Projects
Increase the taste and quality of the Flemish pork Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Can the eating and technological meat quality of pork that we produce in Flanders be improved? ILVO and UGent are answering this question in the 4-year project VLEVAVLEES. The aim is to bring the taste and quality of meat closer to the wishes of consumers and buyers by means of targeted strategies in pig farming. Specifically, the project looks at the effects of the finishing line and the ...
Sensing of prebiotic carbohyddrates in the gut via taste receptors: role in the control of food intake. KU Leuven
The obesity rates continue to rise worldwide and are associated with adverse health problems, including increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Excessive weight gain is often considered to be the result of excessive food intake and/or insufficient physical activity. In addition, the food landscape has shifted dramatically over the past several decades and the increased consumption of soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages is considered as ...
Making sense of what we eat: amino acid taste receptors tune ghrelin release and smooth muscle contractility KU Leuven
Consumption of basic nutrients, such as proteins, carbohydrates and fats, is a cornerstone for a healthy life as they provide both energy and building blocks for various functional molecules. Since the nutrient composition of a meal varies depending on food choices, a diverse spectrum in nutrient sensing pathways are present along the GI tract to control the process of food intake. This includes the coordination of gastric emptying and gut ...
The bittersweet taste of bacteria in the nose of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. KU Leuven
The nasal epithelium forms the first line of defense against environmental insults. Damage to epithelial structure and function, is involved in the pathology of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). Bitter (T2R) and sweet (T1R) taste receptors are upper airway sensors that detect and induce a rapid immune response against secreted bacterial ligands. Activation of T2Rs on nasal epithelium results in rapid calcium release that ...
Valorisation of algae for a better taste Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Seaweed and micro-algae are not well-known as food sources in West Europe. In times of exhaustion of agricultural land, overfishing and an ever-increasing demand for food, there is great need for sustainable alternatives. Both consumers and food producers are reluctant to use these products, however. The obstacles are known: lack of knowledge about the taste of seaweed/algae, lack of reliable supply and lack ...
Activation of bitter taste receptors tune innate immune responses in the gut epithelium during health and disease KU Leuven
The gastrointestinal tract represents the largest key interface between the human body and the external environment. It is a chemosensory organ in which the epithelium is equipped with elements from the taste signaling pathway that continuously monitor and discriminate between nutrients that need to be assimilated and harmful substances that need to be expelled. We hypothesize that bitter taste receptors on several human epithelial cell types ...
The bittersweet taste of bacteria in the nose of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. University of Antwerp
Development of high-quality meat analogues with improved texture, taste and aroma (Veganalog) KU Leuven
The general objective of this project is to improve and implement knowledge about ingredients (vegetable proteins and fats, hydrocolloids) and production processes for quality meat analogues among the intended target group (suppliers/producers of these products and their ingredients and additives) in order to make these products more attractive. for flexitarians.
The focus here is on two important quality attributes, namely texture and ...
Imagining the Orient before Orientalism: Georgian Travellers and the Emergence of Taste in the 18th Century British Architecture. KU Leuven
This project focuses on the architectural transfers from the (imagined) East to the West beyond the mere application of so-called Turqueries or Chinoiseries. Taking eighteenth century travel accounts and the perspective of the orientalist traveller as my starting point, I study how a new “taste” finds its way in architectural theory and practice – before the establishment of “orientalism” as a new building paradigm in the nineteenth century. ...