Project description
Plant-derived phosphopeptide-calcium formulations for nutrient delivery
As plant-based diets become more and more popular, ensuring adequate calcium intake is crucial to maintain health. While casein phosphopeptides improve calcium absorption, their use raises sustainability concerns and is unsuitable for dairy-free diets. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CaVita-Phos project is developing plant-derived phosphopeptide-calcium (PPP-Ca) formulations. It will create a dataset using mass spectrometry to evaluate calcium chelation and bioaccessibility and to use machine learning to identify effective candidates. The project will also explore PPP-Ca complexes in Pickering emulsions for better nutrient delivery.
Objective
As plant-based diets expand worldwide, ensuring adequate calcium (Ca) intake has become a pressing challenge. Ca is essential for bone, muscle, and dental health, while vitamins D₃ and K2 regulate its absorption and metabolism. Insufficient uptake of these nutrients can lead to osteoporosis, cardiovascular problems, and other deficiency-related diseases. Casein phosphopeptides (CPPs) are the best-known bioactive ingredients used to chelate calcium and improve its bioavailability in supplements, but their limited extraction capacity and the environmental impact of milk production conflict with the SDG on responsible consumption and production, and they are unsuitable for those seeking dairy-free alternatives.
This project will address this gap by developing plant-derived phosphopeptide–calcium (PPP–Ca) formulations from various plant proteins. First, a structural–physicochemical dataset will be established using high-resolution mass spectrometry, combined with systematic measurements of calcium chelating and bioaccessibility. Second, machine-learning models will be trained on this dataset to predict phosphorylation-dependent structures and identify PPP–Ca candidates that can near CPPs in Ca-chelating capacity and bioavailability. Third, PPP–Ca complexes will be evaluated as stabilizers in Pickering emulsions for the co-delivery of calcium and vitamins, aiming to enhance gastrointestinal stability and nutrient absorption.
The fellowship will provide advanced research training in food chemistry, mass spectrometry, and machine learning at Kiel University (CAU) under the supervision of Prof. Karin Schwarz, followed by a secondment at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) under the supervision of Prof. Charlotte Jacobsen, offering complementary expertise in supplement formulation. Outcomes will contribute to sustainable, multifunctional supplements and significantly advance the fellow’s career development in interdisciplinary research, teaching, and leadership.
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.
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry alkaline earth metals
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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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)
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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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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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24118 Kiel
Germany
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