Meet the VEG-i-TEC researcher: Kyriaki Tsirtsidou

Application of pectin-chitosan-strawberry #hydrogels in a milk-tea product for the development of a novel #tea drink with potential health benefits !

Strawberries contain a significant amount of valuable compounds with potential health benefits. However, these compounds are extremely sensitive and degrade fast when exposed to heat, light, oxygen and pH changes. This instability presents a challenge for their direct incorporation into food products, as they may lose their activity before or during consumption, resulting in reduced bioaccessibility and effectiveness.

Kyriaki’s PhD research focuses on the encapsulation of these unstable compounds in pectin-chitosan hydrogels – to improve their stability – and their further application in a tea drink aiming to develop a novel tea product with enhanced bioactivities. The findings of this study are promising, showing that the composition of the milk-tea product enhanced the release of valuable compounds from the pectin-chitosan-strawberry gels under conditions simulating the intestinal phase during digestion.

Her research is conducted under the supervision of Prof. Dr. ir. Katleen Raes (VEG-i-TEC (UGent)) and Dr. Johan Robbens (Cell Blue Biotech & Food Integrity (ILVO)), within the #BlueCC project, financially supported by the BlueBio Cofund.