"This proposal is focused on the development of a meat-based functional food (pâté, sausage, snacks etc.) able to effectively reduce cholesterol levels in serum by acting simultaneously at two different levels: (I) reducing endogenous cholesterol synthesis by inhibiting the hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase (the key enzyme in the cholesterol metabolism) and (II) impairing exogenous cholesterol absorption during digestion by its displacement from the dietary mixed micelles and binding of bile acids during the intestinal digestion to avoid their reabsorption. Edible mushrooms will be submitted to accelerate solvent extraction (ASE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) to obtain (T1) polysaccharides (b-glucans), (T2) statin-like or other metabolites and (T3) ergosterol-derivatives concentrates. These concentrates and their mixtures (T1+T2+T3 in a meat-based food matrix) will be screened for their properties to act as (I) and (II). All samples will be submitted to in vitro digestion and absorption tests (using Caco2 cell models) to study their bioavailability and molecular mechanism of action. Responsible compounds will be identified and quantified by analytical standardized tools (HPLC-, GC-MS etc)"