Ricerc@Sapienza

Plant foods contain many physiologically active compounds, named polyphenols, that are produced in plants via secondary metabolism in relatively small amounts as a defence mechanism against predation, fungal, viral and microbial invasion, and UV irradiation. Epidemiological studies point to these substances as protective compounds active in the prevention of many degenerative diseases such as stroke, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and neurodegeneration. Polyphenols could be the key to alleviate neurodegeneration by acting as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating compounds. Recent evidence indicates that nutraceuticals and whole diet approaches may protect against the development of age-related cognitive decline, such as Alzheimer¿s disease, and epidemiological studies suggest that a greater efficacy is attained when a mixture of polyphenols is administered rather than a single isolated compound, due to potential synergistic effects.
The aim of the present project is to isolate and characterize bioactive nutritional phytocomplexes of high impact on human health by using new green chemistry tools. Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NaDES) are emerging as powerful and biocompatible solvents to obtain ready to use, edible food supplements. They comprise a mixture of a hydrogen acceptor (e.g. choline, betaine) and a hydrogen bond donor (organic acids, polyalcohols, sugars) that results in a eutectic, i.e. a liquid that has a lower melting point than that of each individual component.
This project aims to:
- develop new NaDES suitable for human use which are non-toxic and have a negligible environmental impact
- extract polyphenols from various plant crop species and food products by the use of NaDES and to characterize them via spectroscopic and chromatographic methods
- test the extracts in in vitro and in vivo AD models for their: a) anti-inflammatory activity; b) antioxidant activity; c) neuroprotective activity