Welcome to the unit of Plant Food Science
Our research is focused around dietary fibre, starch and bioactive components in plant foods as well as development of dietary biomarkers for food intake.
About 15 persons are working in the group of which 15 senior researchers and two laboratory technicians (Janicka Nilsson and Gunnel Fransson). Professor Per Åman is the Head of the Division.
Research areas
Dietary fibre
Dietary fibres are plant carbohydrate polymers/oligomers which are of nutritional and health interest. These carbohydrates may also influence the food quality.
Starch
Starch is a very important raw material for the industry. Our research is focused on the chemical structure of starch in relation to its properties.
Biomarkers of dietary intake
Traditional ways of measuring dietary exposure (food frequency questionnaires, 24-h recalls and food records) are associated with large measurement errors, which may affect inference on the diet-disease relationship in epidemiological studies. To overcome this problem, a dietary biomarker may be used.
Bioactivities of plant foods and their constituents
Plant foods are rich sources of many bioactive components including dietary fiber, functional lipids, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals which have shown important physiological and disease prevention effects.