The team investigates the nutritional, biochemical, and sensory properties of foods, assessing how raw materials, processing technologies, and culinary practices affect quality, stability, and consumer perception. Advanced analytical methodologies, data-driven tools, and sensory science are combined to support the development of high-quality, nutritionally relevant, and consumer-accepted foods.

• Characterisation and preservation of nutritional quality and bioactive compounds in both plant and animal-based foods. Plant-focused studies demonstrated that preharvest lighting regimes and UV-C treatments exert cultivar specific and hormetic effects on growth, phenolic composition, and colour of microgreens, while comprehensive nutraceutical profiling of apricot fruits supported varietal differentiation and health-oriented valorisation.
• The impact of food processing technologies was extensively investigated, with a strong emphasis on pressure-based technologies. High-pressure and hyperbaric treatments were shown to modulate lipid and protein oxidation, improve microbiological stability, and preserve nutritional and sensory attributes in dairy cream, fresh cheeses, egg yolk, and other perishable matrices. Culinary processing studies further demonstrated how cooking alters lipid composition and fatty acid profiles in seafood, with direct implications for dietary quality.
• High-value lipid-rich foods received particular attention, notably olive oils from centenarian olive trees, where interannual climate variability was shown to influence compositional quality and compliance with nutritional and health claims, reinforcing the link between authenticity, regulation, and consumer trust.
• Methodological innovation underpinned this topic through the development of eco-friendly and non-destructive analytical tools, including digital image processing and machine learning, enabling rapid assessment of sugars, minerals, colour, and classification of brown sugar and related products.
• Complementing compositional analysis, the team advances knowledge on sensory quality, preference drivers, and consumer behaviour. Integrated chemical, microbial, sensory, and consumer studies were applied to fermented and innovative beverages, including coffee leaf teas, cascara and coffee leaf kombuchas, and wood-aged or fruit-enriched beers. These works demonstrated how formulation, fermentation, ageing, and processing scale shape aroma complexity, sensory identity, and consumer liking.
• The application of dynamic sensory methodologies, such as Temporal Dominance of Sensations combined with dynamic liking and wanting, provided refined insights into consumer differentiation and preference patterns, supporting sustainable product diversification.

Ensuring food authenticity and labeling compliance is a core research focus. The team has achieved important advances on the development and validation of DNA-based authentication tools, particularly real-time PCR, High Resolution Melting (HRM) analysis and digital PCR, applicable to complex and processed matrices.

• DNA-based authentication methods have been successfully tailored to complex and processed food matrices of animal, plant, and apicultural origin.
• Validated quantitative real-time PCR assays enabled sensitive detection of red deer and roe deer meat adulteration in gourmet foods, supporting official control laboratories and regulatory enforcement.
• Botanical authentication of herbal products and food supplements was strengthened through molecular identification of Ginkgo biloba, Bacopa monnieri and Centella asiatica, highlighting the influence of matrix complexity on real-time PCR performance.
• HRM analysis targeting polymorphic regions has been exploited for variety/cultivar discrimination, particularly in the case of Carnaroli rice from other Italian rice varieties.
• Botanical authentication of incense honey from the Azores (Mel dos Açores) was achieved by a novel real-time PCR method, protecting geographical indications and high-value traditional foods.

The team combines protein chemistry, molecular biology, biosensing technologies, and in silico tools to improve allergen risk management. The team also focuses on evaluating the effects of food processing and in vitro digestibility on protein allergenicity with the ultimate goal of advancing allergen mitigation strategies to ensure safer foods for allergic consumers.

• A nanoplate digital PCR method was developed for trace-level detection of allergenic ingredients, notably sesame, surpassing the sensitivity of conventional PCR approaches. Comparative gene marker studies further enabled accurate detection and quantification of white and black sesame in processed foods.
• Biosensing approaches based on natural and artificial antibodies were advanced to trace soybean allergens at levels able to protect 99% of the allergic population.
• Allergen mitigation strategies demonstrated that controlled enzymatic hydrolysis of sesame proteins significantly reduces IgE-binding capacity while preserving technological functionality.
• Combined digestion models with immunochemical and proteomic tools were effective in evaluating the allergenic potential of processed legumes (red lentil), thereby guiding the development of safer, hypoallergenic food ingredients.
• Allergen characterisation was extended to novel food sources, particularly edible insects, integrating allergen risk assessment with functional bioactive peptide discovery, thereby addressing both safety challenges and innovation opportunities.

Our research aims to understand the occurrence, fate, bioaccessibility, exposure, toxicity, and mitigation of chemical contaminants throughout the food chain, integrating food safety with environmental health within a One Health perspective. We investigate contaminants originating from agricultural practices, food processing, packaging materials, and environmental pollution, evaluating their transfer through food systems and their potential impacts on human health.

• The group combines advanced analytical chemistry, including state-of-the-art chromatographic and mass spectrometry techniques, with innovative sample preparation strategies, in vitro gastrointestinal digestion models, cellular assays, and exposure assessment to generate robust evidence on contaminant behaviour from farm to consumer. Particular emphasis is placed on contaminant occurrence, bioaccessibility, bioavailability, toxicological interactions, mixture effects, and realistic dietary exposure scenarios.
• Our research encompasses a wide range of contaminants, including mycotoxins, pesticides, processing-induced contaminants, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, plastic-related contaminants, pharmaceuticals, persistent organic pollutants, and other emerging contaminants. Recent work also focuses on microplastics and their interactions with co-occurring chemical contaminants, as well as the influence of climate change on food contamination and safety.
• In parallel, the group develops sustainable analytical methodologies based on Green Analytical Chemistry principles, including deep eutectic solvent-based extraction approaches and miniaturized sample preparation techniques, contributing to more environmentally friendly contaminant monitoring.
• By integrating analytical chemistry, toxicology, food science, environmental sciences, and risk assessment, our research provides scientific evidence to support food safety policies, regulatory decision-making, and the development of effective strategies to reduce human exposure to chemical contaminants while promoting sustainable and resilient food systems.

The team investigates the bioaccessibility, intestinal absorption, cellular uptake, and physiological effects of nutrients, phytochemicals, and peptides, as well as the toxicological assessment of food chemical contaminants, using advanced in vitro digestion models and human cell-based systems.

• Significant contributions include studies on mycotoxins, tropane alkaloids, microplastics in the framework of realistic exposure scenarios, including complex and realistic mixtures and dietary pattern comparisons.
• Research demonstrated how growth conditions, processing, and food matrix composition influence the bioaccessibility and metabolism of food compounds, with particular relevance for vulnerable populations.
• Notable achievements include the identification of bioactive peptides released during digestion of insect proteins, showing antihypertensive potential, and detailed assessments of mineral bioaccessibility and lipid digestion, supporting functional food design and nutritional optimization.
• The team presently focuses on investigating the links between food contaminants and neurodegenerative diseases using advanced methodologies. By combining data science and complex in vitro models, research aims the prioritization of potentially neurotoxic contaminants and the development of innovative approaches for food safety and risk assessment, contributing to healthier and safer food systems.

Computational approaches are strategically integrated to accelerate functional ingredient discovery. In silico digestion, peptide profiling, and molecular docking workflows were developed to screen bioactive peptides, targeting molecular pathways involved in hypertension, diabetes, and fibrosis.

• New approaches were implemented to provide mechanistic insights and prioritize candidates, particularly from edible insects, for experimental validation, supporting sustainable, targeted functional food innovation.

This research topic focuses on molecular and cellular mechanisms perturbed in non-communicable diseases, aiming to identify therapeutic targets, biomarkers, and mechanistic pathways relevant for disease prevention and management. Two major disease axes are addressed: Diabetes and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and Fetal Programming of Cardiometabolic Diseases and Hypertension.

a) Novel Therapeutic Strategies and Drug Repurposing Preclinical pharmacodynamic studies identified several promising bioactive compounds:

Peptide-based products derived from brewery by-products demonstrated vasodilatory properties, supporting their potential to reduce cardiovascular risk.

Multiple classes of anticancer agents were identified, including metal-associated biogenic amines, polyphenols from plants and fruits, and isoxazole derivatives, showing selective antitumor activity in aggressive and drug-resistant cancer models.

Pharmacokinetic characterization of palladium–polyamine complexes supported their potential as future anticancer agents.

Oral pharmacokinetics of bioactive peptides were investigated, addressing first-pass metabolism and enterohepatic cycling, with the aim of improving bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy.

A major achievement was the identification of extracellular biomarkers associated with drug resistance in triple-negative breast cancer, providing new avenues for treatment stratification and monitoring.

b) Resistance-Associated Diseases: Innovative Therapeutic Strategies Addressing drug resistance and disease refractoriness is a key priority:

In cancer, selective antitumor activity of novel metal-based compounds was demonstrated in triple-negative breast cancer models resistant to platinum-derived drugs.

In diabetes, mechanistic studies revealed that disease progression enhances RAS activation, increasing AngII levels and driving gastrointestinal remodeling. These findings supported the submission of an international patent for the prevention and treatment of diabetes-associated gastrointestinal complications through drug repurposing.

Combination therapeutic strategies are being explored, integrating polyamine–metal agents, endogenous nucleosides (e.g. adenosine), and plant-derived polyphenols to enhance efficacy and overcome resistance.

Extending beyond human health, an innovative line of research identified resistance profiles to nematode infection in Arabidopsis thaliana, Zea mays, and Pinus pinaster. These findings open the door to sustainable phytopharmaceutical strategies aimed at improving crop and forest resilience through the use of naturally resistant species.