Pinent Armengol, Montserrat

Pinent Armengol, Montserrat  

She is Associate Professor of the URV. Graduated in biochemistry (1996-2000) and doctor by the URV (2000-2005), both titles with extraordinary prize of end of studies of this university. She performed two stages abroad, in the Rowett Research Institute, Scotland and a postdoctoral stay of 2 years (2005-2007) at Graz University of Technology, Austria. Since 2000, her research has focused on the study of the bioactivity of proanthocyanidins. Its role in adipose tissue has been described first, where it exerts insulinomimetic effect. Subsequently, describing the effects of proanthocyanidins on the modulation level of the hormone secretion, modulation of apoptosis and proliferation in this tissue, and antilipogenic effects on the pancreas. The last line of work focuses on the interaction of proanthocyanidins on the enteroendocrine system, mainly in relation to glucose homeostasis. An interaction of proanthocyanidins with the enteroendocrine system on the production of incretin GLP-1 has been shown to inhibit the enzyme responsible for its deactivation; both in healthy animals and in animals with pathology. It has also been shown that such interaction with the enteroendocrine system promotes satiety, being therefore of high interest for the production of functional feed. All the work has been published in more than 50 indexed research articles, reviews, book chapters and patents. She has supervised 5 international doctoral thesis.

Project: Ecnomotopic bitter taste receptors as targets for better health in the obesity or the ageing (reference: 2020MFP-COFUND-2)