Hélène Brignot

 helene.brignot@inrae.fr

CV

Engineer Assistant INRAE

• Technological University Degree in Biological Engineering in Food and Biological Industry (2010)
• Bachelor Degree in Biochemistry and biomolecular biology (2019)

Understanding how their saliva affects their flavour is essential to designing new, sustainable foods that are suitable for both healthy (from babies to the elderly) and pathological individuals.
My research aims to develop new methods for studying the biochemistry of saliva in order to identify biological indicators of sensory perception.
I am looking to quantify biochemical parameters such as enzymatic activities, antioxidant and biological capacities in saliva.
Here are 2 examples of methods developed in response to scientific hypotheses: i) when we eat plant-based foods, we may feel a sensation of astringency, but small salivary proteins that bind to tannins (PRPs) counteract this sensation; I have developed a method for quantifying their secretion in saliva; ii) the oral microbiota and its implantation in the oral cavity are linked to the characteristics of saliva; I have developed several assays, including an analysis of salivary bacterial metabolites.
I provide evidence of the reliability of these methods by following the standard (NF V03/110) of validation by accuracy profile.
Collecting and analysing saliva involves working in level 2 containment conditions, which I have put in place.
I look after students (during graduate) and technical staff, from identifying technical problems to writing reports in the fields of biological and chemical analysis.
I also work as Team Quality Coordinator and Occupational Risk Prevention Assistant.
At national level, I'm involved in the INRAE TRANSFORM scientific department's Management Board (2020-2028) to facilitate organisational aspects of research activities.

Biochemistry, biomarkers, saliva, oral cavity, individual, variability, sensory

• Brignot, H., Rayot, C., Buiret, G., Thomas-Danguin, T., & Feron, G. (2024). Determination of the Optimal Method for Measuring Malondialdehyde in Human Saliva. MethodsX. https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04814761

• Wang, M., Brignot, H., Septier, C., Martin, C., Canon, F., & Feron, G. (2024). Astringency sensitivity to tannic acid: Effect of ageing and salivary proline-rich protein levels. Food Chemistry: Molecular Sciences, 8, 100192. https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04495113

• Brignot, H., Wang, M., Septier, C., Canon, F., & Feron, G. (2022, 2022-11-16). La sensibilité à l'astringence en fonction de l'âge est-elle liée aux Protéines Riches en Proline (PRP) de la salive ? Journées Francophones de Nutrition (JFN), Toulouse, France. https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04041461

• Schwartz, M., Brignot, H., Feron, G., Hummel, T., Zhu, Y., von Koskull, D., Heydel, J.-M., Lirussi, F., Canon, F., & Neiers, F. (2022). Role of human salivary enzymes in bitter taste perception. Food Chemistry, 386, 132798. https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03712655

• Brignot, H., & Feron, G. (2021). Towards the role of saliva in sensoriality and introduction to analytical practices. CAHIERS DE NUTRITION ET DE DIETETIQUE, 56(4), 234-248. https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03341399

• Zhu, Y., Feron, G., Von Koskull, D., Neiers, F., Brignot, H., & Hummel, T. (2021). The association between changes of gustatory function and changes of salivary parameters: A pilot study. Clinical Otolaryngology, 46(3), 538-545. https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03131296

• Brignot, H., & Feron, G. (2019). Oral lipolysis and its association with diet and the perception and digestion of lipids: A systematic literature review. Arch Oral Biol, 108, 104550. https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02619465v1

• Neyraud, E., Cabaret, S., Brignot, H., Chabanet, C., Labouré, H., Guichard, E., & Berdeaux, O. (2017). The basal free fatty acid concentration in human saliva is related to salivary lipolytic activity. Sci Rep, 7(1), 5969. https://institut-agro-dijon.hal.science/hal-02142263

• Brignot, H., Le Joubioux, F., Canon, F., & Feron, G. (2016, 2016-11-30). Activité lipolytique salivaire humaine : Mise en évidence et études préliminaires de caractérisation Journées francophones de nutrition (JFN), Montpellier, France. https://hal.science/hal-01519322