INSTITUTO DEL FRÍO

Functional food. Isolation of prebiotics from vegetable products and by-products of the food industry. Characterization and properties. Utilization in nutrition and dietetics

SUMMARY

The main objective of this project is the isolation, characterization and evaluation of the nutritional quality of new prebiotic ingredients of functional foods, oligosaccharides, dietary fibre and protein, from vegetable products and by-products of the food industry. The chemical composition of soybean, faba bean and pods, and by-products from the obtention of tofu (curd of soybean milk) will be determined. The main nutritional properties of oligosaccharides and dietary fibre will also be assayed by in vitro techniques, such as fermentability by bifidobacteria. Moreover, in vivo assays will be performed with Wistar Hannover rats fed with the most fermentable oligosacharides, dietary fibre or with tofu protein. Finally, the quality of the oligosaccharides, dietary fibre and vegetable protein obtained will be compared to available comercial products. Results from the present project could be of great interest for the preparation of new prebiotics to be used by the food industry for functional foods.

KEYWORDS: Functional food, Prebiotics, Dietary fibre, Oligosaccharides, Protein, Vegetable by-products, Legumes, Soybean, Faba bean, Tofu