Molecular mechanisms associated with the antibody-mediated manipulation of growth hormone (GH) activity.
Developing science and technology platforms for the food and drink industries: conserving potential bioactivity in foods with perceived nutritional benefits.
Developing underpinning methodology in support of science and technology platforms for the food and drink industries.
HRI/183/98 - Quantitative models of milk protein behaviour and salt interactions.Final project cost: estimated £514,800
This project studied milk proteins and their interactions at the molecular scale, including recombinant expression systems, x-ray crystal structures, molecular models of thermal denaturing mechanisms, and aspects of calcium phosphate nanoclusters. The project formed part of a collaborative effort by HRI, the University of Edinburgh, CLRC Daresbury Laboratory and the Institute Laue-Langevin (Grenoble, France), which benefitted from £1 million additional funding from the BBSRC and EU Framework IV.
This research has given a lead in establishing the value of molecular structures n food science and technology, and will allow superior whey protein products to be made with reproducible properties as food ingredients. The research resulted in a patented technology, based on controlling calcification by the calcium phosphate nanocluster. Applications for this are being made in the food, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical areas.
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HRI/186/00 - Molecular mechanisms associated with the antibody-mediated manipulation of growth hormone (GH) activity.Final project cost: £188,300
Growth hormone is a major regulator of animal performance in terms of regulation of meat quality and milk yield. Although treatment with hormones can improve these parameters, such a strategy has drawbacks in terms of cost, administration and the unfavourable connotations of hormone treatments of animals in the public mind. The objective of this project was to examine the mechanisms involved in antibody-mediated stimulation of growth hormone, and to use this information develop a vaccination strategy for the improvement of animal performance.
An in vitro model was developed as part of the project, using a mouse cell line. This allowed the project team to examine the effect of pre-complexation of ruminant growth hormone with monoclonal antibodies on the subsequent activity of the hormone. The project was terminated after only two years because of a change in direction of the research group.
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HRI/263/01 / SAC/308/01 - Developing science and technology platforms for the food and drink industries: conserving potential bioactivity in foods with perceived nutritional benefits.Final project cost: estimated at £123,200
This project looked at two opportunities for maximising nutritionally beneficial elements in food.
Firstly, sensory and chemical analysis was undertaken on milk powder, cheddar cheese and yoghurt manufactured from milk containing enhanced levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). These analyses showed that oxidation of CLA in milk powder and yoghurt promoted unacceptable flavours. However, in cheddar cheese, where microbial activity results in a natural environment that inhibits oxidation, the level of CLA was increased without causing any deterioration in cheese flavour. These results were supported by further cheese samples manufactured from milk produced by cows fed on pasture.
Secondly, methods for delivering viable probiotic bacteria to the lower gastrointestinal tract were explored. This is because thought that lactic acid bacteria that are able to colonise the lower gut are believed to inhibit the growth and action of pathogens, thereby providing benefit to humans. The threat to colonisation takes place as these lactic acid bacteria pass through the upper gastrointestinal tract. The project team developed a method to encapsulate these probiotic bacteria in a water-in-oil-in-water system, with the organisms remaining viable after several weeks' storage at room temperature. The bacteria were also found to remain viable for at least 4 hours in gastric fluid when prepared in the water-in-oil-in-water system. This methodology has now formed the basis of a patent application.
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HRI/264/01 - Developing underpinning methodology in support of science and technology platforms for the food and drink industries.Final project cost: estimated at £47,500
This project formed part of an overarching programme of activity within CHARIS. Its objective was to develop new analytical tools in support of research in food and drink.
The project team developed and validated new methods of protein analysis and estimation of halogenated phenolic compounds in food, which are associated with taint, and a reference rating method was successfully applied to sensory profiling, allowing comparison of results between panels.
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