Five projects awarded in NWO-CCC partnership program focusing on beneficial effects of carbohydrates

12 December 2017

The five awarded projects will investigate the beneficial effects of carbohydrates on microorganisms in the gastro-intestinal tract. The results are expected to aid in the reduction of antibiotics use in humans and farm animals. A total of 2.5 million Euros is invested in these projects, including contributions of TKI Agri&Food, Avebe, FrieslandCampina and NutritionSciences.

The NWO-CCC Partnership Program is part of a partnership between NWO and the Carbohydrate Competence Centre (CCC). The first call of this partnership was launched in 2015. The five projects are part of the second call (2017), entitled ‘CarboBiotics: Pre/Probiotics Mitigating the Antibiotics Burden.’

Call CarboBiotics

This call emphasizes the beneficial effects of carbohydrates. Research should focus on the effects of antibiotics, prebiotics and probiotics on the stability and resilience of microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and/or farm animals (poultry, pigs, cattle). Knowledge on the interactions between microbiota and the host will be obtained in order to be able to unravel the beneficial, and also negative, effects on human and animal health. This will, hopefully, lead to a better understanding of the working mechanisms of available prebiotic carbohydrates, and to the identification and development of new pre- and probiotics.

For more information on the NWO-CCC partnership program and the awarded projects, please visit the website.