Canberra, Australia
July 25, 2007
A $A12.7 million research alliance
that plans to develop new grain varieties with tailored fibre
content will be launched tomorrow at
CSIRO’s Discovery Centre in
Canberra.
The High Fibre Grains Research
Cluster will combine the skills and resources of
The University of Queensland,
The University of Adelaide,
The University of Melbourne
and CSIRO, through the Food
Futures National Research Flagship, to develop wheats with
improved health benefits and heightened value for the grains
industry.
“Fibre is more than just bran,” says Cluster leader Professor
Mike Gidley from The University of Queensland’s Centre for
Nutrition and Food Science. “The fibre component of whole grains
forms an important part of a healthy diet.
“Currently, wheat has less fibre than barley or oats. The
Cluster is aiming to change that by developing wheats with
higher levels of health-promoting fibre.
“The knowledge gained will have direct applications in grains
and across a wide range of consumer food products. These could
include breakfast cereals, bakery products, health bars, pasta
and ready to eat meals,”
Dr Lee says.“Dietary fibre contains a range of plant compounds
and cellular structures that resist digestion and have the
potential to lower plasma cholesterol and glycaemic index, as
well as to promote regularity and improve bowel health.
“Fibre can also ferment in the bowel to produce compounds that
may help us resist cancers and chronic diseases. Improving the
fibre qualities of grains could have major benefits for
consumers at the population level,” Professor Gidley says.
The Cluster will focus on the biggest source of fibre in grains
- non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) of the plant cell wall.
“NSP are the building blocks that make up the structural
elements of plant cell walls,” says the Director of the Food
Futures Flagship Dr Bruce Lee.
“The Cluster will focus on understanding the functions of NSP,
what controls their synthesis and improving our ability to
manipulate their levels and composition in grains.
“The knowledge gained will have direct applications in grains
and across a wide range of consumer food products. These could
include breakfast cereals, bakery products, health bars, pasta
and ready to eat meals,” Dr Lee says.
The Cluster will invest more than $A12.7 million in the
collaboration over three years, with the university partners
receiving more than $A3.6 million directly from the Flagship
Collaboration Fund. The Fund enables the skills of the wider
Australian research community to be applied to the major
national challenges targeted by CSIRO's Flagship initiative. |
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