From Edible sprouts to hEalthy fooD – FEED

The objective of FEED is to improve the development of a new trend towards the consumption of “functional foods”, using fresh sprouts of different botanical origins, with particular attention to traditional, local and wild edible species.

Sprouts will be also formulated to produce new food ingredients and transformed to different functional foods (yoghurt, noodles, cookies/snacks, jellies), offering extra health benefits to meet the consumer demand while maintaining environmentally-friendly processes/products.

In this scope, the specific objectives of FEED which will be achieved upon completion of the project are the following:

• To perform a deep characterization of bioactive compounds and in vitro antioxidants, and to test the immunomodulating and prebiotic effect of fresh sprouts from cultivated species and wild relatives or local accessions of cultivated species. At least 20 genotypes will be analysed and about 10 best-performing sprouts will be selected.
• To assess the functional properties of the 10 best-performing sprouts by evaluating their ex vivo antioxidant capacity and their in vitro anti-inflammatory activity and the impact on the gut microbiota profile (in vitro and in vivo).
• To develop bio-based and biodegradable active packaging for extending the sprout shelf-life via coating or embedding microparticles containing active natural antioxidants and antimicrobial agents on biodegradable thermoplastic packaging films.
• To produce new food ingredients through the microencapsulation of sprout extracts and to assess the bioaccessibility of micro.

File number: PCI2023-143385
Start date: 01/06/2023
Duration: 36 months
Status: Initiated
Subsidized amount: 149.500,00 €

COORDINATOR CONTACT

Name: Pablo Busó
Telephone: 659760436
E-mail: pablobuso@aiju.es

Co-funded by the European Union