The course aims to achieve the educational objectives of the course of study in Nutrition Sciences by teaching in-depth and updated notions regarding the composition and nutritional properties of foods, including natural bioactive metabolites (nutraceuticals), compounds important for their applications in the food sector. The course includes a brief introduction to plant physiology to help the student better understand the processes of plant organisms that underlie the production by plants of compounds with nutritional properties and of metabolites and biomolecules useful for human health. . The student will have to know and learn the fundamental concepts of assimilation and organization of the nutrients that plants extract from the surrounding environment by inserting them into the biosphere and thus making them bioavailable. The pathways that transfer nutrients to the organs responsible for their accumulation in plants of agricultural interest will also be studied, as well as the synthesis, intracellular transport, and the mechanisms of accumulation of reserve proteins of important plants for human nutrition. The detailed study of the nutritional characteristics of the main plants cultivated for food use or for human health and the study of nutraceuticals and prebiotics of plant origin are envisaged. The main biosynthetic pathways of primary and secondary metabolites consumed by humans will be discussed. Basic concepts of plant biotechnology will also be introduced, useful for increasing the content of nutrients and nutraceuticals, in various plant organisms or in vitro plant cultures, with particular attention to the use of plant systems modified through genetic engineering for the protection of human health. Finally, the course will deal with the use of unicellular algae as sources of compounds for food use or for the production of metabolites/nutraceuticals.

Principles of plant physiology from the capture of solar energy to the production of complex carbonaceous structures.

· Inorganic nutritional principles. The mining plants extract the inorganic elements from the soil to insert them into the Bio-organic cycle of life.

Transport of photosynthates, phloem loading.

· Physiology of starch accumulation in food plants: leguminous cereals

· Physiology of protein accumulation in legumes and cereals.

    Progress in genetic improvement in increasing the quality standards of plant production.
    Nutraceuticals
    Prebiotics
    Biosynthesis of bioactive metabolites of plant origin: phenolic compounds, terpenes, and compounds containing nitrogen

· Vitamins and secondary plant metabolites useful to man

· A look to the future, genetic engineering in the agricultural world, historical examples (golden rice, Bt corn, purple tomato, etc).

Biotechnologies and in vitro cultures to increase the production of biomolecules useful for human health in plant bioreactors

    Algae as a food source and for the production of biomolecules
    Laboratory exercises: analysis of the protein content in plant matrices by separation on SDS-PAGE
    Laboratory exercises: biomolecular techniques for the detection of GMOs in food of plant origin

D1-Knowledge and understanding. Students must have critically and thoroughly assimilated the main issues of FARMACEUTICAL BOTANY OF FOODS AND FUNCTIONAL VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. D2-Ability to apply knowledge and understanding. Students will have to be able to identify the relationships between the various physiological vegetal phenomena underlying the synthesis of compounds of nutritional / nutraceutical interest deriving from domesticated or wild plants and place them in a broader context of nutrition and human health. They will have to have acquired knowledge on the main methodological (biochemical, biomolecular and biotechnological) and instrumental procedures used for biological research and their fields of application, as well as developed a scientific approach to the problems deriving from the use of pinatas as bioreactors (see GMOs). D3-Autonomy of judgment. Students will have to have the ability to distinguish between the various classes of plant compounds and recognize the molecular basis that lead to either nutritional or supportive properties for the human metabolic economy (vitamins, antioxidants, etc.). Demonstrate conscious autonomy of judgment in reference to the evaluation and interpretation of experimental laboratory data and ability to compare with existing data in the literature. D4-Communication skills. Students will be prepared to use specific technical language to communicate information and ideas related to the knowledge learned during the course. Acquisition of adequate skills and tools for communication with reference to data processing and presentation. D5-Ability to learn. Students, thanks to the theoretical skills acquired, will be able to understand and discuss with a critical sense the salient aspects of PHARMACEUTICAL BOTANY OF FOOD AND FUNCTIONAL VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. Furthermore, thanks to the use of the available databases they will be able to deepen and update their knowledge. The ability to apply the acquired knowledge will be tested through: a) classroom discussion and problem solving and b) passing the exams.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

Lectures and in-depth seminars on topics agreed with the students. verification of learning through student presentations with a power point program summarizing the topics covered.

Course books

Le basi molecolari della nutrizione G. Arienti 5° edizione Piccin

Chimica degli alimenti Cabras P. Martelli A. Piccin 2019

slides fornite dal docente

Assessment

Oral interview. The exam consists of a series of three-four questions that require discussion of the proposed topic and connections with others in order to evaluate, in addition to the acquired knowledge and reasoning skills, also communication and problem-solving skills of a practical nature in accordance with what indicated by the Dublin descriptors

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

The student can request to sit the final exam in English