Ateneo - UPO

- Definitions and legislation
- Bioactive substances, diet and bioavailability
- Bioactive compounds in food and nutraceuticals: impact of technologies, examples of the main bioactive substances in different foods, evaluation of case studies and practical applications
- Unconventional foods

Slides and material provided by the teacher through DIR.

Reference texts:
* La chimica e gli alimenti – nutrienti e aspetti nutraceutici, a cura di L. Mannina, M. Daglia, A. Ritieni, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana
* CHIMICA DEGLI ALIMENTI, a cura di A. Martelli, P. Cabras. Piccin Editore
* Chimica degli alimenti, P. Cappelli, V. Vannucchi, Zanichelli Editore
* Italian and European Official Journals (and supplements)

For insight into the topics (English language):
* Scientific literature cited in the slides.

The course aims to integrate the knowledge already acquired in other food courses (in particular, Food Chemistry, Technology and Contaminants), with particular interest in nutraceutical aspects.
A first objective will concern the transfer of regulatory knowledge regarding food, labelling, nutrition and health claims, food supplements, enriched foods, novel foods and labeling. Emphasis will then be given to the description of bioactive substances in food, and their transformation process, to the concepts of bioavailability, to the impact of technological processing, to the formulation of functional ingredients (even from by-products and waste from the agro-food industry); the discussion of several bioactive compounds in food and/or useful for the formulation of food supplements will be also performed. The discussion of different case studies and the presentation of practical examples will allow students to reach a reasoned deepening of the topics, in a critical and autonomous way.
The acquired knowledge will be useful to students not only to have a broad and exhaustive view of nutraceutical and technological aspects of foods (impact on diet, use of technological transformation processes, bioactivity), but also to have the necessary tools to keep themselves updated in view of future work environments.

Although no official prerequisites are required, the acquisition of knowledge about the courses of Organic Chemistry and Food Chemistry, Technology and Contaminants, this last one fundamental for the understanding of the lessons of the present course, are recommended.

The teaching method used provides ex-cathedra lectures given by the teacher, complemented by class discussion of cases study, therefore expecting to establish an interactive approach with the class. The discussion of selected case studies is aimed to improve the capacity to critically understand the arguments correlated to the course, permitting to the student to acquire autonomously the main knowledge, although under the guide of the teacher.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities

Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The assessment of the learning is based on the elaboration of a written Test including two parts. The first part consists of multiple-choice quizzes; the second part involves the elaboration of answers to "open" questions, in which the student will demonstrate the deepening of the study, the capacity to understand the topic to be developed, the ability to connect different aspects of the program, and to have a vision overview of the requested topic. The first part of the Test will allow to evaluate the basic knowledge; the elaboration of the open questions will allow to understand not only the general knowledge of the requested topic, but also the level of achieved skill.

Each quiz/question will be associated with a score commensurate with the degree of difficulty of resolution.The total score achievable will be up to 33; the score acquired will be converted into thirtieths. For scores above 31 the honor will be awarded (lode).

The Test schedule is posted on the Department's website.

Definitions, legislation: labeling, enriched foods, nutrition and health claims, novel foods, food supplements.

Nutrition and well-being: considerations on macronutrients.

Bioactive substances and focus on polyphenols: diet, bioavailability and effect of technological processing.

Bioactive compounds in food:
- Cereals: whole and pigmented cereals (wheat and pigmented rice), gamma-oryzanol in rice, beta-glucans in barley, other bioactive compounds in cereals (lignans, alkylresorcinols, ...), impact of progressing pearling on the bioactive substances of cereals, practical applications and discussion of cases study.
- Cocoa, coffee and tea: bioactive substances, polyphenols in cocoa (bioactivity, modifications during cocoa processing).
- Lipid foods: nutritional characteristics and health properties of fatty acids and sterols, case study: hemp oil
- High protein vegetables: soy proteins (bioactivity, technological properties and derived products), pea proteins (bioactivity, technological properties and derived products), case study: meat substitutes; bioactive peptides.
- Peptides and nitrogenous molecules of animal origin: peptides with opioid activity, peptides with hypotensive action, creatine, carnitine, taurine.

Unconventional foods: algae and derived bioactive peptides.

At the end of the course students will demonstrate the acquisition of basic knowledge, as well as specific and advanced knowledge related to the regulatory framework and the main bioactive compounds present in food and/or useful for the formulation of food supplements. In addition, students will demonstrate knowledge of the technological aspects, not only in terms of the impact of processing on bioactive substances, but also in terms of the possibility to employ technological processes for obtaining functional ingredients. Finally, students will have to demonstrate to possess the knowledge necessary to complete previously acquired information in food courses.
Students will be able to present the topics using appropriate technical language, necessary to interface with other professional figures (in particular, pharmaceutical and food technologists).