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.
Novel approach for development of pasta with improved nutritional valu...
Coordinator
Implementation of sustainable dietary patterns as nutritional treatment for target specific groups with malnutrition. The task includes the prototyping of foods, supplements, ingredients and nutraceuticals aimed at restoring resilience in specific targets with malnutrition (in connection with Spoke 4). In addition, it is implemented a friendly end user personalised web responsive application for remote promoting and monitoring of sustainable dietary patterns target specific.
Preclinical and clinical evaluation of new prototypes of functional foods, food supplements, ingredients and nutraceuticals for preventing and treating malnutrition (in connection with Spoke 4).
New prototypes of functional foods, food supplements, ingredients and nutraceuticals for malnutrition and malnutrition related diseases (n=5) (M36)
Proof of concept (M12)
Risk of malnutrition is high in non-communicable disease e.g. diabetes and Celiac disease (CD). In fact, gluten free (GF) food contains high level of refined flour and sugar that negatively affect glycemic index (GI), and innovative GF matrices with low GI content are needed to tackle such malnutrition issue. Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is a sub-tropical root crops naturally gluten-free. Reach in starch and free of characteristic taste, cassava flour can be an excellent alternative to traditional matrices used for GF food preparation.
Wheat gluten and related prolamins trigger the immune-mediated CD. However, we previously found that gluten transamidation by microbial transglutaminase suppresses the gliadin-specific inflammatory response in CD patients. Dough prepared by mixing rice flour with transamidated gluten could leaven and, after baking, blended rice bread acquired wheat-like sensory features.
Transamidated gluten will be conducted in a pilot scale (10L). Food prototypes of gluten-free dry pasta will use a tested formulation (86:28 cassava flour / dried transamidated gluten) and water (50:50 flour/water ratio; w/w). The dough will be extruded on a semi-industrial plant and dried in hot air (35°C) by reaching a product humidity < 11%. Pasta will be tested in a double-blind randomized study with celiac patients on a 1-y gluten–free diet and with negative serology.
Primary outcome measures: change from baseline in IgA anti-tissue transglutaminase and anti-endomysium antibodies (month 0, 1-2-3); change from baseline in IgA/IgG deamidated-gliadin antibodies (DGP) by ELISA (month 0, 1-2-3); analysis of serum IL-21 production by ELISA (month 0, 1-2-3); glycemic response before the meal and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min after starting to eat by using a blood-glucose meter. Secondary outcome measures: clinical parameters (bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and asthenia (month 0, 1-2-3).
