推荐买球平台食品奖入围者

保持水果和蔬菜新鲜的自然方法

“我有儿时用西红柿做泡菜的记忆, 萝卜, 花椰菜和香料和油混合, 接下来是一个月的等待，等待它第一次刺痛的味道,女士说。. Rojlina Manandhar, Co-Investigator at Department of Natural Product and Green Chemistry, 生物科学与生物技术研究所、Lalitpur、尼泊尔.

“We built our project to unlock the science in this traditional folk practice and determine if it offered antioxidant and antibacterial properties that could keep perishable foods fresh, and extend their shelf life by being applied as a protective edible coating.”

她的团队是2021年决赛的决赛选手之一 推荐买球平台粮食安全创新奖, which aims to support scientific research that can deliver transformational impacts within global agriculture. 与 Agropolis基金会, the Prize recognises an innovative scientific research project for its potential impact on the availability, 可访问性, 食物的可负担性和充足性, 符合联合国可持续发展目标#2:消除饥饿. 获胜者将于今年9月公布，并将获得75美元的奖金,为扩大他们已证实的研究提供了1万美元的资助.

在尼泊尔, 据估计，20-50%的水果和蔬菜在收获后会流失, 主要是在运输和储存过程中. A major contributing factor is that most farmers can’t afford cold storage facilities, and it means they’re forced to rely on pesticides and chemical preservatives that are still costly and risk harming the health of consumers and the planet.

“这些事实使人们想到了一种可食用的食物, 本地种植的保护涂层对推荐几个足彩外围app很有吸引力, as a thin layer on the surface of fruits and vegetables could delay the process of crops spoiling and restrict microbial growth,” Ms. Manandhar解释. 番石榴叶含有许多精油, 多糖, 矿物质, 酶, 生物碱, 类固醇, 配糖体, 丹宁酸, 类黄酮, 皂苷和类胡萝卜素使其成为潜在的天然防腐剂.“

The uniqueness of the project lies in the use of water extract from guava leaves, 哪一种是“绿色”溶剂. Another important part of the research is the isolation and characterisation of different bacteria and fungi isolated from spoiled fruits and vegetables from different marketplaces around Kathmandu. Testing the efficacy of guava leaf water extract for its anti-bacterial properties showed it worked well against these microorganisms. 进一步, antioxidant properties in the leaves made the extract a stronger candidate for post-harvest preservation.

“We’re now exploring various coating solutions and plan to test the best formulation in a study on a Lalitpur farm,” Ms. Manandhar继续. “如果推荐几个足彩外围app的结果像推荐几个足彩外围app期望的那样继续下去, 其影响可能是重大且可持续的:变得更新鲜, 有营养的, and disease-free food to consumers using local 自然 resources; creating more space in transportation by replacing the need for plastic packaging; reducing packaging waste and the use of chemical pesticides; and improving the incomes of smallholder’s farmers.

“此外, our approach could be applied in other countries using their local plants that have similar antibacterial and antioxidant properties”.

If you’d like to know more about this project or get involved, please contact Ms. Manandhar下面.