Project

Developing Deeper Insights into Nutrition Through Analytical Chemistry

Daniele Naviglio

DOI: 10.26303/cstb-wq77

What is it about?

Proper nutrition is essential to the functioning of the human body. No one knows this better than Dr. Daniele Naviglio, Professor of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Naples Federico II, who has dedicated his research career to improving and supplementing nutrition.

Dr. Naviglio is known for pioneering the Extractor Naviglio®, an innovative solid-liquid extractor that can retrieve precious phytonutrients from heat-sensitive plants such as chamomile, calendula, peppermint and tea. Besides cutting-edge engineering innovations, Dr. Naviglio has also focused on chemical synthesis and technique design. For example, he was able to synthesize, study, and successfully characterize iron (II) citrate—an important supplemental source of iron.

In another aspect of his long and storied career, Dr. Naviglio and his research team used advanced analytical chemistry methods to determine that the total free cholesterol in Italian chicken eggs is between 120–193 mg, which is considerably lower than the previously reported value of 213 mg/egg.

Dr. Naviglio’s dedication to a multidisciplinary approach to improving nutrition has made him a trailblazer in the field.

Why is it important?

Dr. Naviglio’s multi-pronged approach is indeed remarkable. It is a well-known fact that excess heat can decrease the nutritional content of plant extracts. However, Dr. Naviglio’s novel solid-liquid extraction method does the opposite: this room temperature method extracts phytochemicals using minimal heat, thereby preserving their nutritional quality. Moreover, his work on the synthesis of iron (II) citrate has major implications, considering the fact that iron (II) citrate is absorbed more efficiently than its commercially available counterpart—iron (III) citrate. Similarly, his work on the determination of total free cholesterol in Italian chicken eggs can help revise the dietary recommendations for eggs.

Perspectives

Chemistry and nutrition have been merged into a single science known as NutrÅmica. In this way, Chemistry can guarantee the goodness of foods through the study of the nutritional label so that Nutrition experts can better manage the diets to be administered to patients.

Prof. Daniele Naviglio

University of Naples Federico II

Audience briefings1 total

Press briefing

Dr. Daniele Naviglio—Facilitating the Study of Nutrition through Analytical Chemistry

24th January 2022, Naples, Italy – with globally increasing work hours and workloads, people are constantly striving to be healthier. At the very core of this dream is proper nutrition. But how do we eat and eat effectively? These are some of the questions Dr. Daniele Naviglio, Professor of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Naples Federico II has spent his life exploring.

Dr. Naviglio is perhaps best known for his invention of the Extractor Naviglio®. Extracting nutrients from plants comes with a major drawback—a rapid decrease in nutritional value due to the application of heat in the extraction process. Using a novel extraction technique, Dr. Naviglio was able to scientifically demonstrate the successful extraction of phytonutrients from plants such as camomile, calendula, peppermint, and tea, without the use of heat.

Dr. Naviglio has not only undertaken cutting-edge engineering innovations but has also focused another key scientific areas: chemical synthesis. Quite recently, he was able to successfully synthesize iron (II) citrate. Iron (II) citrate is absorbed more efficiently than the commercially available iron (III) citrate. The synthesis of this compound is particularly important because it serves as a high-quality nutritional supplement for iron.

Dr. Naviglio has also been a pioneer in the field of nutritional regulations. Using advanced analytical chemistry methods, Dr. Naviglio and his research team estimated the amounts of total free cholesterol in Italian chicken eggs. Their findings showed that the total free cholesterol in these eggs is between 120–193 mg/egg as compared to the previously reported value of 213 mg/egg. This work could potentially revamp the dietary recommendations for chicken eggs.

Over the course of his 25-year career, Dr. Naviglio made priceless contributions to the field of analytical chemistry and has paved the way for further research in nutrition and dietetics, with special emphasis on analysis, synthesis, and scientific technique.

Resources4 total

Who is involved?