Carbohydrate analysis and the dark matter of food - from fundamental discoveries to start-up companies

Bioactive carbohydrates play many roles in human health. Short oligosaccharide chains are found as glycans, conjugated polypeptides and lipids, and as free compounds in human milk. Polysaccharides are major components of most diets. Researchers at the University of California at Davis have developed analytical methods that measure the vast array of carbohydrate structures. These methods have discovered new roles for carbohydrates in diet, nutrition and in health. The discoveries have been translated to companies that have developed products including probiotics for at risk infants, biomarkers for early diagnosis of diseases, and new prebiotics for modulating the gut microbiome.

Key learning objectives

• Understanding how omics revolution changes the way we see food
• Discovering the analytical tools used for determining monosaccharide compositions
• Learning about novel methods to determine polysaccharide composition of various foods

Who should attend?

• Scientists interested in characterizing mono- and poly-saccharides composition of foods.
• Everyone interested in learning about the breakthroughs in the way we see food driven by the scientific revolution and analytical method development.