Efecto de los alimentos y su procesado térmico sobre la funcionalidad de la microbiota intestinalrelación con la capacidad antioxidante

Abstract

The human gut microbiota is composed of trillions of microbial cells and thousands of bacterial species. The specific compositional characteristics differ between individuals, and although the mature microbiota is quite resilient, it can be altered by a number of factors. Diet is one of the most important. Moreover, in recent years, the gut microbiota has been shown to play a major role in the development, progression or onset of certain chronic and immune-related diseases such as obesity, celiac disease, or food allergies. One of the main functions of the intestinal microbiota in the body is to metabolize nutrients that have not been digested in the gastrointestinal tract, releasing a series of compounds at the colonic level. Many of these compounds are highly antioxidant, which is beneficial for the body, as they are closely and negatively related to non-communicable diseases. This doctoral thesis studies the antioxidant capacity of different foods after cooking, in vitro digestion and in vitro fermentation. Fermentation is carried out with different types of intestinal microbiota (healthy adults, healthy children, obese children, celiac children, and children with cow's milk protein allergy), which allows us to see the difference in functionality between them. In addition, the type, of cooking applied to the food is taken into account, as this also influences the total antioxidant capacity released.