Research
The main research focus of the Chair of Analytical Food Chemistry is the interaction between trace compounds in food and in humans. For precise analysis, the contemporary gold standard stable isotope dilution analysis is applied for the quantification of vitamins, mycotoxins, and flavonoids, as well as their metabolites. Thus, predicting the positive or negative effects of these analytes is possible and can be applied to ensure food safety (e.g., mycotoxins in cereal), assess bioactive substances in food (e.g., B-vitamins in microalgae) or monitor the bioavailability of health-promoting compounds (e.g., folates in yeast). Holistic approaches including every vitamer of a vitamin group or metabolically modified mycotoxins characterize the intricate methods to enable the most accurate determination of potentially health-promoting or adverse effects. Furthermore, by the application of modern non-targeted foodomics techniques a bridge is built between traditional targeted methods and comprehensive metabolomics approaches, allowing the deduction of molecular networks for authentication of wine and beer, degradation of folates or investigating the metabolome of toxin-producing fungi such as Alternaria. Currently, the focus of the chair is aimed towards novel, sustainable foods with the main objective to assess the safety and nutritional value of, e.g. alternative protein sources, side-stream products to reduce food waste and plant-based products.
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