Improve health by exploiting the whole grain.

The European Union has chosen whole grain technologies as one of its focus research areas in order to improve our health and well-being. Novel cereal foods can be a meaningful tool in the fight against metabolic syndrome-related diseases. Scientists at Finland's VTT Institute are coordinating a five-year Healthgrain Integrated Project with 43 partners from 15 European countries. Their goal is to produce health-promoting cereal foods and ingredients of high quality.

Studies have proven that diets rich in whole grain foods offer protection from many chronic diseases, such as type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, bread is mostly baked from refined flour devoid of the nutrients and protective factors present in the outer layers of grains. This research effort will involve a multidisciplinary study of the variation, process-induced changes and human metabolism of bioactive compounds in the major European bread grains of wheat and rye.

The target bioactive compounds are vitamins, phytochemicals and indigestible carbohydrates. Scientists will study cereal food structure in relation to digestibility. Investigators also want to determine the physiological mechanisms underlying the ability of bioactive compounds to prevent metabolic syndrome and related diseases.

Consumer studies will help scientists understand consumer expectations of healthy cereal foods. New sources of nutritionally enhanced grain will be identified and generated by experts in plant biotechnology, creating a toolbox of omics technologies useful for breeding purposes. New fractionation and bioprocessing methods for the outer parts of grain kernels will be determined, as will the bioavailability of the bioactive compounds. Scientists also will study the glycemic response of food in reducing metabolic risk factors.

VTT scientists are responsible for developing processing technologies using enzymes and starter cultures. They're also responsible for studying the effects of structural features on cereal food digestibility and for studying consumer expectations and perceptions of health claims for cereal foods.

All technology will eventually be transferred to industry through publications and workshops. Companies are invited to join an Industrial Platform and Nutritional Information Network.

Further information. Riitta Kervinen, VTT Biotechnology, PO Box 1500, FI-02044 VTT, Tietotie 2, Espoo, Finland; phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail].