Allergenicity and Digestion of Faba bean-based food products

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INRAE presentation

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) is a major player in research and innovation. It is a community of 12,000 people with 272 research, experimental research, and support units located in 18 regional centres throughout France. Internationally, INRAE is among the top research organisations in the agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences, as well as in ecology and environmental science. It is the world’s leading research organisation specialising in agriculture, food and the environment. INRAE’s goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. Faced with a growing world population, climate change, resource scarcity, and declining biodiversity, the Institute has a major role to play in building solutions and supporting the necessary acceleration of agricultural, food and environmental transitions.

Work environment, missions and activities

You will be welcomed in two INRAE units UMR STLO (Rennes) and UR BIA (Nantes)

The INRAE Institut Agro Rennes-Angers joint research unit, Science and Technology of Milk and Eggs (UMR STLO) has solid experience in 4 scientific fields: Biochemistry, Processing, Microbiology and Nutrition. The UMR STLO explores the mechanisms and problems linked to the processing of milk, eggs and plant-based products, using multidisciplinary and multi-scale approaches, from the native molecules to their final functionality or digestibility. The Bioactivity & Nutrition team has extensive experience of static, semi-dynamic and dynamic in vitro digestion and has been at the forefront of harmonising in vitro digestion protocols worldwide (INFOGEST models). The Microbiology team is particularly interested in the molecular mechanisms behind the sanitary and probiotic quality of fermented foods.

The Biopolymers Interactions Assemblies (BIA) unit has focused its research project on the sustainable transformation of agricultural resources and plant biomass. In particular, it aims to address the issues of building healthy, high-quality food for specific populations, preserving the environment through the emergence of new protein sources, and improving food quality. It takes into account the link between food and health by understanding how food is broken down in the digestive tract and how food allergies occur. The BIA Allergy team has solid experience in assessing the potential allergenicity of new sources of food proteins, such as peas, rapeseed and hemp, and the impact of food processing on allergenicity. In addition, the team regularly uses immunochemistry methods, in vitro intestinal barrier methods and in vivo methods to assess the allergenic potential and prevention of food allergy.

You will be in charge of carrying out a thesis project aimed at clarifying the allergenic potential of faba beans and providing knowledge on the impact of fermentation on their digestion, immunoreactivity and allergenicity.

Faba beans are a promising source of plant protein, but they are currently under-exploited for food applications. Various obstacles to its consumption have been put forward, such as reduced protein digestion due to the presence of anti-nutritional factors, or the question of its potential allergenicity, following the example of the increased incidence of allergic reactions linked to peas. To date, the allergenic risk associated with faba beans remains uncertain. In this context, fermentation by lactic acid bacteria may be of interest for the production of safe products, for example through the hydrolysis of anti-nutritional compounds or bacterial-induced proteolysis likely to reduce the allergenicity of faba bean proteins.

The various stages of the project are to develop a fermented product using selected strains of lactic acid bacteria, to assess the allergenic potential of faba beans in vitro before assessing the impact of fermentation on the digestion and allergenicity of faba bean proteins, and then to test the ability of faba bean protein ingredients to sensitize and trigger a food allergy.

The methods used are varied, covering the different aspects of the programme:

- food microbiology (fermentation, enumeration)

- biochemistry (e.g. OPA assay, SDS-PAGE electrophoresis, peptidomics by mass spectrometry)

- in vitro digestion (INFOGEST protocol)

- immunochemistry (e.g. Western blot, ELISA, basophils)

- immunology (animal experiments)

The student will be supported by technical staff who are experts in their field.

This thesis project is funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) as part of the France 2030 programme, ‘Developing plant proteins and diversifying protein sources - Legume proteins’. It is part of the LETSPROSEED project (letsproseed.hub.inrae.fr).

The PhD student will spend approximately 9 months at STLO and the rest of the thesis at BIA.

As this project is an integral part of the LETSPROSEED project, the PhD student will take part in regular meetings and present the progress of his/her work to the project's various academic and private partners.

Training and skills

Recommended training: Initial training in biology (biology & health/microbiology/biochemistry)

Knowledge required: Background in immunology.

Appreciated experience: a qualification to work with animals would be appreciated

Skills sought: Candidates will need to prove highly organized and show ability to work on two different 

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from (depending on the type of contract and its duration):

- up to 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.

How to apply

I send my CV and my motivation letter