• Research Capabilities
  • Sustainable land and water
  • High performance plants
  • Personalised foods
    • Food composition
    • The role of dietary nutrients
    • Developing food concepts and products
    • Fresh whole foods
    • Prebiotics and probiotics for digestive health
    • Research programmes
  • High value marine products
  • New biomolecules and biomaterials

We evaluate the health benefits of dietary nutrients by identifying beneficial substances in foods and investigating how they influence health. We develop detailed knowledge of the relative activities of different forms of food components, including proteins, fats, carbohydrates, antioxidants and dietary fibres. We also examine the effects of food processing on these components, and the impacts of the physical properties of foods on nutrition.

Increasing the nutritional value of food and animal feed requires an understanding of gastrointestinal function. Researching the interaction of nutrients in whole diets enables us to measure bioavailability, improve our understanding of anti-nutrients, and measure absorption and metabolism.

Increasing the value of grain products and determining the health benefits of different forms of grain are critical for cereal processors and manufacturers. Our research at both molecular and bulk property levels is improving our understanding of the interactions between grain molecular constituents, ingredients, processing conditions and nutritional quality.

top of page