Ibec Seminar. Ezequiel Coscueta
Bioactives Beyond Screening: From Molecular Potential to Local Gut Function
Bioactive molecules are often selected through simplified screening assays, where antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory or cytotoxic responses provide an initial indication of biological potential. However, in the gastrointestinal context, this potential can be profoundly reshaped by digestion, solubility, mucus, microbiota metabolism, epithelial interactions and the local biochemical conditions of health or disease. Moving beyond screening therefore requires asking not only whether a molecule is active, but whether it can remain accessible, transform into relevant metabolites, interact with biological barriers and produce function where it is needed.
This talk will discuss how bioactives from complex biological matrices can be studied across this transition from molecular potential to gut-relevant function. Drawing on examples involving peptide-rich fractions, peptidomics, phenethyl isothiocyanate, gastrointestinal simulation, microbiota-oriented assays and delivery systems, the talk will reflect on the experimental challenges of assigning biological meaning to bioactive molecules intended for local action in the gut.
The broader aim is to present a nutraceutical and molecular biotechnology perspective that connects naturally with current questions in gastrointestinal health, local delivery and human-relevant models. In this context, emerging biopolymeric and biocatalytic micro/nanosystems will be introduced as part of an ongoing effort to design bioactive-based strategies that respond more closely to the inflammatory gastrointestinal microenvironment.
Ezequiel Coscueta is an Assistant Researcher at the Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina (CBQF) and an Invited Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Biotechnology, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Porto, Portugal. He is currently undertaking a three-month research mobility at IBEC as a Visiting Researcher in the Smart Nano-Bio-Devices Group, through an ongoing collaboration with the group leader, Samuel Sánchez Ordóñez. He holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina, and a BSc in Biotechnology from Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Argentina. His research combines molecular and analytical biotechnology, peptidomics, bioactive characterisation, gastrointestinal digestion and colon fermentation models, microbiota-oriented assays, and bio-based delivery systems.
His scientific trajectory has evolved from bioprocessing and the study of complex biological matrices toward a broader interest in how bioactive molecules can become functionally relevant within the gastrointestinal environment. Rather than focusing only on simplified bioactivity screening, his work addresses how digestion, bioaccessibility, microbial transformation, biological barriers and local inflammatory conditions influence the functional potential of bioactives.
He is Principal Investigator of gBiOT, a project funded by FCT, the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal’s national public agency for science, technology and innovation. He was also Co-Principal Investigator of GastroCure, an ERDF-supported project, funded through the European Regional Development Fund, focused on bioactives for gastrointestinal inflammatory disorders. His current research explores bioactive-based strategies, biopolymeric systems and biocatalytic micro/nanosystems designed for local action in inflammatory gastrointestinal microenvironments. In parallel, he is working on bioactive peptides as modulators of the gut-skin axis, with a particular focus on psoriasis, expanding his research from local gastrointestinal function toward systemic inflammatory communication. Together, these lines create natural points of contact with human-relevant models, biological barriers, local delivery and nanomedicine-oriented research.
