This project is being worked on thanks to the award of an IDeA R&D fund.
Obesity and diabetes have become one of the most common diseases in Chile and the world. Faced with this reality, the academic of the School of Nutrition and Dietetics of the Universidad de los Andes, seeks to develop a bioactive food ingredient that will reduce the glycemic impact of food.
The project consists of the development of a prototype ingredient extracted from green algae that has the capacity to significantly reduce the glycemic index of starchy foods of mass consumption such as pasta, cookies, bread and cakes.
"This ingredient will not only reduce the glycemic impact of food, but will also act as a functional fiber and prebiotic, i.e. it will reach the colon to nourish microorganisms beneficial to intestinal health."The academic from the School of Nutrition and Dietetics of the Universidad de los Andes explains.
Currently, the project is in the laboratory stage, carrying out tests for the extraction of the bioactive ingredient from green algae, along with its physical, chemical and rheological characterization.
"We are working on the incorporation of this ingredient in pastas, making sure that it is stable and can withstand the processes of processing, cooking and digestion, since we are looking for it to exert its action specifically at the gastrointestinal level.", details the academic.
The objective is to achieve that this natural additive can reduce the glycemic index of foods, impacting in a greater control of glucose release after being ingested.
"The steps to follow are the standardization of extraction and purification processes of the bioactive food ingredient, followed by its characterization to validate its composition which delivers the bioactive properties you need, then its incorporation in a starchy food of mass consumption such as pasta, in order to validate at laboratory level that it is complying with slowing the release of glucose from these foods, so they can be consumed without negatively impacting health."adds researcher Ingrid Contardo.
The potential social impact of this development is significant. The ingredient will allow the diversification of functional fibers to be incorporated in formulations of mass consumption products rich in starch.
"This will have an impact on the health of children, adults and elderly people with obesity problems and will offer functional foods that can modulate the glycemic index. In addition, it will act as a prebiotic favoring the growth of intestinal bacteria beneficial to health", concludes the academic from the School of Nutrition and Dietetics of the Universidad de los Andes.