Bioglane, a spin-off company from the CSIC, has developed several original biotechnological processes for the competitive production of novel iminosugars, particularly fagomine, which will open up an array of possibilities for the design and formulation of new tasty functional foods. The CSIC and Bioglane team From left to right, standing: P. Clapés, S. Pumarola, J. Joglar, E. Galán, L. Gomez, JL. Torres. Front: S. Amezqueta, S. Barrachina, C. Lozano an D. Soria. The iminosugar fagomine is a natural analogue of glucose found, in very small quantities, in the seeds of buckwheat.
Fagomine slows down the absorption of glucose from starchy food (grains, potatoes or pasta) and refined sugars, which in turn delays the onset of hunger. Josep Lluis Torres, a researcher at the CSIC and Bioglane cofounder, explains that "when we eat foods rich in refined sugar, there is a rapid increase in blood glucose, which is quickly metabolized, and soon after the blood glucose dramatically decreases". It is with this decrease that "we feel hunger, as craving for sugar appears as a bouncing natural mechanism of the metabolism", explains the researcher. The iminosugar fagomine prevents these high and low glucose peaks that trigger the rapid onset of hunger.