Portuguese Northern Universities’ Agri-food and Forestry Competences and Off er

Index

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IntroductionUniversity of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro

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Catholic University of Portugal

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University of Minho

University of Porto

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Introduction 3

The Northern region of Portugal is home to four universities. The Catholic University of Portugal (UCP), University of Minho (U.Minho), University of Porto (U.Porto) and University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) host approximately 70,000 students in different graduate levels: graduate, master, and PhD courses.

All four universities carry out R&DI activities through dedicated research centres and units. R&DI collaboration with stakeholders, at the local to international level, is highly prioritised as it is recognised that collaboration with the industry is beneficial for the university, its students and the industry itself. Within the agri-food and forestry sectors, collaboration is also seen as a fundamental activity to contribute to the success and sustainability of the sector.

This document provides stakeholders with detailed information about the four universities involved in the SMARTAgriFor Norte project. It presents a selection of the main achievements of each university, and an outline of their key competences and offer linked to various value chains: vine and wine, olives and olive oil, fruits and vegetables, and forestry products. It is expected that this document illustrate to stakeholders the value, knowledge and experience

Introduction

of each university in the most relevant value chains present in the Northern region of Portugal.

It is also expected that the knowledge and competences detailed in this document allow stakeholders to identify in the universities key partners to support their R&DI activities in view of achieving results with a significant scientific, economic and social impact.

SMARTAGRIFOR NORTE AIMS TO PROMOTE, THROUGH VARIOUS INITIATIVES,

THE INVOLVEMENT OF STAKEHOLDERS CONNECTEDTO THE AGRI-FOOD AND FORESTRY SECTORS IN THE

NORTH OF PORTUGAL, TO SUPPORT THE TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE TO STAKEHOLDERSAND FACILITATE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIPS.

University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro4

University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro

UTAD’s mission is teaching, research and outreach. UTAD is organized in five Schools: Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, Social and Human Sciences, Sciences and Technology, Life Sciences and Environment and the Nursing School. The permanent teaching staff of 530 teachers (393 with PhD) and 522 technical and administrative staff supports about 7,000 students. UTAD offers 37 graduate courses (1st cycle) and over 75 2nd cycle and PhD courses. Research activities are concentrated in seven Research Centres: Chemistry Research Centre – Vila Real, Centre for Development and Transdisciplinary Studies, Centre of Mathematics of the University of Minho - Pole of UTAD, Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, Centre for Sports, Health and Human Development, Centre for the Studies in Letters, and the Centre for Veterinary and Animal Sciences.

ContactsUniversity of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro

CITAB - Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences

Quinta de Prados5000-801 Vila RealPortugal

Quinta de Prados5000-801 Vila RealPortugal

www.utad.pt www.citab.utad.pt

citab@utad.pt

erosa@utad.ptreitor@utad.pt

+351 259 350 000+351 259 350 475

Eduardo Augusto dos Santos Rosa(Project Coordinator)

António Augusto Fontaínhas Fernandes (Rector)

The link to stakeholders and SMEs has been one of UTAD’s key priorities with successful results. UTAD has a wide portfolio of projects (national and international) with a high impact across all areas. Additional emphasis has been given to H2020 applications. UTAD had a strong involvement in projects of the INTERREG and POCTEP programmes, and more recently has been involved in SUDOE, ICDT and Norte 2020 projects, either as coordinator or as a partner. In support of innovation, technology transfer and university-industry cooperation, UTAD has an Industrial Liaison Office, working also as a TTO to support cooperation with the industry and technology transfer. UTAD is also a member of relevant international networks.

University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro 5

Main achievements

Downscaling methodologies and climate change projections

Novel products and biocontrol agents from co-products and wastes

Cover crop systems

Development of state-of-the-art downscaling methodologies, applied to climate model outputs, and development of climate change projections until the end of the 21st century for atmospheric parameters and bioclimatic indices over Europe. An innovative and very high-resolution viticultural zoning (1 km resolution) was developed for Portugal. Furthermore, crop models were applied to current and future climate change scenarios to simulate grapevine phenology, yields, stress parameters (water, heat and nitrogen), among other relevant parameters, at both European and Portuguese-wide scales.

Assessment of several distinct by-products from the agri-food industry and particularly from the winery industry, for the production of new cosmetic, pharmaceutic products and biopesticides. Wine red varieties have higher content of phytochemical compounds, but white varieties showed remarkable anti-microbial activity.

Design of cover crop systems for rainfed vineyardsand olive groves to improve biodiversity and reducechemical inputs.

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Adaptation strategies for grapevines Fostering the cultivation of minor

used crops

Greenhouse gases reduction technologies

Technology solutions for wine sector safety

Development of new short-term adaptation strategies related with particle film application to prevent leaf sunburn damage and drought stress in grapevines, increase and stabilize the yield and wine quality, and promote sustainable viticulture to mitigate the effects of predicted climate change in different geographical areas.

Achievement of comprehensive quality information of several varieties of beans and cowpea, for their nutritional and phytochemical contents. The production of innovative food products and the sustainability of these legume cropping systems under abiotic and biotic stresses.

Development of technologies that allow a 10% reduction on national GHG emissions from dairy cattle building, animal slurries, and paddy rice production (25,000 ha), which contributed to design cost-effective and environmentally sustainable measures.

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Development of technological solutions to improve the quality and safety in the wine sector (e.g. selection of the most appropriate treatments to remove wine defects and chemical contaminants). Improvement, optimization and control of the wine making process through on-line and remote monitoring of the vineyard and winemaking process by measurement of meaningful parameters of the vineyard and winemaking.

It has been recently observed that these compounds do not suffer visible losses through degradation when deposed, retrieving the hot prospect of profiting from these by-products during the year.

University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro6

Competences and offer

UTAD has major competences across the 4 value chains, which are focused on increasing the sustainability of natural resources under climate changes, and on the ecosystems services to gain competitiveness of the value chains. The key competences rely on climate modelling to predict the effect of climate change on yield and quality of agriculture and forestry products, which is supported by comprehensive studies on plant physiology. The soil, substrates and fertilization studies intend to ensure soil sustainability and optimization of inputs to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.

Further competences to reduce the chemical inputs on agri-forestry systems are focused on developing new biopesticides and the study of soil microorganisms to improve the resistance of the plants to biotic and abiotic stresses. The valorization of co-products from the agri-food industry with uses in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry is one of the key competences, which are well supported by studies with animal models.

During the last decade there is a focus on the application of new technologies to monitor crop development and product quality using cutting-edge methodologies.

University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro 7

Environmental remediation

Technological noninvasive solutions

Microbial genetic resources for industrial applications

Phytochemical assessment of food matrices and by-products

Innovative Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) and biological treatment processes to reduce the pollution load of problematic agro-industrial wastewaters (e.g. winery and olive mill effluents).

Development of technological and noninvasive solutions for inspection and quality assessment in grapes and vines. Fast non-invasive variety identification in vines.

Isolation and selection of microbial genetic resources for industrial applications and of beneficial soil microorganisms to develop biostimulants, biofertlizers and biopesticides for sustainable agriculture.

Characterization of phytochemical compositions of diverse food matrices and by-products, including distinct families of compounds, as well as specific contents through HPLC and correlation with spectroscopic methodologies.

Food processing

Development of functional foods and technological solutions to improve quality and safety in the food sector.

Wildland fire modelling

Establishment of links between environmental drivers (vegetation and weather), fire behaviour characteristics, and fire effects on ecosystems and assets.

Catholic University of Portugal8

Catholic University of Portugal

The Catholic University of Portugal (UCP) is a research university characterized by a humanist vision committed to contribute to knowledge and the well-being of society. It is a national university with 4 regional campi (Lisbon, Porto, Braga and Viseu) with strong inter-sectoral ties to the surrounding regions in accordance with a smart development strategy.

In addition to the commitment to fundamental research, UCP is recognized for the social impact of its research agenda and for its contribution to the formulation of policy. UCP is committed to fostering a supportive and productive research environment anchored in diversity and equality.

The Faculty of Biotechnology has a recognized position in higher education and integrates the Centre for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry (CBQF), an Associate Laboratory.

ContactsCatholic University of Portugal Faculty of Biotechnology

Rua de Diogo Botelho, 1327,4169-005 PortoPortugal

Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, 244,4200-374 Porto Portugal

www.porto.ucp.ptwww.esb.ucp.pt

mpintado@porto.ucp.pt ibcruz@porto.ucp.pt

+351 226 196 293+351 225 580 004

Maria Manuela Estevez PintadoIsabel Braga da Cruz (President, Catholic University of Portugal, Porto)

It is positioned as a platform for transnational and translational R&D engagement, offering a dual role of a fully-fledged European research institute collaborating with ca. 130 international entities, and cooperating with more than 170 companies, being strongly involved in R&DI projects.

Catholic University of Portugal 9

Main achievements

Modelling and optimization of food processes

Identification of wine aroma and sensory properties Mechanisms for combating plant

diseases and biotic stresses

The modelling and optimization of food processes, such as dehydration of fruits and vegetables, resulted in quality improvements, shelf-life extension and development of new food products. Research on post-harvest treatments and storage (e.g. UV radiation, ultrasounds, ozone and short heat treatments, edible films, and refrigerated and controlled atmosphere storage), and biopreservation and packaging resulted in technology transfer to different industries. Sensory profiles and consumer acceptance studies allowed the selection of the best solutions to market. Two patents attained.

The wine pipeline research allowed the establishment of the impact of different factors on wine aroma and sensory properties and on the production of volatile phenols by wine lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. Establishment of an analytical metabolomics pipeline to monitor different events on wine, including a flow-based system for determining key compounds in wines. Development of antimicrobial strategies towards wine contaminants.

Identification of mechanisms for combating plant disease and resistance to biotic stresses, including transcriptome assessment and the identification of genetic, morphological, biochemical, and physiological resistance determinants, as well as manipulating plant traits responsible for increased absorption and accumulation of mineral nutrients, resulting in more nutritious plant foods (biofortification).

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Characterisation of fruit and vegetable bioactives

Development and application of microbial inoculants

Valorisation of agri-food co-products and residues

Characterization of bioactives from fruits and vegetables in terms of key compounds, bioavailability and biological properties; preservation via encapsulation

Development of microbial inoculants as biofertilizers for agriculture and forest systems as sustainable tools to combat biotic and abiotic stress. Successful application thereof under nursery and field conditions for trees, with an emphasis on Quercus suber and Pinus spp., and for agricultural crops. Mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth promoting bacteria aiming at increasing plant resilience in harsh conditions are available as a collection for inoculant design.

Valorisation of agri-food co-products and residues from fruit matrices, grape stems and pomace and olive byproducts, using integrated approaches aiming at zero wastes and maximum value and production of novel bio-products focusing on food (e.g. edible films), cosmetic (e.g. natural antioxidants), biomedical (e.g. antimicrobial materials) and environmental applications (e.g. heavy metal absorbers). Five patents attained.

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and use in new food and biomedical formulations. Modulation of the human gut microbiota by plant food products/ingredients enabled the understanding of the relationship between these and health promotion. Novel applications for pro- and prebiotics from fruits enabled the development of new products. Nutritional and functional properties of olive varieties and corresponding oil were assessed.

Catholic University of Portugal10

Competences and offer

The Faculty of Biotechnology integrates the Centre for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry (CBQF). It hosts more than 120 researchers and shows disciplinary competences based around biosciences, analytical chemistry and engineering, which are applied to two major thematic challenges focused on the health and well-being of the citizen and the competitiveness of the agricultural and food systems.

The first challenge is particularly focused on the safety of the food chain, generating new knowledge on key hazards, the risks they represent and the means by which these are controlled. It also focuses on the protection of the environment, contributing to new knowledge and solutions for the identification and mitigation of specific environmental risks.

The second challenge is approached by intervening in the agri-food system in an integrated manner, by (1) identifying, developing and improving novel ingredients, technologies and strategies that lower costs and add value to food products by their health, safety and sensory-based attributes, and (2) working towards the sustainability of resource usage, creating a knowledge base that contributes to the optimisation of the extraction of value (in its various forms) from agriculture and forestry.

Catholic University of Portugal 11

Wine quality

Valorisation of agri-food co-products and residues

Optimization of food processing chain

Sustainable practices in agriculture and forestry

Interaction between microorganisms and chemical composition of grapes/wines and its role in sensory attributes, and control strategies to protect wines from spoilage.

Development of novel products and functional molecules through the valorization of co-products and residues of the forestry and agri-food industry, and from plant and marine origins.

Optimization of food processing/postharvest (refrigeration, packaging) and post processing (ozone, UV-C, sonication, dehydration) of fruits/vegetables, and new antimicrobial agents.

Development of biostimulants – mycorrhiza fungi, bacteria, substances - for agriculture and forest systems facing abiotic (e.g. drought) and biotic (e.g. diseases) stresses.

Plant nutrition

Identification of plant genotypes with increased tolerance to nutrient deficiency and improvement of plant nutrition, enabling transition paths to sustainable agri-feed and food chains.

Nutrients and functional foods

Formulation, nutritional profile, nutrient/bioactive biological impact , bioavailability and stability studies, implication of the interaction food - gut microbiota on human health.

University of Porto12

University of Porto

The University of Porto (U.Porto) is one of the largest in Portugal. In recent years, it has been the most sought-after higher education and research institution in Portugal by secondary school students. U.Porto has approximately 31,000 students and 2,300 academics and researchers. U.Porto hosts some of the most renowned R&D centres in Portugal, covering various fields of knowledge ranging from humanities to science and technology. One of the values of U.Porto is its great diversity of training programmes or courses available in 14 faculties (schools), 1 business school and 49 research units located in three different campuses.

U.Porto is responsible for about 23% of the scientific articles produced in the country (annual growth rate of 9% since 2010). Besides providing high-quality training and education, knowledge transfer is of paramount importance to U.Porto. In

ContactsUniversity of Porto Chemistry and Biochemistry

Department, Faculty of Sciences

Reitoria Praça Gomes Teixeira, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal

Rua do Campo Alegre, s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal

www.reit.up.ptwww.fc.up.pt

vfreitas@fc.up.pt mjramos@reit.up.pt

+351 220 408 000

+351 220 402 558

Victor Armando Pereira de FreitasMaria João Ramos (Vice-Rector for Research & Development)

this context, internationalisation is one of U.Porto’s strategic pillars and objectives, allowing the development of existing collaborations, as well as the establishment of innovative cooperation activities through the creation of active links with institutions from all over the world (with 2,200 active agreements). U.Porto has renewed its investment in the agrarian sciences field through the Campus de Vairão and the implementation of several labs, walk-in climate chambers and greenhouses available for research/services, as well as experimentation/demonstration activities.

University of Porto 13

Main achievements

Mobile application for crop spray quality

Stabilisation of fruit juices and increased shelf-life

Detection and quantification of tree nuts in foods

Sensory profiling techniques for the evaluation of food products

SprayImageMobile (SIM) – A smart phone application for the analysis of water-sensitive paper images, allowing for near real-time monitoring of crop spray quality. The SIM can be used on different crops with agronomic, environmental and economic benefits. The current version (2017) is suitable for iOS devices (iPad).

Development of a technological approach to stabilize the colour of red fruit juices by using different natural raw extracts, thereby increasing their shelf-life. New natural-like pigments based on anthocyanins, with great potential to be used as food colorants, were developed and applied in food matrices (dairy products, fruit juices, processed beverages) to increase and stabilize different food colours.

Development of DNA-based methods to detect and quantify different tree nuts in processed foods to respond to the growing concern about food allergies as an important public health problem.

Implementation of a large set of advanced fast profiling and dynamic profiling techniques for the sensory evaluation of food products, going from fresh produce sourced from different production systems, to traditional and innovative food products.

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Olive pomace conversion procedure

Improvement of bread nutritional and health properties

Analytical tools to improve the quality of port wine

Robotics and intelligent systems for vineyards

Development of a low-cost and eco-friendly procedure that converts olive pomace, a phytotoxic by-product, into an ecological material. This patented process (PT109443) allows to obtain added-value products for different purposes (e.g. agricultural, cosmetic, feed and food industries).

Demonstration of the potential of brewers’ yeast, elderberry, orange, and pomegranate by-products as a way to improve bread’s nutritional and health properties. Breads that can be claimed as a “source of fibre” were successfully obtained, without major impact on dough and bread characteristics, and with sensory acceptability.

Development of analytical tools to estimate the contribution and importance of wine spirits for the final quality of port wine. In general, a wine spirit is chosen taking into account aroma quality as well as its price.

Advanced controllers for universal use in agriculture (sensors, machinery and actuators) to close the loop of precision agriculture. Robotic navigation, perception and safety systems reliable under steep slope vineyards contexts. This technology will enable the application of agricultural robots on steep slope vineyards (monitoring, pruning and harvesting).

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06However, the role of the aldehyde composition of the wine spirit has shown to be important in achieving better sensorial properties of red port wine.

University of Porto14

Competences and off er

U.Porto has well-established expertise in the fi eld of agronomical sciences, food sciences, and agro-environmental sciences (mostly within the Faculties of Sciences, Pharmacy, Nutrition and Engineering). The U.Porto’s strength relies on the multidisciplinarity of its education and research, which covers the entire agri-food chain (with a special focus on the fruits and vegetables, grapevine and wine and olives and olive oil chains).

The main goal of the agronomical sciences is to meet the societal challenges of climate changes’ mitigation and to improve the resource use effi ciency - through plant breeding and genotypic selection, modelling, robotics and intelligent systems. Food sciences mostly aim at improving existing and developing novel food products, characterized by improved traceability, authenticity, safety, nutritional wholesomeness, contributions to health, sensory appeal and extended shelf-life. This includes production, transformation (in terms of proper operation and equipment handling), monitoring and packaging, effi ciency of logistics, and upgrade of food processing wastes.

The resulting agricultural and food products are expected to have a higher yield and a higher added-value as a result of their intrinsic features (physico-chemical, nutritional, microbiological and sensorial), while exhibiting a reduced ecological footprint.

University of Porto 15

Increasing resource use effi ciency

Plant breeding and genetic resources conservation

New technologies in agri-food systems

Food quality and traceabilityDevelopment of sensors and guidelines for optimizing the use of water, nutrient solutions and plant protection products in greenhouse crops. Development of crop growth models for predicting harvest date, productivity and quality. Precision farming.

Next generation sequencing technology for genotypic characterization and screening. Breeding for high yield genotypes with increased resilience to abiotic (cold, heat, drought-stress) and biotic stresses (pests and diseases).

Application of hurdle technologies (modifi ed atmosphere packaging, edible fi lms) for postharvest quality optimization of fruits and vegetables. Microencapsulation techniques to stabilize food ingredients, prolong shelf-life and control taste.

Development and application of new methodologies and biosensors for the analysis of nutrients and contaminants in agri-food sources. Launch of relationships between plant growth conditions, food composition and quality parameters.

Environmental quality and risk assessment Monitoring of soil and water contaminants and their biological eff ects. Detection and risks prioritization of emerging pollutants in fruits and vegetables due to the use of biosolids as fertilizers.

Food valorizationApplication of new ingredients from industrial waste products in the formulation of processed foods, towards health-promoting properties, preservation, prevention of oxidation or formation of harmful compounds.

University of Minho16

University of Minho

The University of Minho (U.Minho) is a public university with financial and administrative autonomy. It aims to be a University without walls, focusing on the regional, national and international socioeconomic environment. U.Minho is a research university, engaged in the valorization of the knowledge-research, development and innovation chain, as evidenced by a number of indicators: the ratio between PhD students and academic staff is over 1; the fraction of postgraduate students in the total student population is over 20%; the ratio between research projects and PhDs is over 0.5; around 150 PhDs are granted every year; the average yearly production of refereed papers in scientific journals is above 2/FTE/year; 250 R&D contracts are signed each year with companies.

The U.Minho has been rated as one of the best universities (under 50 years old) in the world. U.Minho has been developing important

ContactsUniversity of Minho Department of Biological Engineering

Largo do Paço,4704-553 Braga, Portugal

Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal

www.uminho.ptwww.ceb.uminho.pt

ceb@deb.uminho.pt

jateixeira@deb.uminho.ptrlreis@reitoria.uminho.pt

+351 253 601 100 +351 253 604 406

José António Couto TeixeiraRui Luís Gonçalves Reis (Vice-Rector)

research activities in the agri-food sector and in the valorization of forestry products, materials and resources, and wastes, particularly agri-food wastes. The research activities in these sectors has reached a high level of excellence as confirmed by several indicators: a strong collaboration with the industry, the capacity to obtain external funding (at national and international levels), the creation of several spin-off companies and the number of published peer reviewed papers, particularly in 1st Quartile or higher journals.

University of Minho 17

Main achievements

Encapsulation of bioactive and functional compounds

Development of chitosan nanofiber mesh

Nano-based delivery systems behaviour simulations

Development of technology to encapsulate bioactive and functional compounds (e.g. vitamins, antioxidants) in small structures (micro and nano-hydrogels), which can then be added to foods. For instance, bovine lactoferrin-based nano-hydrogels as iron carriers were developed and characterized for potential food fortification. The obtained hydrogels can be added to juices, yoghurts and cereals, responding to the currently increasing consumer demand for healthier and more nutritious products. This technology – NUTRICAP – won the ‘Food & Nutrition Award for Research & Development, 2015´.

Design and production by electrospinning of chitosan nanofiber mesh for wound healing with an antibacterial agent being released at the surface by immobilized liposomes.

A simulated gastro-intestinal (GI) tract system to investigate the behaviour of different nano-based delivery systems (e.g. nanoemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanohydrogels) under gastrointestinal conditions.

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Bioactive compound extraction tool

Bioethanol production technology

Encapsulation and release of sensitive ingredients

Extension of shelf-life and improved quality of foods

Ohmic heating application in protein functionalization (i.e. for the development of nano and microstructures, hydrogels and edible films) and as a green pre-treatment tool for the extraction of bioactive compounds from food wastes (e.g. food-grade phytochemicals from colored potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L. var. Vitelotte) were recovered in a shorter time and with a lower energy consumption than with a conventional heating method). An efficient technology, from biomass pre-treatment

to the enzyme/fermentation steps, for the production of 2nd generation bioethanol from EGW (Eucalyptus globulus wood). A green solvent (glycerol) was used in the pretreatment and the delignified EGW was successfully converted to ethanol by Pre-saccharification, simultaneous saccharification and

Encapsulation of active compounds in biopolymer nanostructures (e.g. nanoemulsions, nanohydrogels, nanofibers) by nano-spray drying and electrospinning,

Extension of blueberries’ shelf-life using chitosan-based coatings with Aloe vera liquid fraction; improvement of the quality of pears during refrigerated storage by the application of nanolayered edible coating of κ-carrageenan and lysozyme; extension of mangoes shelf-life to ca. 45 days by using nanolayered edible coating of pectin and chitosan; and extension of the shelf life of ‘Coalho’ cheese with an alginate/lysozyme nanocoating.

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making possible the encapsulation and controlled release of sensitive ingredients in food systems. Observation that the encapsulated enzymes and antibiotics preserved higher catalytic activity than the ones incorporated in solvent casting membranes.

fermentation (PSSF) at high solid loading (LSR = 3 g/g). The ethanol concentration obtained - 94 g/L – is the highest ethanol concentration from lignocellulosic biomass reported.

University of Minho18

Competences and offer

The production of high added-value compounds and products (including bioactive compounds, biofuels and bioenergy) from (renewable) agro-industrial by-products in inherently clean processes, with waste minimization and reduced energy consumption is one of the competences available at the University of Minho.

Another relevant activity deals with the development of innovative and cutting-edge technologies (e.g. moderate electric fields - MEF and nanotechnology) for the production of structured systems, such as packaging and coating materials, micro- and nano-systems for encapsulation of bioactive compounds as well as for the processing of food products (aiming at enhanced food quality attributes, optimization of process efficiency and reduction of spoilage agents by inactivation of target microorganisms/enzymes).

The development of innovative materials and biomaterials derived from natural-based sources for food, pharma and medical high-added value applications must also be highlighted as well as the enabling of chemical routes to modify or enhance the properties of natural-origin macromolecules into high added value biomaterials.

University of Minho 19

Extraction of bioactive compounds

Innovative technologies for innovative food industry products

Food supplementation Technologies for the extraction of added value compounds

Extraction, purification and validation of bioactive compounds from natural origin and from food wastes for food, pharmaceutical and biomedical applications.

Development of structures at macro, micro and nano scale, aiming at producing promising applications for innovative products in the food, packaging, pharmaceutical and feed industries.

Development of promising and versatile processing techniques to enhance food supplementation with high-value ingredients (vitamins, antioxidants or other relevant compounds) to maintain their bioactivity and stability.

Utilization of ohmic heating as an efficient and environmental friendly technology for the extraction of added value compounds from agro-industry by-products and wastes.

Innovative materials for the food industryDevelopment of innovative materials derived from natural-based sources and nanocomposites by the combination of bioactive natural polymers, bioactive compounds or inorganic glass/ceramics.

Microalgae as a source of bioactive compoundsDevelopment of photosynthetic bioreactors for utilisation of microalgae bioactive components on the formulation of novel food, feed and cosmetic products.