Project description
Exploring new plant proteins for healthier diets
Finding nutritious and environmentally sustainable alternatives to animal proteins is becoming a key challenge for the future of food systems. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the VEGPro project aims to identify and assess sustainable plant-based protein sources, focusing on rapeseed, hemp and amaranth, as nutritious alternatives to animal proteins. The project’s goal is better understanding their nutritional quality and potential health benefits. It will also explore processing methods to improve protein digestibility and investigate naturally occurring compounds that may help regulate glycaemic response, supporting the development of healthier and more sustainable food products. Ultimately, VEGPro aims to strengthen the scientific basis for bringing nutritious, sustainable and consumer-friendly plant protein products to market.
Objective
There is an increasing interest in exploring novel vegetable protein sources and their derived products to promote their consumption as alternatives to animal protein sources, driven by sustainability and health reasons. The project VEGPro aims to evaluate the nutritional value of three promising plant protein sources (rapeseed, hemp, and amaranth) and their behavior during gastrointestinal digestion because this strongly determines the expected metabolic response. The glycemic response is a personal attribute and is highly determined by the diet composition, with protein intake showing a dose-dependent effect. Importantly, the extent to which the protein will be digested is crucial in this response and this depends of the protein source and its processing. The goal of the project is to identify novel protein sources and protein-rich plant by-products from sustainable crops with high nutritional quality and anticipate the glycemic response through the digestibility and the inhibition of DPP-IV enzyme.
Processing tools such as enzymatic pre-hydrolysis will be applied in the case of poorly digestible sources to reduce the resistant domains. Knowledge about the molecules generated during the digestion of plant proteins able to inhibit the enzyme DPP-IV will be generated.
The study of several alternative protein sources will enable their classification in terms of market potential based on their nutritional quality and impact on glycemia. Both at the transference level and at the scientific level, the acquired skills will be advantageous for the ER.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture horticulture vegetable growing
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
28003 Madrid
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.