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Differentiated & Biofunctional Foods - Projects

Differentiated & Biofunctional Foods

Projects


Below please find a selection of ongoing research projects. Project descriptions for several of them are publicly available on websites which can be linked to from this page:

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  1. RENEW – Valorisering af sidestrømme fra mejeriindustrien til forebyggelse af knogletab i postmenopausale kvinder

    Hanne Christine S. Bertram

    Det overordnede mål med RENEW er at skabe en cirkulær bioøkonomisk forretning ved at udnytte calciumrige sidestrømme fra valleproduktionen til at udvikle et funktionelt calcium ingrediens-koncept, der effektivt kan fremme knoglesundheden.
    Særligt den ældre befolkning er i risiko for at miste knoglemasse, og derfor er det essentielt og af stor værdi at udvikle effektive strategier, der kan sikre en effektiv calciumoptagelse hos denne betydeligt voksende befolkningsgruppe. En central målsætning for RENEW er derfor at gennemføre et 1-årigt interventionsstudie med henblik på at dokumentere, at det funktionelle calcium ingrediens kan mindske knogletab i postmenopausale kvinder. Derudover vil RENEW kortlægge om en kombination af det biofunktionelle mælkecalcium med en præbiotisk fiberkilde (inulin) ydermere kan øge calciumoptagelsen og dermed styrke knogleopbygningen. Hypotesen er, at tarmbakteriernes fermentering af kostfibrene vil sikre et tarmmiljø, der fremmer calciumoptagelsen, og en målsætning er også at opnå en detaljeret forståelse for disse aspekter ved at gennemføre metabolomics og microbiom analyser. Ved at kombinere disse data med machine learning teknikker i en omfattende dataanalyse vil vi desuden tilegne os forståelse for hvilke faktorer, der er afgørende for forsøgspersonernes respons. Denne viden vil på sigt være værdifuld i forhold til at udvikle skræddersyede fødevareprodukter.
    Description

    01/04-202031/03-2025

  2. DFF-green transmission project: Impact of plant-based diet on the consumption of health promoting microRNA’s

    Martin Krøyer Rasmussen, Milena Corredig & Rong Zhou

    With today’s climate changes and limited resources, the availability of high quality proteins for consumption is increasingly challenged. Plant-based alternative protein sources has been identified. However, animal based food ingredients (e.g. milk) contains exosomes encapsulating microRNA (miRNA) with health beneficial properties. Thus, minor compounds of importance for health are provided by the food and we are currently lacking knowledge about these in plant-based diets. To deliver this, the aim of this project is to map dietary plants that contains exosomes with miRNA and provide proof-of-concept by demonstrating that the exosomes are prone to processing, digestion and has biological activity. This is done by 1) documenting the content of exosomes and miRNA in dietary plants, 2) determine the stability towards food processing and human digestion and 3) deliver knowledge on the health beneficial properties of the exosomes and how to increase the health potential of plants.Description

    01/01-202101/06-2024

  3. GroBEat: High Quality Grass-fed organic beef for sustainable eating behaviour

    Margrethe Therkildsen, Nora Chaaban, Mogens Vestergaard, Lisbeth Mogensen, Jesper Overgård Lehmann, Troels Kristensen & Barbara Vad Andersen

    GrOBEat develops an innovative sustainable organic beef production chain where quality replaces quantity -a solution which facilitate healthy eating behaviour and provide high product satisfaction. Calves are raised with dams for 4 mo. before selected to deliver one of three high-quality products: A) Low-fat veal (8 mo); B) Mediumfat beef from intensive pasture (14-16 mo); C) Medium-fat beef from extensive pasture (24-26 mo). The product is documented according to efficiency, animal welfare, biodiversity, quality and sensory profile of the meat, eating behavior and the overall impact on the climate.
    Description

    01/01-202131/12-2024