VALENCIA, 16 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Technological Institute of Administration, Ainia, will investigate innovative technological solutions that allow evaluating the biological effect of food on the microbiota. Thus, it seeks to develop new foods and ingredients that improve health through their interaction with the colonic microbiota, the center reported in a statement.
Thus, he has pointed out that “the demand for healthy foods is a trend that has been consolidated in recent years” and has pointed out that “consumers request foods that, in addition to the necessary nutrients, provide benefits to their health and well-being.”
Ainia added that the food industry, for its part, “must have scientific evidence that demonstrates the healthy effects of the new ingredients or products it launches on the market.”
Along these lines, the MINIGUT project, initiated by Ainia, will carry out comprehensive research on gastrointestinal and colonic digestion in vitro to provide technological solutions with which to develop new healthy products with proven effects on the colonic microbiota, the institute has detailed.
Ainia has explained that different scientific studies relate the intestinal microbiota with different pathologies such as metabolic syndrome, functional digestive disorders or the immune system and has highlighted that for this reason “in recent years the influence of the microbiota on the brain has been highlighted, the liver or lung.
“The intestine is one of the organs with the greatest number of nervous connections. Intestinal bacteria can synthesize neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. For this reason, their influence on the prevention or development of mental disorders such as depression is being analyzed. , anxiety, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism spectrum disorders, multiple sclerosis or epilepsy, among others,” added Ainia.
Likewise, the Technological Institute of Administration has pointed out that “in the case of the lung, intestinal bacteria play a protective role against bacterial and viral lung infections, by regulating the immune response by stimulating immune cells in the lymphatic fluid and the bone marrow”.
Likewise, he highlighted that “the intestine and the liver are closely connected to each other because the intestine provides the liver with substances for processing”, while explaining that “this connection implies that a diseased intestine or one with an intestinal microbiota damaged can cause liver disease.
The MINIGUT project is financed by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism, through the General Directorate of Innovation and within the framework of aid to technological institutes for innovation projects in collaboration with companies.
