Functional Food Ingredients (INGREEN)

Group members

Full Professor

• Guillermo Reglero Rada

University Professors

• Francisco Marín Martín
• Susana Santoyo Díez
• Tiziana Fornari Reale
• Laura Jaime de Pablo
• Cristina Soler Rivas
• Carlos Torres Olivares

Contracted teachers Doctor

• Mónica Rodríguez García-Risco
• Marín Pródanov Pródanov
• Alejandro Ruiz Rodríguez
• Luis Vázquez de Frutos

Teachers Assistant Doctor

• Diana Martín García

Postdoctoral staff

• Elvira Barroso Merinero
• Marta Corzo Martínez
• Teresa Herrera Rodríguez
• Fhernanda Ribeiro Smiderle
• David Villanueva Bermejo

Predoctoral staff

• Alexis López
• Pablo Arranz Martínez
• Marisol Villalva
• Diego Morales Hernández

Project Manager R & D

• Montserrat González Lorente

Research Summary

The group is dedicated to the development of processes for obtaining functional food ingredients for specified health use and to the chemical and functional characterization of the products. It is specialized in three lines of bioactive products: active plant extracts, structured lipids and those derived from edible fungi. The work of the group is based, largely, on extraction and fractionation technologies using supercritical fluids, solvents pressurized extraction, enzymatic reactions and molecular distillation, membrane separation, among others.

The group conducts chemical characterization of natural plant extracts with which it works, which are composed of compounds of the volatile oil and phenolic compounds, as well as functional lipids, involving products of very different families. The group also performes in vitro studies of the products to determine their potential effect. These studies include antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity and bioavailability.

The formulation of products combining natural extracts and glycerides to obtain various types of emulsions is also part of the group’s objectives, in order to improve and ensure the bioavailability in gastric digestion of  the developed ingredients.

Ingreen is in charge of the Platform for Innovation in the Food Industry NOVALINDUS CIAL (http://www.uam.es/otros/novalind/)

Highlighted publications

• García-Risco MR, Vázquez E, Sheldon J, Steinmann E, Riebesehl N, Fornari T, Reglero G. “Supercritical fluid extraction of heather (Calluna vulgaris) and evaluation of anti-hepatitis C virus activity of the extracts” Virus Research 198, 9-14 (2015)
• Martín D, García-Serrano A, Casado V, Vázquez L, Reglero G, Torres CF. “Antioxidant activity of phosphatidyl derivatives of hydroxytyrosol in edible oils” European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology 116, 1035-1043 (2014)
• Santoyo S, Jaime L, García-Risco MR, Ruiz-Rodríguez A, Reglero G. “Antiviral Properties of Supercritical CO₂ extracts from oregano and sage” International Journal of Food Properties 17, 1150-1161 (2014)
• Anadón A, Martínez MA, Arés I, Castellano V, Martínez-Larrañaga MR, Corzo N, Olano A, Montilla A, Recio I, Fornari T, García-Risco MR, González M, Reglero G. Acute and Repeated Dose (28 Days) Oral Safety Studies of ALIBIRD in Rats. Journal of Food Protection 76(7):1226-1239 (2013)
• Tiziana Fornari; Gonzalo Vicente; Erika Vázquez; Mónica R. García-Risco; Guillermo Reglero. “Isolation of essential oil from different plants and herbs by supercritical fluid extraction.” Journal of Chromatography A; 1250: 34– 48 (2012).