Biochemistry

The educational objective of the course is to provide students the basic knowledge required to understand at a molecular level the properties of biological materials, in terms of structure, interactions among components, and the transformations occurring in mteabolism. The course will provide students the basic knowledge required to understand at a molecular level the properties of biological materials, in terms of structure, interactions among components, and the transformations occurring in mteabolism. Moreover, the course will provide students the basic knowledge on how individual food components - with a particular focus on macromolecules - relate to the quality and safety of foods, also with reference to the peculiar needs of specific consumers.

At the end of the course the student will understand the main features of biological components in terms of their structure and of their role in metabolism. The students will be able to define the main aspects of the metabolism, its regulation, also in terms of their relevance to human nutrition. At the end of the course the student will have acquired a general understanding of the molecular issues and of the molecular interactions that are relevant to quality and safety issues in foods.