Food Bioactive Compounds

191, Rovira Roure Avenue

25198 (Lleida) – Spain

+34 973 702592

maripaz.romero@udl.cat

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.

PHD students

Iván Friero Moreno
Maria Engracia Cortijo Alfonso
Pau Sentís Moré