Grants from the National Science Centre for preliminary research

Another ranking list of beneficiaries of the Miniatura 4 competition funded by the National Science Centre brought four grants for the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław. Joanna Bajzert PhD, Dominika Kulig PhD, Żaneta Król-Kilińska PhD and Agnieszka Żak PhD have obtained funding for scientific activities aimed at preparing further research projects planned for submission in NCN competitions or other national and international competitions. In total, UPWr researchers have obtained over 182,000 PLN for preliminary research.

Lower allergenicity of cow's milk proteins

Allergies are present in about 20% of the population – some of the most frequently diagnosed ones are food allergies, affecting 1-3% of adults and 4-6% of children. 70-160 food products and additives show allergenic properties and the World Health Organization puts proteins found in cow's milk, eggs, grains, soybeans, fish, molluscs, nuts and peanuts among the most frequently identified allergens. This is the so-called “big eight” od food allergens.

The primary and often the only treatment for food allergies is an elimination diet. Milk substitutes based on cow's milk proteins with technologically reduced allergenic properties are introduced into the nutrition of newborns and infants. One of the methods of reducing the allergenicity of cow's milk protein is enzymatic hydrolysis. Currently, the food industry uses for this purpose commercially available preparations of enzymes of microbial, plant and animal origin. However, their production costs are relatively high.

Dr. Joanna Bajzert from the Department of Immunology, Pathophysiology and Veterinary Preventive Medicine is looking for new enzymes obtained from readily available sources, capable of efficient protein hydrolysis and effective reduction of their allergenicity. In her research, which she will conduct as part of the Miniatura 4 programme of the National Science Centre, she will use enzymes from the Cucurbita ficifolia fig-leaf pumpkin and Yarrovia lypolityca yeast. She will assess how they reduce the allergenicity of cow's milk proteins and select optimal conditions for hydrolysis. The obtained results will make it possible to carry out future research that will include further allergens from the “big-eight”: celery and sesame.

Bioactive capsaicin capsules

Microencapsulation, i.e. encapsulating solid, liquid or gaseous materials in miniature capsules, allows them to be released in specific doses and conditions. The substances are protected against conditions such as food ingredients, moisture, air or light, and at the same time the capsules help to mask the taste, smell or colour of substances without them losing their bioactive properties.

Dominika Kulig PhD from the Department of Functional Food Products Development will produce edible capsules in which sodium alginate will act as a casing, and capsaicin (a substance responsible, among other things, for the pungency of chili peppers) will be the bioactive core of the capsule.

The capsules will be cross-linked with chitooligomers or a mixture of chitooligomers and calcium chloride, thanks to which they will contain two bioactive substances: capsaicin with an antioxidant effect and chitooligomers, which have antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral and anticancer properties. Modification of the cross-linking solution will allow Dr. Kulig to design the barrier properties of capsules, and thus the degree of releasing active substances in a specific environment.

Hydrogels based on micro-clustered water

The second beneficiary of the NCN grant from the Department of Functional Food Products Development is Żaneta Król-Kilińska PhD, who will conduct pilot studies on hydrogels based on water treated with cold plasma.

The so-called micro-clustered water, in which the clusters were broken or reduced as a result of the impact of cold plasma, is recently becoming more and more interesting to scientists, as it possesses unique physicochemical properties. Scientists have observed, among other things, change in pH, electrical conductivity, freezing point and boiling point. Micro-clustered water also exhibits antimicrobial activity, and its impact on microorganisms is still under research. Moreover – thanks to the breakdown of its internal structures, micro-clustered water has enhanced penetrating impact on membranes and cell walls.

Dr. Król-Kilińska will evaluate the possibilities of using micro-clustered water for the production of hydrogels from polymers of natural origin, such as sodium alginate, carrageenan and gelatine. Probably, just like water exposed to cold plasma, hydrogels will have different parameters than those based on distilled water. Their ability of increased penetration of membranes and cell walls may be particularly important here, as the UPWr researcher plans to test their potential in the production of capsules for active substances – vitamins, antioxidants, probiotics and phytosterols.

The microbiome of horses with inflammatory bowel disease

Studies of the gastrointestinal microbiome – which in all mammals plays an important role in the formation and functioning of the immune system – have shown that Firmicutes are predominant in the large intestine of healthy horses. Bacteroidetes or Verrucomicrobia are in the second place. Imbalance between these divisions in humans and dogs are the cause of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, there is no such data for horses and this disease can affect both the small and large intestine in these animals. The diagnosis is based on the exclusion of other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and the histopathological examination of the material from the intestinal mucosa, which requires the animal to undergo general anaesthesia and laparotomy. The treatment, however, is only symptomatic and usually leads to severe emaciation, exhaustion and death.

Agnieszka Żak PhD from the Department of Immunology, Pathophysiology and Veterinary Preventive Medicine of the UPWr will analyse the microbiome of healthy horses and horses suffering from IBD to determine the composition and dominance of microbial groups in healthy and sick animals. These will be the input data for the development of a diagnostic algorithm for equine inflammatory bowel disease.

Simultaneously with the research from the Miniatura progamme, Dr. Żak investigates, under the "Innovative Scientist" programme, the role of secretory immunoglobulin A in regulating immune reactions in the gastrointestinal tract of both healthy and IBD horses. Comparing the results of both projects may help to establish the relationship between the microbiome and the level of secreted immunoglobulin A in the gastrointestinal tract of horses.