September 9, 2013, by Graham Kendall

An International Arena for Natural Products: Courtesy of Our Postharvest Team

Over the past few years, the research team at the Centre of Excellence for Postharvest Biotechnology (CEPB) has been studying the use of natural products as edible coatings to maintain the quality of perishable fruits and vegetables. They have successfully utilised chitosan (a waste product from crustaceans) along with gum Arabic (a common food additive) to prolong the shelf life of fruits and vegetables and reduce disease infection of these plant produce. Their attractive research has warranted publications in top ranked journals in the field of agricultural and food sciences, and has gained global recognition.

ScienceDirect, a host to 11 million regular users, tracks the latest trends and developments in the various disciplines through the “Top 25 Hottest Articles” system. Publications from the research conducted by CEPB have been ranked amongst the Top 25 Hottest Articles for leading journals in agricultural and biological sciences in four separate instances, with one publication completing a year amongst the Top 25. The team has seen four publications rank amongst the Top 25 hottest articles, in their respective fields, out of which two publications retained their ranking for over a year and a half.

The research team leader, Dr Asgar Ali was recently an invited speaker to the 2nd International Symposium for Postharvest Disease Management, held in Kusadasi, Turkey, and organised by Ege University, University California Davis and Agricultural Research Organisation (ARO). This symposium was a platform for a global team of select prominent researchers actively engaged in developing innovative strategies for managing postharvest diseases. The team of experts met to engage in dialogue and strategize for combatting postharvest diseases in a sustainable manner for enhancing global food security. Dr Asgar Ali shared his team’s research findings with the international delegates of experts on exploiting natural products as an alternative to chemical fungicides, a research theme that is well under way at CEPB.

Posted in ConferenceFoS