Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English en
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-05-27

Colloidal aspects of lipid digestion: the physics behind healthier food

Objective

An emerging application of colloidal science, due to the growing social and economic consequences of the obesity crisis in the developed world, is the design of healthier foods to control fat uptake in the diet. Consequently molecular mechanisms of digestion and metabolism of lipids are generating renewed scientific interest. Lipase-colipase complexes adsorb onto the surface of lipid droplets to access and hydrolyse fats into a form absorbed by the body (lipolysis). Studies I made on the recent Marie-Curie action (LIPOGEST) suggest that processed food emulsions could be designed to slow rates of lipolysis, inducing satiety, and lowering fat intake in the diet. Use of nanoscience methods to visualise bile salt adsorption under in vitro duodenum conditions suggest that interfacial structures of protein-stabilised emulsions could be designed rationally to control bile salt adsorption, reducing lipase-colipase adsorption and rates of lipolysis. An important aspect of such design is ensuring that modified interfaces survive digestion conditions in the stomach. LIPOGEST enabled me to investigate the effect of stomach conditions on interfacial structures for the first time, identifying new facets of these processes, such as an unexpected synergism between surfactants and proteolytic enzymes in the proteolysis of interfacial layers. Such knowledge offers routes to control proteolysis enabling successful design of emulsions to control fat intake. In the present proposal I intend to consolidate and expand these findings into how the process of digestion affects the structure and stability of model emulsions and interfacial layers. This information will be obtained by using state-of-the-art colloidal characterisation techniques and theoretical models. Through this approach I aim to understand the role of food structure on lipid digestion and metabolism. The improved understanding of this process could enable the design of food emulsions with specific lipid digestion profiles.

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.

You need to log in or register to use this function

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.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG
See other projects for this call

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.

MC-ERG - European Re-integration Grants (ERG)

Coordinator

UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADA
EU contribution
€ 45 000,00
Address
CUESTA DEL HOSPICIO SN
18071 GRANADA
Spain

See on map

Region
Sur Andalucía Granada
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

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.

No data
My booklet 0 0