Percorrer por autor "D'Antuono, F."
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- BaSeFood: Sustainable exploitation of bioactive components from the Black Sea Area traditional foodsPublication . D'Antuono, F.; Sanches-Silva, A.; Costa, H.S.The Sustainable exploitation of bioactive components from the Black Sea Area traditional foods (BaSeFood) is a 3-year collaborative research programme, funded by the 7th Framework Programme, launched on the 1st of April 2009. The project, which is coordinated by Dr Filippo D’Antuono (University of Bologna), consists of a research consortium of 13 partners, namely Italy (two), the United Kingdom, Greece, Portugal, Serbia and six Black Sea area countries: Russian Federation, Ukraine (two), Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Georgia. BaSeFood will contribute scientifically by studying the bioactive compounds within traditional foods of the Black Sea area using rigorous analytical and biological assays. The vast array of characteristics of traditional foods will be considered, as well as any associated consumer-perceived benefits, related to health claims, so that they can be properly understood by the consumer and exploited by food processors to produce more healthy traditional foods.
- Carotenoids of Traditional Foods from Black Sea Area Countries and their relation with Immune ResponsePublication . Sanches-Silva, A.; Albuquerque, T.G.; Finglas, P.; D'Antuono, F.; Trichopoulou, A.; Vasilopoulou, E.; Alexieva, I.; Boyko, N.; Costea, C.; Dubtsov, G.; Fedosova, K.; Hayran, O.; Kilasonia, Z.; Costa, H.S.Carotenoids are colourful compounds which provide photoprotection of plants and participate in their photosynthesis. Particularly β-carotene may enhance the human immune response. Some epidemiological studies have suggested an association between carotenoids intake and reduced incidence of some forms of cancer, which might be related with the antioxidant properties of carotenoids, namely by their ability of reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) damages in cell membranes. Moreover, carotenoids may also influence the activity of redox-sensitive transcription factors and the production of cytokines and prostaglandins. Carotenoids were extracted from Black Sea Area Countries (BSAC) traditional foods with a mixture of hexane/ethanol, 4:3 (v/v). In all samples, a procedure with and without saponification step was applied. Separation and quantification was performed by Ultra High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC). Chromatographic separation was performed with a UPLC® BEH guard-column (2.1 x 5 mm, 1.7 µm particle size) and a UPLC® BEH analytical column (2.1 x 50 mm, 1.7 µm particle size). Mobile phases were (A) ultrapure water; (B) acetonitrile/methanol (containing ammonium acetate)/dichloromethane (75:20:5, v/v/v). The flow-rate was 0.5 mL/min. From the 28 analysed traditional foods for carotenoids content, α-carotene was quantified in 7. The highest level was found for rodopian dried beans, followed by vegetable okroshka. β-carotene was quantified in 53.4% of the analysed traditional foods from BSAC. The sample with highest β-carotene content was plums jam followed by kale soup and nettles sour soup. Once more, as it was expected, the group that most contributes for β-carotene intake is the vegetable and vegetables based foods followed by fruit or fruit based foods. Wild plum sauce was the sample that presented the highest β-cryptoxanthin content (63.8 µg/100 g of edible portion). Lycopene was quantified in about 43% of the analysed traditional foods from BSAC. The foods with highest lycopene content were watermelon juice, Ukrainian borsch and sautéed pickled green beans. The analysed traditional foods from BSAC can be considered good sources of bioactive compounds, although it was found a great variability on the content of carotenoids. Due to the putative health benefits of these compounds, the consumption of those with higher content of bioactive compounds should be encouraged and promoted.
- The BaSeFood Project. EuroFIR website: acção de difusão da cultura científica:Publication . Plumb, J.; Sanches-Silva, A.; Albuquerque, T.G.; Finglas, P.; D'Antuono, F.; Costa, H.S.; BaSeFood Black Sea Area partnersThe BaSeFood Project BaSeFood (Sustainable exploitation of bioactive components from the Black Sea Area traditional foods) is a collaborative research program funded by the European Commission within Theme 2: Food, agriculture and fisheries, and biotechnology of the Seventh Framework Programme. The BaSeFood research Consortium consists of 13 partners. Six are from all the coastal nations of the Black Sea Area: Russia, Ukraine (2), Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Georgia. The others are from Italy (2), United Kingdom, Greece, Portugal and Serbia. (4 of these partners are part of the EuroFIR AISBL consortium) The project is coordinated by the University of Bologna, Cesena Campus Branch, Italy. BaSeFood aims to promote sustainable development and exploitation of Traditional Foods of plant origin containing emerging bioactive compounds with putative health effects in the Black Sea Region (BSR). The objectives of BaSeFood are: 1.To investigate the knowledge base of traditional foods of the BSR in order to identify those foods to be collected and analysed. 2.To define, characterise and collect nutrient and bioactive data for a subset of about 30 prioritised traditional foods using previously developed and validated EuroFIR guidelines and bioactive databases, with appropriate analyses. 3.To carry out case human intervention studies (priority: cardiovascular disease protection), supported by intensive in vitro and in vivo laboratory tests, to address the requirement for supporting evidence in nutrition and health claims. 4.To accurately map and describe the flow charts of BSR traditional foods preparation and processing, and determine bioactive retention at both laboratory and pilot plant scale in close collaboration with industry partners. 5.To evaluate attitudes of processors and consumers in order to optimise and enhance the whole food chain for improved availability and health benefits of BSR traditional foods. 6.To widely disseminate results and findings in order to enhance awareness and sustainable development of traditional foods of the BSR for improved health. BaSeFood will refer to FP6 programs: EuroFIR and TRUEFOOD, from which methodologies and basic concepts will be applied. Visit the official project website http://www.basefood-fp7.eu/
- Traditional foods of Black Sea Region countries as potential sources of prebiotic compounds and probiotic microorganismsPublication . Boyko, N.; Petrov, V.; Batit, V.; Levchuk, O.; Joriadze, M.; Sapundzhieva, T.; Hayran, O.; Beteva, E.; Costea, C.; Kaprel'yants, L.; Danesi, F.; Kroon, P.; Finglas, P.; Costa, H.S.; D'Antuono, F.Introduction Recommendations for a healthy life-style require the consumption of well-balanced foods preferably rich in biologically-active compounds and fibre. The range of claimed healthy foods and functional products is enormous; but their role in health and wellbeing is still largely unclear and incompletely specified. One possible way to substantially improve human health through diet is for active dietary ingredients to modulate normal gut microbiota. Methods The influence of methanol extracts of plants (dill, kale, persimmon, sideritis, pomegranate, and nettle) on intestinal microbial coenoses has been evaluated by detection of quantitative changes of key gut microbes. BALB/c mice were fed orally with diluted extracts in concentrations of 50 mg/mouse daily. Major groups of intestinal microbiota were analysed dynamically on days 1, 3, 7, 14 and 24 by using of classical isolation and identification methods. Results In order to be included in the EuroFIR composition data base, national (Bulgarian, Georgian, Romanian, Russian, Turkish and Ukrainian) traditional foods were prioritised in the first stage of the BaSeFood project and indexed according to the LanguaL system. The nutritional content of their macro- and microelements, vitamins and folate were determined [1-4]. The presence in these prioritised dishes and beverages and their major plant components of beneficial and potentially-pathogenic microbes, and foodborne pathogens were investigated [5]. In parallel a study was conducted to determine whether plants ingredients from national traditional foods are able to stimulate the commensal microbes in vivo and to inhibit potentially pathogenic strains [6-7]. Using the mouse model it could be shown that extract of dill inhibits both Enterococcus strains – E. faecalis and E. faecium, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Lactobacillus spp. and stimulates Bifidobacterium bifidum. A similar effect on bifidobacteria was observed after oral administration of kale but in this case an effect on all the other tested representatives of gut microbiota was not detected or was statistically insignificant. On day 3 nettle extract caused an unspecific stimulation of all the tested gut microbiota representatives, but on days 14 and 24 all the indices were approximately equal to their initial levels (for E. coli and K. pneumoniae), but lactobacilli and bifidobacteria were each dramatically reduced. Persimmon was the only extract able to specifically stimulate lactobacilli, and extract of pomegranate acts similarly for bifidobacteria. Extract of sideritis effectively inhibited K. pneumoniae but also commensal E. coli, leading in parallel to a statistically significant increase of bifidobacteria and a not substantially increase of lactobacilli. Discussion Plant components of traditional foods and fermented products are rich sources of beneficial bacteria [8]; these bacteria are present in plant ingredients or fermented products and can be used as potential sources of new probiotic strains. Plants are able to specifically modulate gut microbiota in a manner that is similar to prebiotics – even according to their definition they should not be digested by mammalian host. Conclusion It has been demonstrated that major plant components of traditional Black Sea regional foods can modulate the gut microbiome.
- Traditional foods: a contribution to biodiversity and sustainable dietsPublication . Costa, H.S.; Vasilopoulou, E.; Trichopoulou, A.; D'Antuono, F.; Finglas, P.Traditional foods are an important element of the culture, history, identity, heritage of a region or country and are key elements for the dietary patterns. These foods are commonly perceived as foods that have been consumed locally or regionally for a long time and the methods of preparation of such foods have been passed from generation to generation. Traditional foods also give a valuable contribution to the development and economic sustainability of rural areas and to the preservation of biodiversity. One of the aims within the EuroFIR (European Food Information Resource) project was to generate new data on the nutritional composition of 55 traditional foods from 13 European countries. To achieve this, a EuroFIR consensus-based method with standardised procedures was applied for the systematic study of traditional foods and recipes. Traditional foods were selected based on the EuroFIR definition of the term “traditional food” and prioritised according to specific criteria: documentation of traditional character; composition data; consumption data; health implications and marketing potential. To assure the quality of analytical results, accredited laboratories or laboratories with successful participation in proficiency testing were chosen. Data were evaluated and fully documented (food description, recipe, ingredients, sampling plan, sample handling, component identification, method specification, value and quality assessment) according to EuroFIR standards for inclusion in the national food composition databases. These approaches developed in EuroFIR have been further extended in the BaSeFood (Sustainable exploitation of bioactive components from the Black Sea Area traditional foods) project, which aims to deliver information on bioactive substances and related health claims in order to give opportunities to stakeholders to develop sustainable diets. A subset of 33 prioritised traditional foods from Black Sea Area countries has been identified and the nutritional composition and key bioactive compounds are being determined, using previously developed and validated EuroFIR guidelines. The use of a common methodology for the study of traditional foods will enable countries to further investigate their traditional foods and to continue to update their national food composition databases. Moreover, knowledge base of traditional foods from Black Sea Area countries will contribute to promote local biodiversity and sustainable diets, by maintaining healthy dietary patterns within local cultures.