TERATROFO

ABSTRACT

New ingredients, food supplements and medical foods capable of positively influence the health of people at risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) or diagnosed and undergoing therapy.

The CIEN project TERÁTROFO investigates and experimentally develops new food consumption products and more effective, safe and beneficial ingredients to prevent the risk to suffer CRC, as well as positively contribute to the nutritional response to CRC treatment, in order to alleviate possible secondary nutritional deficits of the treatment and improve the quality of life, the nutritional status and the well-being of the patients, thus favouring the response to treatment of people with such pathology.

The ingredients and formulations developed during the TERÁTROFO project will be first evaluated in preclinical models to determine the functionalities of the ingredients and products, and subsequently in clinical intervention studies to evaluate their efficacy in the area of disease prevention and treatment adjuvant.

During the project, work will be also done in order to advance on the knowledge of the mechanisms of action and behaviour of biomarkers related to CRC, in addition to the identification and detection of new biomarkers modulable through nutrition that are correlated with the risk to develop the disease and with the side effects of pharmacological therapies.

The project counts with the participation of seven companies: Indukern (coordinator), Ametller Origen Obradors, Biopolis, Dcoop, Feiraco, Laboratories Grand Fontaine and Supracafé, two technology centers (Leitat and Eurecat), and 6 organisations and public research centres: CSIC-CIAL, the Health Research Institute of Aragón, the Hospital of Vall d’Hebrón, the University of Santiago de Compostela, the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the Association ANFACO-CECOPESCA. The Technological Unit of Nutrition and Health of Eurecat, together with the Applied Microbiology and Health & Biomedicine units of Leitat, act as scientific-technical coordinators in the project.

Leitat participates in the project conducting preclinical assays in pseudo-germ free mice models, reproducing accurately host-human gut microbiome interactions, to validate the positive impact of the new food products on human health, either in reducing the risk of developing CRC, or improving the nutritional and general status suffering from CRC.

For this purpose, the possible links of potential biomarkers or signatures with CRC development and progression will be studied applying metagenomics and metabolomics technologies, as well as investigating links to physiological parameters, inflammation or oxidative stress biomarkers.