Nutrition & Functional Food Science
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The Nutrition & Functional Food Science Group is headed by Professor Robert Gibson and is located in GS06/GS19/GS20 of the main building on the Waite Campus.
Professor Gibson is also the affiliate head of the Basic Nutrition Group, part of the Child Nutrition Research Centre at the Women’s and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI) and supervises staff from WCHRI located at the Waite Campus.
Research Staff
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From left to right:
Back Row: David Apps & Bob Gibson
Front Row: Jo Zhou, Lilik Kartikasari, Wei Chun Tu, & Jennifer Washington
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Students
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Melissa Gregory (PhD)
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Wei-Chun Tu (PhD)
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Lilik Kartikasari (Masters)
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Nur Diyana Binti Yusoff (Honours)
 Goals
The overall aim of our research is to understand how nutrients work, including fatty acids, proteins, carbohydrates and trace elements, so that we are in a better position to design new foods and base clinical validation trials on a sound biochemical understanding of mechanisms.
Major Research Themes
Fatty acids
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Investigate regulatory steps in fatty acid synthesis and incorporation in humans and farm animals.
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To understand the role of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) in the mother, neonate and infant in health and disease.
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To understand the role of LCPUFA in adults in improving cardiovascular health.
Macronutrients
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Examination of the protein-carbohydrate balance in foods on the growth of children
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Working to eliminate gluten-derived factors from cereals for healthier foods.
Functional Foods
FoodPlus Cluster (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/foodplus/)
Collaborators
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Assoc Prof Maria Makrides, Director CNRC
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Assoc Prof Michael James (RAH)
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Prof Les Cleland (RAH)
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Dr Rebecca Cook-Johnson (RAH)
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Dr Bob Hughes (SARDI)
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Dr David Stone (SARDI)
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Dr Beverly Muhlhausler (UniSA)
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Dr Kathy Schuller (Flinders Uni)
Research Projects
Regulation of LCPUFA biosynthesis
To elucidate the basic biochemical pathways of fatty acid synthesis in animals and humans.
A series of experiments designed to unravel the effects of dietary PUFA consumption on the endogenous synthesis of DHA (a key omega 3 LCPUFA) from the precursor ALA have been conducted in rats. The results demonstrated the sensitivity of DHA accumulation to dietary PUFA content, presumably because of inhibition of the ?6 desaturase.
To address this effect further we have also initiated studies using the human HepG2 cell line. RT-PCR studies have established that although ALA inhibits the ?6 desaturase, the effect is not specific and all unsaturated fatty acids also have this effect. The regulatory ability of the peroxisomal beta oxidation step is also being examined.
These studies are being extended to test whether DHA accumulation is chiefly regulated via PUFA inhibition of DHA synthesis or through PUFA inhibition of DHA incorporation into membrane phospholipids.
 How to meet your omega 3LCPUFA needs without eating fish
Omega 3 LCPUFA have clear health benefits for humans and thus health agencies recommend that people eat 3 meals of fatty fish per week. Many Australians do not like to prepare or eat fish. This study is designed to identify all the natural and supplemented foods that contain omega 3 LCPUFA. This will enable lists of foods to be created for the general public so that they can meet their omega 3 LCPUFA requirements without eating fish.
Dairy and Vegetable Oils to Increase Omega 3 levels in meats
The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that cow’s milk fat is the ideal platform from which to help improve omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (good fats) status of farm animals. Using a randomised design, we will assess the effectiveness of increasing the ALA (the vegetable oil omega-3) content in dairy fat on the omega-3 (n-3) status in chicken and pig meats. This could provide the basis for a clinical trial on the health benefits of consuming n-3 enriched meats
Fighting Gluten intolerance
Many food intolerances have been attributed to the presence of the wheat protein known as gluten, which is a composite of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. Currently there are research projects based at the Waite campus to develop low-gliadin wheat and barley for the gluten-free food market. There are difficulties in reliably measuring alpha-gliadin thought to be the main cause of allergic responses. To help move the projects forward allergists and immunologists from the Women’s and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI) have been meeting with the plant breeders to develop in vitro screening assays for allergy and/or tolerance that will be useful to help guide the plant breeders.
For information about studying in this field please visit our Student Services page.
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