10126312SPINLife: Sustainable Polyphenols for Improved Nutrition Across the LifespanClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKIntestinal hyperpermeability or leaky gut syndrome (LGS) is increasingly recognised as a problem linked to a wide range of physical and mental health conditions. LGS can lead to entry of harmful agents such as bacteria and toxins through the junctions of the intestinal epithelium, reaching the blood stream and affecting hormonal, immune, nervous and other systems. Hence, intestinal hyperpermeability/leaky gut is associated with intestinal dysbiosis and intestinal disease e.g. inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) but also with the development of chronic diseases such as diabetes, CVD and Alzheimer's. There is evidence emerging that polyphenol-rich diets have beneficial gut health effects, reducing the incidence and severity of IBD and improving LGS in the elderly, with emphasis on the prebiotic character of polyphenols to promote and support a healthy gut microbiome. The SPINlife project aims to develop phytochemical-rich food product solutions with the potency to benefit intestinal barrier function, gut inflammation and gut microbiota, with relevance to aging and metabolically challenged populations. The challenge is to cost-effectively and sustainably generate polyphenol-rich ingredients that can be incorporated into widely consumed food products, such that their beneficial effects are retained, whilst ensuring consumer acceptance and remaining affordable. To achieve this aim, the project will make use of readily available UK-sourced agri-food by-products (AFBPs). Diverting them from current disposal routes (incineration, landfill, anaerobic digestion, field spreading) will help circularise the economy and reduce the carbon footprint of derived products. AFBPs will be processed using techniques that can produce concentrated polyphenol-rich extracts suitable for addition to food. Processing methods such as fermentation in conjunction with drying and encapsulation of extracts to mask off-flavours will be evaluated as a means of producing a range of food ingredients with additional gut health benefits, longer shelf-life and consumer acceptance. The polyphenol-rich ingredients will be added to a range of widely consumed foods that include dairy products (for example yoghurt) and baked goods (for example bread and biscuits). The gut health benefits of these biofortified products will be evaluated using _in vitro_ human models while their consumer acceptance will be determined using sensory panels. Techno-economic analysis will ensure that cost-effective solutions are developed with the potential to benefit the wider community by preventing or slowing the occurrence of debilitating health conditions linked to poor gut health that affect more than 1-in-4 of the UK population.