The PhD student Carlos Seiti Hurtado Shiraishi from the University of Vigo, enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Food Science and Technology, was selected for the IACOBUS fellowship program for a mobility period at the BioSIM research group, located at the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, under the supervision of Sérgio F. Sousa.
With this funding, Carlos with carry out a stage of his PhD project at BioSIM focusing on the “Virtual Screening of Natural Compounds for Antidiabetic Activity in Food Development” The main objective of the “IACOBUS” Program is to foster cooperation and exchange among the human resources of Universities, higher education institutions, and technological centers in the Euroregion of Galicia and Northern Portugal.
Carlos Shiraishi is a Food Engineer from the Federal Technological University of Paraná (Brazil) and Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (Portugal), where he also completed his MSc in Food Quality and Safety. The focus of his PhD project is the use and valorization of natural resources for food, medicinal and cosmetic applications through computational and laboratory studies, under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Lillian Barros (Instituto Politécnico de Bragança) and Prof. Dr. Rui Abreu (Instituto Politécnico de Bragança) and Dr. Miguel A. Prieto (University of Vigo)
Project:
Summary: The discovery of applications of bioactive molecules from natural products (NPs) in the food industry is necessary for the development of functional foods to promote health, well-being, sustainability, and innovation in the industry, reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Thus, with the advancement of computer processing capabilities, increased availability of food industry bio-waste, and multidisciplinary research, it is possible to explore these molecules for the development of foods with functional properties, reducing development costs, time, and promoting sustainability. In the context of increasing population growth, obesity, and the rise of diseases such as diabetes, the development of healthier and more sustainable foods becomes essential.
Objectives: Use and preparation of the FOODB database, which contains 70,926 natural origin compounds for in silico studies against enzymes involved in diabetes processes to evaluate and identify compounds with the highest antidiabetic potential for future incorporation into food.