumer health, and evaluation of their bio accessibility, bioavailability, and effect on the gut microbiota, using in silico, in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo approaches on humans/animals to confirm the actual absorption and bioactivity of non-nutrient components also considering specific dietary patterns and target groups.
Evaluation of the bioavailability and bioactivity of at least two components of foods proven to directly impact human health (M36)
Identification of novel food-derived compounds (and their metabolic products) in human body fluids/tissues that are associated with a putative bioactivity and/or a possible health effect (M30)
The importance of nutrients in our diets is well recognized. Some metabolites, as essential amino acids tryptophan, phenylalanine and tyrosine, are not synthesized by human and need to be up taken with diet. These amino acids are precursors of some important neurotransmitters, as serotonin and dopamine, and of other metabolites important for human physiology, the correct function of immune system and a healthy aging. Alterations in the availability of these metabolites are implicated in the onset and progression of several diseases as cancer, type-2 diabetes, obesity and psychiatric disorders. In recent years, it emerged that microbiota colonizing human gut is able to modulate the production of these metabolites and, therefore, can impact human physiology in health and disease.
