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.
Multimethodological investigation of fresh vegetables and fruits durin...
Highlights
Coordinator
Development and application of advanced analytical procedures to assess the quality of relevant food product categories in the national context and corresponding analogues implemented according to task 4.1.1 and 4.1.2
In depth characterization of the new products using different approaches (including omics techniques) to get their unique fingerprint (e.g., foodome evaluation) and to compare it to corresponding benchmark.
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.
Application of foodomic approaches for the assessment of composition parameters in at least one existing (M24), two reformulated (M32) and implemented (M36) products of each food category according to task 4.1.1. and 4.1.2.
Application of advanced analytical procedures for the assessment of composition parameters in at least one existing, reformulated and implemented product of each food category according to task 4.1.1. and 4.1.2. (M30)
Evaluation of the bioavailability and bioactivity of at least two components of foods proven to directly impact human health (M36)
Vegetables and fruits are an important part of the Italian food chain production representing a significant source of bioactive compounds for human well-being and health. In order to deeply investigate these matrices, it is important to characterize not only the raw product but also the profile after the interaction with the organism. In particular, the digestion process brings to the disruption of the food matrix thus releasing the food components. Hence, it is of interest to study food modification in the gastrointestinal tract progression: only the released compounds can affect human health and well-being. Therefore, in this project selected vegetables and fruits will be investigated by means of a multimethodological approach that includes a chemical and biological characterization of the samples in the raw form, during and after the digestion process.
The research will involve different activities as reported below:
1. Italian local fruit and vegetables selection, also based on market analysis.
2. Samples preparation for the evaluation of the entire food matrix or functional fractions.
3. Detection of pathogen bacteria using targeted analysis to evaluate food microbiological quality and to identify possible source of foodborne diseases (in collaboration with spoke 3).
4. Investigation of different aspects of the food progression in the gastrointestinal tract through:
4.1. the application of in vitro digestion methods to study the bioactive compounds that are released from the food matrices in the gastrointestinal fluids;
4.2. the structure at micro and nano-level of nutrients with colloid science techniques in order to predict their interactions and transformation in the digestive process;
4.3. the tolerability of selected products in human cell models of gastro-intestinal tract, along with their possible protective properties against pro-oxidant agents using standardized spectrophotometric methodologies.
1) Determination of a complete chemical profile of the selected fruit and vegetables and derived functional fractions.
2) The safety of selected products will be assessed by microbiological and chemical analysis.
3) The bioactive compounds released in the digestion process will be detected.
4) Co-assembly of biopolymers and bile acids will be investigated to verify their sequestrant abilities.
5) Evaluation of the cytotoxicity/cytoprotection in human cell models of gastro-intestinal tract of nutrient and non-nutrient food components.
