Dr. John Alexander Monro

Dr John Monro is Principal Scientist at the New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research and a Principal Investigator at the Riddet Institute, Palmerston North, New Zealand. His original research was on the role of cell walls in plant structure and function, but has progressed to the role of plant cell walls and polysaccharide-based plant structures in human health and gut function. He has studied dietary fibre in the fore and hind gut, physiologically valid determination of its functional properties, and how to communicate its effects to accurately guide food choices for health. More recently, Dr Monro’s research has focused on digestible carbohydrates in foods, on valid determination of carbohydrate availability by in vitro digestive analysis, and on food structural factors that modulate the glycaemic response. Dr Monro has recently conducted both postprandial and long-term clinical trials on the inclusion of fruit in diets for glucose-intolerant consumers.