This $649,996 Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program will fund research into the impact of carotenoids on obesity-associated gut dysfunction and gut microbiota. North Carolina State University will investigate the molecular mechanisms by which major dietary carotenoids affect inflammatory transcription factors and gut barrier integrity in colonic epithelial cells. They will also determine the effects of carotenoids on obesity-associated gut dysfunction in a diet-induced obesity animal model and characterize diet-induced changes in the gut microbiota resulting from a carotenoid-rich diet using systems biology approaches. Under a $24,996 subaward, The Ohio State University will perform carotenoid metabolite extraction and quantitative analysis of fecal extracts using UHPLC-MS/MS to support the animal study aims. The research aims to increase demand for carotenoid-rich plants and translate findings to commercial applications of such plants.
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