This project is being developed within the framework of the Conecta I+D contest together with Universidad Católica del Norte.
The academic from the School of Nutrition and Dietetics at UANDES, Ingrid Contardo, is working on the project" Bioactive food ingredient based on green macroalgae polysaccharides for the regulation of glycemic activity," which seeks to develop a prototype food ingredient based on green macroalgae.
This involves the development of a bioactive food ingredient (BFI) from soluble polysaccharides extracted from green macroalgae with no economic value, to be incorporated into starch-rich foods for mass consumption by children, such as pasta.
“It is projected as a strategy that will impact prevention and improve children's access to healthy foods to mitigate metabolic effects such as increased glycemic activity and reduce risk factors for diabetes and obesity. It also generates opportunities in the food industry for the diversification of natural ingredients, new sources of soluble fiber, and bioactive functional products," explains academic Ingrid Contardo.
This research work, developed in conjunction with academics from Universidad Católica del Norte , has reached one of its critical milestones, related to establishing the processing conditions of the bioactive food ingredient and characterizing its composition at various levels: physicochemical, rheological, and thermal properties.
“We now need to study the incorporation of this bioactive ingredient in a spaghetti-type model pasta and evaluate the physical properties of the model pasta with the incorporation of the bioactive food ingredient, and characterize the in vitro hypoglycemic activity of the food ingredient alone or incorporated into the pasta," adds Ingrid Contardo.