Scientific Concept

Project Scope

In order to gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the function and delivery of flavanols, FLAVIOLA will focus on a broad range of complementary aspects.

We will analyse the uptake, bioavailability and metabolism of dietary flavanols from a variety of food matrices. Of particular interest are the potential variations caused by range of aspects including susceptibility, age and gender (inter and intra-individual variability).

In so doing, this research will set the stage for the targeted delivery of nutrients to their cellular and/or sub-celluar site of biological action and, as such, the development of health-promoting food delivery tools.

The project is divided into six work packages (WP), with each research partner leading on one or more aspects of the research:

• WP 1: Metabonomics

  WP 1 focuses on the design of flavanol-rich food matrices and the analysis of dietary flavanol uptake and metabolism.
  WP Leader – University of Reading

• WP 2: Susceptibility, Age & Gender Aspects

  WP 2 looks at the evaluation of inter and intra-individual variability potentially affecting the dietary intake of flavanol-containing foods.
  WP Leader – Mars, Incorporated

• WP 3: Organism Functionality and Organism Vitality

  WP 3 investigates the impact of dietary flavanols and the interaction with dietary nitrate/nitrite (NOx) on cardiovascular morphology and function in vivo. In addition, it will examine the influence of dietary flavanols on mild and severe inflammatory states.
  WP Leader – Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf

• WP 4: (Sub-) cellular Targets and Mechanisms

  In WP 4 the FLAVIOLA partners look at key molecular targets of dietary flavanols taking part in vascular homeostasis, both in the different vascular cell types and in cardiomyocytes.
  WP Leader – Universiteit Maastricht

• WP 5: Dissemination and Exploitation

  In WP 5, FLAVIOLA will focus on the communication of FLAVIOLA's results to all key stakeholders to ensure that the findings are effectively leveraged in terms of the scientific, societal and economic advancement of the EU.
  WP Leader – Mars, Incorporated

• WP 6: Management

  WP 6 covers the effective project management of FLAVIOLA to ensure all necessary goals and targets are met.
  WP Leader – SCIPROM Sàrl

Scientific Methodology

A challenge faced during earlier research in this area was the difficulty of attaining an accurate measurement of flavanol intake in urine or blood. Previous methods relied on data from high performance liquid gas chromatography (HPLC) where samples had already begun to decay during the preparation stage. In order to address this issue, FLAVIOLA will establish two highly sensitive HPLC analytical platforms dedicated to the identification of flavanols based on fluorescent detection. This will be based on a cutting-edge protocol that allows a highly accurate assessment of flavanol concentration in human blood following oral ingestion. In addition, this new protocol will provide detailed information regarding the structure and concentration of flavanol metabolites. “Our method minimises the loss or degradation of flavanols and metabolites during sample preparation” commented Dr. J. Spencer, Lecturer in Molecular Nutrition at the University of Reading and FLAVIOLA research partner.