Responsable: Alfonso Miguel Gañán Calvo
Tipo de Proyecto/Ayuda: 6º Programa Marco de la U.E.
Referencia: COOP-CT-2004-513144
Web: http://cordis.europa.eu/projects/rcn/86560_en.html
Fecha de Inicio: 15-10-2004
Fecha de Finalización: 14-10-2006

Empresa/Organismo financiador/es:

• Commission of the European Communities (Research Directorate-General)

Socios:

• Ingeniatrics Tecnologías, S.L (José Ignacio García Montañés)
• MICAP Rendel & Scherer GbR (Jörg Rendel)
• PROBI AB (Martin Antonsson)
• Meierei Genossenshaft e.G. Langenhorn (Arne Rahn)
• Confipack, S.A. (Ricardo Pons)
• Sunnyland Belgium S.A. (Dirk Boon)
• Newmarket Coop. Creamery Ltd. (Pat Buckley)
• Verein zur Förderung des Technologie Transfers an der Hochschule Bremerhaven e.V. (Claudia Thalman)
• Lund University (Helena Larsson)

Equipo:

• Investigadores:
  • Carolina Sousa Martín
• Becarios:
  • Eladio Mendoza Simón

Contratados:

• Investigadores:
  • Beatriz Almagro Fernández
  • Teresa María Berdún Álvarez
  • Carlos Chinchilla Jódar
  • Elena de Castro Hernández
  • Román González Prieto
  • Antonio Ojeda Monge
  • María José Quintero Carrasco
• Técnicos/Personal Administrativo:
  • Teresa María Berdún Álvarez
  • Jorge López Serrano
  • Antonio Ojeda Monge

Becarios:

• Nombramiento de Becario:
  • Silvia Gonsalve García
  • Francisco Perdigones Sánchez

Resumen del proyecto:

Functional foods are designed to provide a specific and beneficial physiological effect on health and/or well-being beyond the provision of simple nutrients. With the current focus on disease prevention, the functional products market potential is enormous. Probiotic foods, containing health-promoting bacteria, are the most important and well-known group of functional foods. Commonly used probiotic bacteria belong to species normally living in the intestinal tract.

However, illness, poor diet, stress, ageing, infections and the use of antibiotics and other medicines can destroy the balance between these beneficial species and other undesirable or pathogenic bacterial strains, which can then occupy the free niche. Against this, a regular intake of probiotic bacteria has been claimed to deliver health benefits such as strengthened immune system, reduced colon cancer risk, lowered cholesterol levels, prevention of diarrhoea, etc.