Professor Dr. Nils Helge Schebb

Food Chemistry

Functions

Spokesman of the Chemistry and Biology department

Chairman of the Examination Board Food Chemistry

Research

Our foods are highly complex chemical mixtures of a variety of different compounds. Through daily intake, they directly influence physiology. In our work, we are trying to fundamentally understand how food constituents can alter cellular signaling pathways and thus influence health.

The focus here is on a particular class of signaling molecules called lipid mediators. More specifically: eicosanoids and oxylipins, which are involved in the inflammatory processes regulation, among other things. We were able to show, for example, that essential omega-3 fatty acids directly influence the formation of oxylipins with a linear dose-response relationship, and that the formation of some of these signaling molecules is blocked by polyphenols (ingredients of vegetables and fruits).

With our world-leading quantitative analysis of oxylipins, we are part of an international research network that seeks to fully understand the physiological significance of oxylipins. The overarching goal of our work is to answer the questions "What is healthy eating and what is the best diet/diet for me?", especially concerning aging and chronic disease.

Publications

Dietary polyphenols inhibit the Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenase branch of the arachidonic acid cascade with remarkable structure-dependent selectivity and potency.
N. Kampschulte, A. Alasmer, M. Empl, M. Krohn, P. Steinberg, N. H. Schebb (2020)
Agric Food Chem, 68(34):9235-9244

Combined targeted proteomics and oxylipin metabolomics for monitoring of the COX-2 pathway.
N. M. Hartung, A. I. Ostermann, S. Immenschuh, N. H. Schebb (2020)
Proteomics, 21: 1900058.

Harmonized procedures lead to comparable quantification of total oxylipins across laboratories.
M. Mainka, C. Dalle, M. Pétéra, J. Dalloux-Chioccioli, N. Kampschulte, A. I. Ostermann, M. Rothe, J. Bertrand-Michel, J. W. Newman, C. Gladine, N. H. Schebb (2020)
J Lipid Res. 2020 Nov; 61(11):1424-1436.

Dietary omega-3 PUFA improved tubular function after ischemia induced acute kidney injury in mice but did not attenuate impairment of renal function.
K.M. Rund, S. Peng, R. Greite, C. Claaßen, F. Nolte, J.-M. Galano, L. Balas, T. Durand, R. Chen, F. Guele, N. H Schebb (2020)
Prostag Oth Lipid M. 146, 106386.

Plasma oxylipins respond in a linear dose-response manner with increased intake of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaeanoic acids: results from a randomized controlled trial in healthy humans.
A. I. Ostermann, A. L. West, K. Schoenfeld, L. M. Browning, C. G. Walker, S. A. Jebb, P. C. Calder, N. H. Schebb (2019)
Am J Clin Nutr 2019; 109:1–13.

further publications

Activities

Joint Programming Initiative a Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life (ERA-HDHL)
Co-organizer of the European Workshop on Lipid Mediators (EWLM)