** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE GOALS OF THIS STUDY ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE USDA'S FOOD AND HUMAN HEALTH AREA. CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) IS A LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH, ACCOUNTING FOR 30% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL MORTALITY. AS IS THE CASE FOR MANY CHRONIC DISEASES, INFLAMMATION, OXIDATIVE STRESS, AND CHANGES IN GUT MICROBIOTA ARE KEY CONTRIBUTORS TO CVD. POLYPHENOLS HAVE ANTIOXIDANT, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, AND LIPID-LOWERING PROPERTIES AFFECTING HOST GUT MICROBIOTA; HOWEVER, THEIR BIOAVAILABILITY IS VERY LOW. AMONG THESE, RED WINE POMACE (RWP) IS A WINE BIO-RESIDUE RICH IN ANTHOCYANIN (ACN), OTHER POLYPHENOLS, AND FIBER WITH HIGH ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES. RECENTLY, WE SUCCESSFULLY SEPARATED AND DETECTED GLYCOL-MACRO-PEPTIDES (GMP) FROM WHEY PROTEIN. WE SHOWED THAT THE RESULTING ENCAPSULATED PRODUCT IMPROVED POLYPHENOL RELEASE INTO THE INTESTINAL TRACT (>80%). FOR THIS PROPOSED STUDY, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT MICROENCAPSULATION OF RWP WITH GMP USING ELECTROSPINNING WILL ENHANCE ACN BIOAVAILABILITY IN RWP, LEADING TO BENEFICIAL CHANGES IN GUT MICROBIAL DIVERSITY AND IMPROVING CVD IN AN OBESE MOUSE MODEL. SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL OPTIMIZE THE BIOAVAILABILITY OF MICROENCAPSULATED RWP, USING GMP, VIA ELECTROSPINNING AND GASTRIC SIMULATION SYSTEM, FOLLOWED BY EVALUATING THE BIOAVAILABILITY AND GUT MICROBIOTA-MODULATING EFFECTS OF ENCAPSULATED RWP ON CHOLESTEROL EFFLUX (CE) IN DIET-INDUCED OBESE B6 MICE. OUR NOVEL APPROACHES WILL GENERATE NEW KNOWLEDGE BY INTRODUCING A COST-EFFECTIVE, ADDED-VALUE SOURCE OF ACN FROM RWP, WITH HIGH BIOAVAILABILITY AND BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON GUT MICROBIOTA FOR OPTIMAL HUMAN NUTRITION AND HEALTH. MOREOVER, THIS GRANT IS VERY TIMELY AND A STEPPING STONE FOR THE PD'S CAREER DEVELOPMENT IN NUTRITION, FOODS AND AGRICULTURE AREAS.

Texas Womans University

Investigators