Nutritional Biology

Recommended Prerequisites

Students must have knowledge of biochemistry and biology.

Teaching Methods

The uc is designed to be taught as theoretical and theoretical-practical classes, in which syllabus will be presented (expository method), followed by the case problems that allow to exlpore the theoretical concepts. The uc will also have a seminar aiming to show the Nutrition Biology research developed at FMUC.

Learning Outcomes

This curricular unit (uc) aims to provide students with knowledge about the influence of nutrients on biological mechanisms relevant to health status, their impact on the disease’s development and their treatment. Students will learn the consequences of genetic variability on dietary response (nutrigenetics), exploring the genotype impact on metabolic pathways (for example in absorption, digestion, transport, metabolism and/or elimination) and on diseases development. Students will also learn about the influence of nutrition on gene expression (nutrigenomics and nutriepigenetics) and intestinal microbiota, as well as the role of bioactive nutrients in disease prevention and treatment, in particular chronic diseases, emphasizing the relevance of personalized nutrition

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. General principles of nutrition biology - Micronutrients, macronutrients and phytonutrients

2. The influence of nutrition in the genotype-phenotype relationship

3. The cross-talk nutrients-genotype - Nutrigenetic

4. The influence of nutrients on gene expression - Nutrigenomics

5. The influence of nutrition on epigenetics - Nutriepigenomic

6. The microbiota-nutrition interaction

7. Influence of nutrients on biological mechanisms:

    - cell cycle

    - cell differentiation and proliferation

    - apoptosis

    - inflammation

    - metabolism

    - DNA repair

8. The influence of nutrition on disease development:

    - cancer

    - degenerative diseases

    - metabolic diseases

    - autoimmune diseases

9. Nutrients as bioactive compounds

    - role in disease prevention

    - role in disease treatment

    - interactions with treatments

10. Personalized nutrition

Head Lecturer(s)

Ana Cristina Pereira Gonçalves

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Mini Tests: 50.0%
Exam: 50.0%

Bibliography

Artigos científicos selecionados e versões PDF de apresentações em powerpoint.

Selected papers from scientific journals and PDF versions of powerpoint presentations.

 

De Caterina, R., Martínez, J. and Kohlmeier, M. (2020). Principles of nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics. Fundamentals of Individualized Nutrition. 1st ed. London: Academic Press an imprint of Elsevier.