The endeavour is being backed by the High-Value Nutrition National Science Challenge, whose chief scientist, Professor Martin Kussmann, said, “We’re bringing together the best researchers in the country to work on some very innovative science.”
Professor Sally Poppitt, a member of the challenge’s science leadership team and director of the University of Auckland’s Human Nutrition Unit, is assessing the TOFI (thin outside, fat inside) profiles of 400 Caucasian and Chinese adults.
Diabetic opportunities
So far, the research has pinpointed markers that may indicate type 2 diabetes, and could give rise to opportunities within New Zealand’s food and nutrition industry.
Working with exporters to Asia, the research team has taken note of certain ingredients with potential in this area, such as plant-origin complex carbohydrates, dairy-based proteins, and phytochemical flavonoids.
Should the aforementioned food elements prove successful in lowering diabetes risk, experts say the country could see itself exporting a new class of high-value foods to Asia.
Home to about 300 million type 2 diabetes patients, the region is driving global diabetes market growth to its predicted $45bn worth by 2020.
Industry boost from immunity
Another science leadership team member, Dr Olivier Gasser, is leading a group of researchers from the Malaghan Institute, AgResearch and Plant and Food in exploring the relationship between food and the immune system.
They aim to comprehend how food from New Zealand can aid the microbiome in improving vaccination; alleviate respiratory illness caused by air pollution; and fully understand the lung’s immune response to diesel and urban dust.
A clear link between food and the efficacy of the flu vaccine, or between food and protective properties when polluted air is inhaled, could spell additional opportunities in the country’s food and nutrition industry.