YAMAMOTO Laboratory

Affiliation：Faculty of Bioresource Sciences / Department of Development of Local Resources
Position：Associate Professor
Degree：Ph.D. (Fisheries science)

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Oxidation/anti-oxidation of lipids, enzymatic modification of lipids, and physiological functions of lipids

Oxidation/anti-oxidation of lipids：
It is well known that oils and fats containing polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as fish oil, are nutritionally attractive. However, they are very susceptive to oxidation, making their application poor. In this theme, we will research ways to suppress oxidation of oils and fats.

Enzymatic modification of lipids：
Enzymes are useful tool which can carry out complex reaction in simple and mild conditions. In this theme, we will use lipid-related enzymes, especially lipase and phospholipase, to prepare/synthesize rare or novel compounds with physiological functions.

Physiological functions of lipids：
Many lipids’ physiological functions are not well understood. In this theme, we will research the physiological functions of lipids using cultured cells such as cancer cell lines and adipocytes.

We would like to try to produce gene-modified enzymes whose activity/stability/selectivity is improved by genetic engineering techniques.

We believe that there are many foods and food materials in the Chugoku region, centering on Hiroshima Prefecture, whose physiological functions are unclear or unknown.
We would like to conduct research in cooperation with the local community and society to discover the functionality of these foods and food materials whose physiological functionality is still unknown.

Investigation of physiological functions of local food ingredients, compositional investigation for quality control of prefectural specialty food ingredients, etc.