Food Bioactive Compounds

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Goals

Increase the quality of Virgin Olive Oils and the more representative foods of the Mediterranean Diet
Establish authenticity and traceability markers of plant products based on the analysis of minor components
Improve the health properties of foods and food ingredients

Research Lines

Virgin olive oil quality parameters and composition
Development and validation of advanced analytical methods for the determination of bioactive food compounds
Metabolism and Bioavailability of bioactive food compounds
Evaluation of the impact of agronomical and technological factors on content health promoting food ingredients

Main activities

Obtaining extracts rich in bioactive compounds
Evaluation of the antioxidant activity of the bioactive
Development and validation of advanced analytical methods,
Development and validation of rapid, simple and sensitive analytical micro-methods
Development and application of in vitro digestion models and in vivo models to bioavailabilty studies of food bioactive compounds.
Participation in multidisciplinary platforms of human interventional studies.
Evaluation of the effect of different factors on bioavailability of food bioactive compounds.
Evaluation of the antioxidant capacity of biological samples

International Impact

Recognized world leading position the topics: (i) Study of Virgin Olive Oil quality and composition with special emphasis on its minor fractions (phenols and pigments) related with its the sensorial and nutritional properties, (ii) Application of advanced techniques of liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for the analysis of phenolic compounds in foods, and (iii) Study of metabolism, absorption and tissue distribution of phenolic compounds, key to understand their impact on health.