With a growing market of functional foods and great interest in the area, research must continue to grow, bringing together industry and academia in this valuable area. Indeed, the expectation is that the INFORM hub is just the start, and the connections made will grow to make this area more expansive and relevant to the population.
The INFORM Hub’s aim is to foster a relationship between academics and industries to initiate and grow new collaborations seeking to understand more about functional foods supporting translational research activities. The focus will be on prebiotics, probiotics and plant stanols. These can all impact positively on gut microbiota.
The main areas the Hub will explore are:
- Use of functional foods in exercise.
As well as bringing many benefits to the population at large, exercise leads to stresses on the body, resulting in gastrointestinal and inflammatory issues. By exploring how diet/microbiota interactions influence energy metabolism, inflammation, muscle and bone strength, we hope to provide key support for designing more efficacious functional foods targeting improved sports performance and recovery from exertion.
- Recovery from ill health, including gastrointestinal conditions and upper-respiratory tract viral infections, is a significant challenge for the population, especially considering the COVID-19 pandemic. With close interactions between the gut microbiota and immune function, we will provide a research framework to advance functional food design to tackle recovery from viral infections.
- Mental stresses are major challenges faced by society at large.
The gut microbiota is linked to the brain along the gut-brain axis. In addition, microbial metabolites are thought to play a key role in anxiety and depression, even in a pre-clinal state.
To explore these areas and achieve our aims, we will provide a research framework to bridge the gap between promising laboratory results and translate this to the human situation by identifying key metabolic players which bespoke functional foods can deliver through the gut microbiota.
The INFORM Hub will:
- Support research development with industry focusing on functional products for bespoke use targeting recovery from exercise fatigue, inflammation, mental strain and post-illness to promote improved health.
- Promote and facilitate interactions between researchers and industry, resulting in major funding awards from UK and international sources for translational research that can lead to developments in the field.
- Identify research needs underpinning the development of functional foods that target health and recovery through alteration of the gut microbiome and drive forward research in these areas.
- Provide multidisciplinary training and development opportunities to early career researchers. Hub meetings and workshops will be an excellent opportunity for early career researchers, academics and those working within the industry, offering exposure and opportunities to make valuable contacts whilst engaging with themes of the Hub.
- Provide expert advice to policymakers based on strong scientific evidence