Researchers test whether functional drinks can prevent cardiovascular disease

Researchers at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP) will test whether functional drinks that use alcoholic fermentation technology using yeast to reduce sugar content can prevent cardiovascular disease, it became known this Monday.

FCUP said in a statement that researchers “suspect they have the key” to preventing cardiovascular disease: drinks that ferment in a similar way to wine but do not contain alcohol.

“These recipes, developed by Sumol+Compal and Tetrapack, rich in fruits containing antioxidant compounds associated with health, aim to prevent heart attacks or strokes,” FCUP highlights, adding that if the results turn out to be as expected, “manufacturers could move forward with these new functional drinks and get them ready to hit the shelves.”

In the coming months, the college’s laboratories will begin testing “nectars of the future” that use alcoholic fermentation technology using yeast to reduce the sugar content of juices.

In the first stage, the researchers will study chemical and nutritional characteristics to understand “what changes in the juice during fermentation” and which molecules and nutrients may be “more promising.”

“We want to understand whether these drinks can reverse a range of metabolic changes such as diabetes and hypertension, as we know that those who drink them are 3.5 times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease,” the paper says. statement quoted in the message. project manager Iva Fernandez.

In a project called FERMEN.TO, the researchers intend to study the effect of the fermentation process on the drink during its production, as well as the transformation of various components after oral administration.

To do this, they will simulate on an “in vitro” platform the process of drinking juices, starting from the mouth, passing through the stomach and intestines, explains a researcher from the Associated Laboratory of Green Chemistry (LAQV-REQUIMTE) at FCUP.

Throughout the process, samples will be taken to further study what is being absorbed in each compartment.

The researchers then intend to select the most suitable molecules that can reach different organs through the bloodstream to understand whether they change metabolic conditions.

“Eventually, the results of this project are tested in fat cells and muscle tissue, where conditions such as diabetes or hypertension will be modeled.”

The goal is to confirm that these fermented juices are “easier to digest and strengthen gut flora,” FCUP says, noting that the goal of the new project is to confirm the results in volunteers with and without metabolic syndrome.

The FERMEN.TO project, which will last 18 months, is also carried out in collaboration with the NOVA Medical School, the Institute of Research in Food Sciences of the University of Madrid, Sumol+Compal and Tetrapack.