Agrotecnio and IRBLleida have launched three new research projects thanks to the third joint call, Agrohealth 2026. This initiative, focused on Agriculture, Food, Nutrition, and Health, aims to foster collaborative projects integrating agro-food and biomedical research to enhance health and well-being.
Agrohealth, a pioneering initiative in Catalonia within the network of Research Centers of Catalonia (CERCA), combines the research capabilities of both centers. This joint effort aligns with the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), which emphasizes cooperation between the health and agricultural sectors to ensure coherent policies and a safe, nutritious food supply.
This year's call, the third after the 2024 and 2022 editions, has a total budget of €135,000, contributed by the centers themselves. The three newly selected projects will address the cultivation of luffa for brain protection, supplementation to improve milk quality and calf physiology, and the effect of endocrine disruptors on the microbiome and food chain.
The "Agroprotect" project investigates the agronomic optimization of luffa to produce extracts with neuroprotective properties, led by researchers Aritz Royo Esnal (Agrotecnio-UdL) and Xavier Gallart Palau (IRBLleida-UdL).
Another project, "Milk, microRNA, and hydroxitirosol supplementation in beef cattle", headed by Beatriz Serrano Pérez (Agrotecnio-UdL) and Marina Laplana Lafaja (IRBLleida-UdL), will study how the antioxidant hydroxitirosol can improve milk quality and animal health.
The third project, "From Soil to Plant and to the Gut", led by Giada Centenaro (Agrotecnio-UdL) and José Carlos Serrano Casasola (IRBLleida-UdL), will investigate how chronic exposure to endocrine disruptors can alter the microbiome along the food chain.
Each project is funded with €45,000 and has a duration of two years. The collaboration between a research group from Agrotecnio and one from IRBLleida in each initiative aims to create lasting synergies and serve as a foundation for future, more ambitious national or international calls.
