Food Proteins 

Our research vision is to enhance food quality by understanding complex chemical interactions between food components in sustainable food production, and to implement this knowledge in rational and healthy food design.

Picture of rape seeds
Photo: Claus Boesen

We aim to develop an in-depth mechanistic understanding of complex interactions of food components, which will make it possible to predict, control, and modulate the chemical reactions taking place in food and beverages during production and storage. We have special emphasis on protein quality and protein modifications induced by Maillard reactions (i.e. protein glycation), oxidation, and reactions with polyphenols, and how these reactions affect flavour, protein structure and functionality, nutritional value and health.

 

  • Understand how processing and storage affect protein quality and induce protein modifications, including protein oxidation, Maillard reactions (protein glycation) and reactions with polyphenols (reactions between oxidized phenolics (i.e. quinones) and nucleophilic amino acid residues).

  • Develop and use state-of-the-art analytical methods to identify and quantify reactants, intermediates and products of protein modifications and other food components, both by chromatography-based methods and spectroscopy.

  • Obtain and use quantitative data and reaction kinetics to understand reaction mechanisms, determine major reaction routes and most significant modifications of food components.

  • Apply multivariate data analysis to understand the complex relationship between processing, storage and chemical reactions in foods and beverages.

  • Develop advanced chemometric tools to unravel information otherwise hidden in the large amount of data collected from our analytical methods.

  • Exploit the established chemical mechanisms to predict, control and modulate changes in food quality and functionality during production and storage.

  • In collaboration with our partners, determine absorption and uptake of the major modifications of food components occurring during production and storage in both cellular systems and animal models.

  • In collaboration with our partners, establish immunogenic and inflammatory responses in both cellular systems and animal models based on metabolic degradation of food components.

 

 

 

  • (Ultra) High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC/UHPLC) equipment with ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis)/fluorescence detection

  • Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)

  • Spectrophotometry (UV-Vis), including dark room for illumination experiments

  • Fluorescence spectroscopy, including time-resolved fluorescence and polarization

  • Microwave synthesis oven for protein hydrolysis

  • Gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID)

 

 

 

Food Proteins group in the media: 

Radio

P1 - morgen (Danish morning radio: it's about the coffee with milk anti-inflammatory effect study)  

KU FOOD-professor Marianne Nissen Lund og kolleger har udgivet et nyt studie, som tyder på, at kaffe med mælk kan have en anti-inflammatorisk effekt. Hun har fortalt om forskningsgruppens fund i P1 - lyt til indslaget som varer fra 28:28 til 34.25 via dette link (link)

News articles: 

Coffee with milk may have an anti inflammatory effect

Recipient-of-the-Nils-Foss talent prize 2022 makes microalgae more edible

Researchers want to convert rapeseed proteins from feed to food

Glem sort kaffe: Mælk i kaffen kan være sundere - VoresPuls

 

 

Group members:

Name Title Phone E-mail
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Akillioglu, Halise Gul Postdoc +4535334154 E-mail
Bayati, Mohammad PhD Fellow +4535337843 E-mail
Bevilacqua, Marta Postdoc   E-mail
Danielsen, Bente Pia Laboratory Technician +4535333198 E-mail
Engholm-Keller, Kasper Assistant Professor +4535326287 E-mail
Halberg, Helene Fog Froriep Industrial PhD   E-mail
Hansen, Emilie Hornum Laboratory Technician +4535325545 E-mail
Lund, Marianne Nissen Professor +4535333547 E-mail
Poojary, Mahesha Manjunatha Associate Professor +4535326404 E-mail
Rinnan, Åsmund Associate Professor +4535333542 E-mail
Özcelik Yilmaz, Duygu PhD Fellow +4535323556 E-mail

Contact the research group leader:

Professor
UCPH FOOD section: Ingredient and Dairy
                    Technology
Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen (UCPH FOOD)
Rolighedsvej 26, room number C308
1958 Frederiksberg C
Denmark
Phone +45 35 33 35 47

The research project: SEEDFOOD

Most of the rapeseed grown in Europe is used for industrial oil production and animal feed. The SEEDFOOD project aims to change this by creating new fundamental knowledge, so the proteins instead can be applied in new food types for human consumption. Read more about SEEDFOOD.