Abstract
Carotenoids and anthocyanins are substances that besides their colorant properties, show important biological functions and actions, being considered human health promoters. However, due to their structural variability, low stability and high possibility of interactions, either in food or biological systems, their potential applications are limited. Although chlorophyll is the most abundant pigment in nature, is the least studied in relation to the metabolic point of view, and only recently, this pigment has been associated to important biological functions, such as antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic activities. These beneficial effects, demonstrated both in vitro and in cell cultures, seem to indicate that they can also occur in vivo in the absence of light, both in the gastrointestinal tract and at systemic level, since its absorption into the blood stream has already been proposed by some researchers. The purpose of this project is to expand our current understanding of the pigments by further investigation on characterization and identification of pigments and their degradation metabolites, to evaluate the stability of the pigments, either isolated or in mixtures and to look for ways to improve their stability. A better knowledge concerning the source of volatile or non-volatile products, formed during processing and storage, may be relevant to the production of processed juices and/or foods with high sensorial quality, related to aroma and color of the final product. In the same way, studies on interaction and investigations regarding the intestinal absorption, antioxidant and antimutagenic activities of pigments are include in the scope of this project. The obtained information will constitute new knowledge and will be applied directly or indirectly to solve problems related to the stability of pigments, development of new products and products with optimized functional characteristics, as well as to explore the characteristics of these pigments as health-promoter compounds. The multidisciplinary team, already formed through the multi-user project approved by FAPESP, constituted by main research members from the Faculty of Food Engineering - UNICAMP and from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences - USP - São Paulo, was expanded by new members from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto - USP. In addition, another professor from the National University of Santiago del Estero (UNSE) from Argentina, with papers already published in collaboration with the coordinator of this project, and a further researcher from the State University of Londrina (UEL) will join the team. (AU)
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