Research project
ENZ_OVER

Set up enzymatic treatments to overcome the drawbacks associated with transformation and/or consumption ot alternative crops

Related toSpoke 04

Principal investigators
Stefania Iametti

Other partecipantsAlberto Barbiroli
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Project partners

Task involved

Task 4.1.2.

Innovation of food (bio)processing using smart and mild technologies and fermentation to improve nutritional quality while ensuring safety and environmental sustainability throughout the shelf life of foods. Nutritional quality and biodiversity are targeted through both advanced and sustainable processes (including encapsulation) to preserve and improve at-risk (micro)nutrient composition of relevant food categories and exploiting microbiological and biotechnological applications to impact on nutritional quality. Such (bio)technological approaches (e.g., fermentation, enzyme treatments, etc.) are validated by process markers also directed to ensure food production safety and quality targeting new food habits (e.g., ready to eat food and novel food consumption) and sustainability, promoting production efficiency and utilisation of alternative sources (in connection with Spoke 2 and 3).

Project deliverables

D4.1.2.2.

Systematic review of biotechnological approaches to enhance functionality of different food products within the relevant food categories and possible constraints (M12)

D4.1.2.4.

Development or improvement of at least 3 biotechnological approaches to innovate food production in terms of nutritional quality, safety, and sustainability (M30)

D4.1.2.5.

Identification of new process and product markers (M30)

Interaction with other spokes

State of the art

Several issues have to be addressed to achieve long term food security, such as climate changes, decreasing arable land and water supplies, and increasing population. This make it necessary to introduce other climate-resilient and nutrient-dense crops into the agricultural portfolio. In this scenario the nutritional value and the versatility of pulses, of alternative cereals and of pseudocereals have attracted considerable interest. These crops also absorb less water and lower amounts of nutrients from soil than other crops, and may grow in marginal land with low doses of fertilizers and no need for pesticides. 

However, a number of drawbacks limits the consumption of these alternative crops, including the presence of anti-nutritional factors (such as non-digestible oligosaccharide and inhibitors of intestinal hydrolytic enzymes), the beany back-taste of some pulses, and the difficulties associated with formation of a protein network similar to that in wheat-based staple foods.

Operation plan

It is planned to set up enzymatic treatments to overcome the drawbacks associated with transformation/consumption of alternative crops. Treatments to be developed will focus on the use of enzymes for:

  • lowering the content of lower-gut fermentable oligosaccharides; 
  • facilitating formation of proteins network through specific and limited modification of suitable amino acidic sidechains.

As for point 1, studying the hydrolytic activities acting – alone or in synergy - on the unusual glycosidic bonds in fermentable oligosaccharide is of interest also for modulating the bioactivity of molecules present as glycosylated species.

The activities related to point 2 will involve also a thorough definition of the structural features of proteins in the treated materials, with a particular reference to the molecular determinants relevant to their transformation in foods (including innovative ones), and to provide indications as for which subsequent processing step may be most appropriate.

Expected results

A necessarily concise list of the expected result includes:

  • selection of the target/prototype crop(s);
  • a definition of the enzymes to be used for hydrolytic and cross-linking purposes;
  • set up of conditions for specific enzymatic treatment(s);
  • properties (analytical and/or structural) of the enzyme-treated materials (in collaboration with spoke 2);
  • molecular information relevant to innovate food production in terms of nutritional quality, safety, and sustainability (in collaboration with spoke 2);
  • guidelines as for appropriate, safe and sustainable processing of the enzyme-treated materials.