Nutritional aspects of Wolffia brasiliensis

• Grant number: 23/09696-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: February 28, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Augusto Ducati Luchessi
• Grantee: Guilherme Henrique Aguiar de Queiroz
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Aplicadas (FCA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Limeira , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Some aquatic plant species of the macrophyte type can be used in bioremediation platforms, acting in the purification of water contaminated by different chemical agents. In addition, members of the Lemnoideae subfamily have been used as a food source in some Asian countries, with emphasis on the interest in the content of their proteins of high nutritional value. The production of Lemnoideae for human nutrition is not yet commercially explored in Brazil and research is needed for a better characterization of these plants; both related to biology, as part of Brazilian biodiversity, in terms of biotechnological production platforms and nutritional impact. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of ingestion of Wolffia brasiliensis biomass in mice, considering different physiological and biochemical parameters.