Biotechnological improvement based on the fermentation of Hericium erinaceus fungi to mitigate cognitive decline in obese mice.

• Grant number: 24/01568-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Science
• Principal Investigator: Juliano Lemos Bicas
• Grantee: Mariana da Rocha Alves
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Microorganisms or cell cultures might be able to develop a wide range of industrially relevant products and processes using renewable environmental resources. From this perspective, science has sought to improve methodologies that aim to enhance the action of bioactive compounds in various food species on improving intestinal functions, appetite, and mood and mitigating brain oxidative stress. Neurological diseases previously related to the senile period have recently appeared increasingly earlier in the younger and obese population. Given that, both dietary composition and lifestyle can contribute to the proper functioning of the so-called gut-brain axis, a direct communication network made up of numerous endocrine, humoral, metabolic, and immunological markers. Studies in vivo and in vitro show that mushrooms from the phylum Basidiomycota as Hericium erinaceus can act against memory deficits and learning disorders, given their nutritional, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiangiogenic, hypolipidemic, anti-aging and immunomodulatory. Thus, aiming to develop a food product that incorporates protective activities to the brain, coming from biomass fermented with H. erinaceus, the present will use edible products (preferably agro-industrial by-products) to develop a sustainable food with palatable tasty, enriched with proteins and bioactive compounds in cognitive improvement.