Projects and programmes to strengthen the international mobility of Slovenian researchers and research organisations and to promote the international participation of Slovenian researchers within the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

New Food Product with Enhances Bioactivity to Minimaze Food Byproducts from Brassica vegetables

ByNewBioactive’s main objective is to develop a new fermented sustainable food product, using Brassica vegetables such as cauliflower, and broccoli byproducts with preserved glucosinolates, enhanced bioactivity of phenolic compounds, minimal levels of biogenic amines, good sensory features, and high consumer acceptability.

The project proposal ByNewBioactive was submitted under the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions call HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01-01 — MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 by Dr. Ana Miklavčič Višnjevec and University of Udine (under supervision of Dr. Sabrina Moret). The project was founded on the basis of a contract for the execution and (co)financing of a research project to “strengthen the international mobility of Slovenian researchers and research organizations and to promote the international involvement of Slovenian applicants” (action code C3.K8.IC) under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and based on evaluation summary report (ESR) under Horizon Europe International Call MSCA – HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01.

Project:

Brassica vegetables have a very high waste index generating a high number of byproducts rich in bioactive compounds such as phenolic compounds and glucosinolates that can be used as natural antioxidants, preservatives, and supplements in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. In order to address the challenges of adding value to low-value food byproducts, ByNewBioactive’s main objective is to develop a new fermented sustainable food product, using Brassica vegetables such as cauliflower, and broccoli byproducts with preserved glucosinolates, enhanced bioactivity of phenolic compounds, minimal levels of biogenic amines, good sensory features, and high consumer acceptability. The project-specific objectives are i.) to characterize the most promising lactic acid bacteria strains, ii.) to assess the sensory features and consumer acceptability of the fermented Brassica vegetables byproducts purees and iii.) to reveal the changes in metabolomics profile during the fermentation in order to understand the modification of bioactive compounds and identify metabolites that could be used as biomarkers for monitoring the fermentation in relation to sensory qualities of the product. To accomplish these objectives and give the food industry a basis for rapid commercialization of the final product, high-performance equipment with innovative solutions such as high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) with pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and next-generation sequencing analysis (NGS) are used. Together with advanced training, support and interdisciplinary expertise offered by the host institution University of Udine, secondment institution Marche Polytechnic University and the involvement of the food industry (COVALM), the project will go beyond the state of the art in the fundamental understanding of modification of bioactive compounds by lactic acid bacteria fermentation.

Neuromuscular Imapairment and Transcriptomic Profiles of Sarcopenic Muscle in Humans

The public call for (co)funding of projects also accepted the project number MN-0003 entitled "Neuromuscular impairment and transcriptomic profiles of sarcopenic muscle in humans," led by assist. Dr. Felicita Urzi from UP FAMNIT Department of Biodiversity. 

Part of the project entitled "Neurosotic disorders and transcription profile of sarcoptic muscles in humans" is an assist. Dr. Felicita Urzi devoted a thorough study of sarcopenia syndrome. 'Sarcopenia is a condition where 'reduced muscle strength, low muscle volume/quality and impaired physical performance' are observed. It is one of the health conditions that older adults face and is recognized as an age-related and/or related disease. Sarcopenia has a strong impact on ensuring independence, disability, the need for long-term care and even mortality. Given its impact on the lives of older adults, limiting their ability to care for themselves and participate in social life, the study, which aims to investigate the molecular causes of the neurogenic contribution to sarcopenia, is extremely important.

In this study, the researcher will focus on the biological changes that influence the extent of neuromuscular impairments in sarcopenia. Using molecular analyzes and electrophysiological measurements, the functional integrity of the neuromuscular junction will be examined to determine the factors that lead to muscle dysfunction. To better understand these changes, they will use single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq), which enables obtaining information about the transcriptomic network of genes that influence muscle function at the level of individual cells. Given the current lack of information on the transcriptomic profile of individual cells in skeletal muscle, this ambitious work is key to a better understanding of cell dynamics, intrinsic factors, and new markers related to muscle and its environment under pathophysiological conditions. The molecular understanding of this condition and the ability to modulate cellular dysfunction will open a new window for pharmacological approaches using mRNA/miRNA technology in the coming decades.

The postdoctoral researcher met all the conditions for co-financing projects and programs to strengthen the international mobility of Slovenian applicants within the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The intended start of the project is October 1, 2023.