Functional ingredients

The FoodBooster IIS focuses on the functional food and ingredients sector, with a particular emphasis on prebiotics, probiotics and bioactive peptides for use in human and animal health.

Functional ingredients

An unbalanced diet can contribute to the development of various chronic diseases, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and certain cancers. As a result, society's interest in healthy food consumption has grown considerably in recent years. Against this backdrop, particular attention has been paid to functional ingredients and foods which, in addition to their nutritional benefits, could prevent the onset of dysfunctions and diseases, and lead to an improvement in general health. These functional ingredients include probiotics, prebiotics and bioactive peptides.

Probiotics

Probiotics are defined as live strains of micro-organisms which, when administered in adequate quantities, can be beneficial to the health of the host. Indeed, these strains have the capacity to temporarily colonize the intestinal tract and restore the stability of the intestinal microbiota. Probiotics are thus said to have beneficial effects on certain physiological functions of the host, ranging from the relief of gastrointestinal disorders to the stimulation of immunity and the reduction of cholesterol.

Prebiotics

Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients (usually fibers) that serve as substrates not only to selectively enhance the growth and activity of beneficial microorganisms in the gut microbiota(e.g., probiotics), but also to inhibit the growth of hostile or undesirable microorganisms.

Bioactive peptides

Bioactive peptides are specific protein fragments which, in addition to their nutritional value, have a beneficial impact on the body's physiological functions. Generally inactive in the parent protein, these peptides become active after being released during enzymatic hydrolysis of the precursor protein, as well as during food processing(e.g., cooking, fermentation, ripening). Peptides can regulate many important bodily functions, and thus contribute to better health. Some bioactive peptides, for example, are thought to have antioxidant, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-obesity or anti-inflammatory activity.