Ateneo - UPO

Moving from the history of plants in human nutrition, the processes of domestication, hybridization, and selection of plant species will be described. The main taxonomic families important for human and animal nutrition will be discussed, highlighting nutritional factors, antinutritional factors, and compounds from secondary metabolism. Poisonous plants, food preservation methods, and their shelf life will be mentioned. Through a laboratory activity, the students will learn about adulteration practices that can affect both human and animal foods.

Calogero Rinallo, 2018 - Piante alimentari. Biologia, composizione chimica, utilizzo, seconda edizione. Piccin-Nuova Libraria;
- Mannina L. Daglia M., Ritieni A. La chimica e gli alimenti. CEA

They will gain insights into the nutritional and antinutritional content, as well as the secondary metabolites present in plants. Students will become familiar with poisonous plants, food preservation methods, and shelf life. Through a laboratory activity, they will explore potential food adulteration practices.

It is recommended to approach the study of the subject after acquiring the appropriate cultural foundations provided by general botany, plant physiology, and ecology. The student should also have a good command of language and scientific proficiency.

Class lectures and laboratory exercises.

The slides used by the teacher during the lecture are available in the DIR (BOTANY AND PLANT RESOURCES FOR NUTRITION) section. The teacher will be available for clarifications on lecture topics or the teaching materials provided, even outside of class hours, by appointment. The teacher will only respond to signed emails from the domain name.surname@uniupo.it.
Students with disabilities, Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), or Special Educational Needs (SEN) can request specific services and tools by contacting the Career Development and Coordination and Student Services Staff and by consulting the dedicated page on the University website: https://uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studenti-disabili-e-dsa.
Students with disabilities, learning disabilities (DSA), or special educational needs (SEN), once they have contacted the University Staff, can contact the professor in charge of the course regarding the specific exam modalities and educational aspects.

The purpose of the exam is to verify the level of knowledge into all the subjects present in the program and the reasoning capacity developed by the student. The exam is an oral test and it consists: a) 3-4 questions related to theoretical and practical parts of the course to evaluate the knowledge and skills acquired and b) discussion of laboratory session reports. The reports must be delivered at least four days before the oral test. The final grade is expressed in thirtyth (minimum 18) and will take the partial scores obtained in the each question.

History of plants in human nutrition, domestication, hybridization, and selection. Edible parts of plants. The main angiosperm families. Nutritional principles, antinutritional factors, secondary metabolites, and product categories. Poisonous plants. Edible algae. Phytoalimurgy. Plants for animal nutrition. Food preservation and shelf life. Practical laboratory activities on food adulteration.

By the end of the course, students should be able to recognize the main plants of food interest.
They should have acquired the tools for researching and analyzing the nutritional properties of food products and any contaminants.
They should be familiar with food preservation methods and shelf life.