Programming of appetite and bodyweight by the interaction of maternal diet and angiotensin during peri-natal life. The project describes a phenotype for appetite and body weight that can be altered by maternal dietary omega-3 PUFA (environmental factors), at a critical period during peri-natal life (developmental phase) and that the effect on body weight is opposite when endogenous angiotensin is increased (hormonal factor). The project aims to discover how these different factors interact to p ....Programming of appetite and bodyweight by the interaction of maternal diet and angiotensin during peri-natal life. The project describes a phenotype for appetite and body weight that can be altered by maternal dietary omega-3 PUFA (environmental factors), at a critical period during peri-natal life (developmental phase) and that the effect on body weight is opposite when endogenous angiotensin is increased (hormonal factor). The project aims to discover how these different factors interact to produce the phenotype by defining the critical period and systematically identifying genes that are expressed during this period. The effect of manipulating maternal dietary omega-3 PUFA and the role of angiotensin will then be examined. The project will discover how genetic, hormonal and environmental factors interact during the perinatal period of life to program food intake and body weight in adult life. Read moreRead less
Enzymatic synthesis, microencapsulation and biological evaluation of a new class of omega-3 derived functional food ingredients. Inflammatory mediated diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and Alzheimer's disease are major causes of death in Australia. Rates of these diseases are rising over time, partly due to poor diet including low consumption levels of healthy omega-3 fatty acids from fish. This project aims to develop healthy food ingredients from natu ....Enzymatic synthesis, microencapsulation and biological evaluation of a new class of omega-3 derived functional food ingredients. Inflammatory mediated diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and Alzheimer's disease are major causes of death in Australia. Rates of these diseases are rising over time, partly due to poor diet including low consumption levels of healthy omega-3 fatty acids from fish. This project aims to develop healthy food ingredients from naturally occurring omega-3 fatty acid derivatives that are more stable to oxidation and more biologically active than fish derived omega-3 fatty acids. The development of these omega-3 derivatives as functional food ingredients could provide an additional strategy for helping to prevent the rapid increase in inflammatory mediated diseases in the Australian population.Read moreRead less
Nanoliposomal delivery of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to neuronal cells. Omega-3 fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are essential for brain function. They are effective as adjunct treatments for depression, but at high doses. The project will develop nanoliposomes to target delivery of DHA to brain cells. Efficient delivery of DHA to brain cells will increase its effectiveness as a dietary supplement and lessen the burden of disease.