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Romania
Citizenship:
Ph.D. degree award:
2016
Laura Mihaela
Stefan
PhD
Researcher
-
INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE DEZVOLTARE PENTRU STIINTE BIOLOGICE
Researcher
Personal public profile link.
Curriculum Vitae (07/03/2024)
Expertise & keywords
Cellular and molecular biology
Cell culture techniques
in vitro biocompatibility testing
Projects
Publications & Patents
Entrepreneurship
Reviewer section
Technology for protective biofortification with selenium of cruciferous crops for production of functional food with a constant and sure content of chemopreventives compounds.
Call name:
Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA 2013 - call
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-0267
2014
-
2017
Role in this project:
Coordinating institution:
INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE DEZVOLTARE PENTRU STIINTE BIOLOGICE
Project partners:
INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE DEZVOLTARE PENTRU STIINTE BIOLOGICE (RO); TESO SPEC SRL (RO); ECO FRUCT SRL (RO); UNIVERSITATEA "SPIRU HARET" (RO)
Affiliation:
INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE DEZVOLTARE PENTRU STIINTE BIOLOGICE (RO)
Project website:
http://www.incdsb.ro/p/Safesel/index.html
Abstract:
Selenium (Se) is an important element for human and animal nutrition because of its function in a number of physiological processes. Cultivation of the selenium biofortified plants can be an effective way of producing functional foods, which determine benefits to human health.
The project aims to develop a biotechnology of obtaining safe functional food, with an optimal content of chemopreventive compounds, by selenium protective biofortification of cruciferous crops. Biofortification of the food chain through treatments applied to plants (agronomic biofortification) have the advantage of a supplementation with controlled levels of seleno-compounds with a high bioavailability, widely available to different categories of people exposed to risks of chronic diseases. Selenium, (although it is not recognized as an essential trace element for plants) stimulates their growth and plays a role in protecting plants from phytopathogenic agents, oxidative stress and hydro-stress. Treatment of plants with selenium also has an effect of improving the resistance of plants to drought, in which water stress is combined with the oxidative one.
The originality of the project is resulting from the integrated approach, which focus on both safe and effective supplementation with selenium of the food chain, and cruciferous plants protection against abiotic stress (lack of water, high temperature, excessive solar radiation) and biotic stress (pests and diseases).
The project proposes the development and application of some products as new inputs in the selenium protective biofortification of cruciferous plants, by which to re-balance the sulfur metabolism, maintaining the formation of the optimal level of chemopreventive selenocompounds.
The project objectives are: development of new means of technological intervention (spraying adjuvants, products with controlled release of betaine, nitric oxide inductors in plant tissues), testing and identifying the best solutions for the integration of new technological means of intervention in cruciferous crop technology, proving the character of safe functional food.
The main activities foreseen to be achieved in the project are: obtaining and testing of spraying adjuvants and betaine-based products, obtaining and testing inducers of nitric oxide in plant tissues; simultaneous application of new inputs and treatments with selenium; integrating new technologies of biofortification with sustainable cruciferous cultivation practices; development and validation of 3R tests to prove the functional food character; results dissemination and exploitation.
The end products of the project are: (i) a technology for biofortification of cruciferous crops, which includes new innovative products / agricultural inputs, intended to maximize the protective effects of selenium and accumulation of chemopreventive selenocompounds constant levels, and methods of their application; (ii) selenium biofortified functional foods, affordable, with reproducible biological effects and maximum safety for human health.
The expected result following the practical implementation of this project is a safe, effective and affordable way of food chain selenium supplementation.
The project is proposed to be achieved within an interdisciplinary consortium including partners with complementary and synergistic role: a national research and development institute (NIRDBS), an university (USH), and two SMEs (Teso Spec and Ecofruct). Partners representing all disciplines have the necessary infrastructure for the development of biofortification protective technologies with selenium of cruciferous crops and for characterization of the resulted vegetable products as safe and efficient functional foods.
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MULTIFUNCTIONAL AND INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS FOR SAFE AND BIOENHANCED FUNCTIONAL FOOD FROM NEWLY CULTIVATED PLANTS IN ROMANIA
Call name:
Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA 2013 - call
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-0995
2014
-
2017
Role in this project:
Coordinating institution:
Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Chimie si Petrochimie - ICECHIM Bucuresti
Project partners:
Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Chimie si Petrochimie - ICECHIM Bucuresti (RO); INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE DEZVOLTARE PENTRU STIINTE BIOLOGICE (RO); HOFIGAL EXPORT IMPORT SA (RO); CHEMI CERAMIC F SRL (RO)
Affiliation:
INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE DEZVOLTARE PENTRU STIINTE BIOLOGICE (RO)
Project website:
http://produse.multifunctionale.icechim.ro
Abstract:
Thematic area of the project proposal is in the field of functional foods destinated to maintain human health in concordance with research theme 5.1.6. Functional foods to maintain human health and prevent diseases, Domain 5. Agriculture, food safety and security.
The general project objective is to develop multifunctional and innovative products for protection of nutraceutical plants newly introduced in Romania (Momordica charantia and Passiflora incarnata) and to stimulate concomitantly formation of biologically-active compounds in these plants, at stable levels and with reproducible biological effects. The specific innovative project objectives are: 1. development of multifunctional for treatments of soil and in vegetation, based on: (a) consortia of Trichoderma strains; (b) porous ceramics with high bioavailability of silica; (c) essential oils included in mesoporous silica; 2. Testing products, developing methods of application and integrating them with the sustainable cultural technology of nutraceutical plants; 3. characterization of functional foods through in vitro alternative tests on human cell cultures and highlighting the biological role of silica forms accumulated in treated plants in animal cells; 4. results exploitation by protection of intellectual innovative solutions after techno-economical analysis and opportunities of results exploitation.
Products based on consortia of Trichoderma strains and essential oils have multiple actions as: plant protection agents towards biotic stresses (phytopathogens, pests), elicitors of plant defence response, limiting agents for the negative effects of ethylene on roots and growth promotor of plant nutrition, mainly with nitrogen.
Porous ceramics containing silicaxerogel, applied as soil treatment, work as a matrix for controlled release of nutrients with high bioavailability and have role to compensate losses of plant metabolic energy due to the synthesis of secondary metabolites and to supply orthosilicates with high bioavailability.
Silicon with high bioavailability supplies also mesoporous silica as a carrying for controlled release of essential oils. The silicon’s role as an important element for plants is to activate and balance - concomitantly and non-antagonistically – the different ways of plant defence system and of stress hormones biosynthesis (salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene/abscisic acid) in plant pathosystems.
This project proposes for the first time to study interaction of silicon, Trichoderma and essential oils treatments, protection agents with multiple roles, which activates simultaneously plant defence response. It is the first proposal aiming the development of some products with applicability directly into practice, in which silicon is controlled released from supports, having concomitantly the functional role as a matrix, from which nutrients and volatile oils are smart-delivered, in this why pointing out the possibility of practical use of silicon in order to balance the main signalling pathways in plant defence response, integrated with elicitors for obtaining high productions with raised phytonutrients level.
The highlight of silicon’s role in animal and plant organisms (having into account the unity in diversity of the life world), the (meso)porous silica forms as a support for controlled release of some active ingredients and of bioavailable silicon, compatibility of the Trichoderma consortia with the other products for the directed activation of plant resistance, will be the coagulation axis of this trans-disciplinary approach, revealing - also - the existence of synergies between partners in the frame of MAIA Project.
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FILE DESCRIPTION
DOCUMENT
List of research grants as project coordinator or partner team leader
Significant R&D projects for enterprises, as project manager
R&D activities in enterprises
Peer-review activity for international programs/projects
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