With the aim to maintain ties during the Covid-19 pandemic period, UTAR Faculty of Science (FSc) and Jinan University (JNU) co-organised a webinar related to food science and technology on 18 December 2020 via Tencent Meeting. The webinar saw a participation of 123 staff and students from both UTAR and JNU. It was co-moderated by JNU Department of Food Science and Engineering lecturer Dr Tian Lingmin and UTAR FSc Department of Agricultural and Food Science Head Dr Ong Mei Kying.

The webinar was kick-started by a welcome speech and a brief introduction about UTAR and JNU by Dr Ong and Dr Tian respectively. When introducing JNU, Dr Tian said, “Jinan University was the first university to provide higher education for overseas Chinese, and now has become one of the most diverse universities in China with the highest percentage of international students."

The first presenter was JNU Department of Food Science and Engineering Prof Dr Wu Xiyang on his research titled “Polysaccharides as Potential Prebiotics”. He is also the Director of China-New Zealands joint research centre in food safety and security. The research introduced participants to two types of good bacteria in the human body, namely prebiotics and probiotics. He emphasised more on the function, evolution concepts and good effect of prebiotics as well as the research study on polysaccharides as the potential prebiotics. Prof Wu also recommended Dendrobium officinale polysaccharides, garlic polysaccharides, Solanum nigrum polysaccharides and mulberry leaf peptides as the potential prebiotic material.

In explaining the meaning of probiotics and prebiotics, Prof Wu said, “Probiotic is a live microbial food supplement that beneficially affects the host by altering its intestinal microbial balance, while prebiotic is a non-digestible food ingredient that beneficially affects the host by stimulating the growth or activity of one or more bacterial species already present in the body.”

The second presenter was UTAR FSc Department of Agricultural and Food Science lecturer Dr Clement Wong Kiing Fook. His talk was titled “Going Bananas! The Daunting Quest of Saving Bananas from Being Wiped Out”. His research topic was about the development of microbial-based biofertilizers which could improve the plant’s growth and tolerance of banana against plant disease, specifically on bacterial diseases and fungal disease (Fusarium wilt).

Dr Wong gave an insight to the participants on some major diseases of banana in the Malaysian context, as well as the biocontrol as a sustainable alternative to fight against the banana diseases. His talk included topics such as “An introduction to the Malaysian banana production”, “The major diseases of banana in the Malaysian context”, “An old nemesis of banana – The Panama wilt”, “Biocontrol as a sustainable alternative” and “The challenges ahead and future research directions on banana”.

The third presenter was UTAR FSc Department of Chemical Science Assoc Prof Dr Chai Tsun Thai. He presented on “Bioactive Peptides and Health-promoting Potential”. The research introduced participants to plant biochemistry and physiology, purification and identification of bioactive peptides from food and non-food sources, stability of bioactive compounds and simulated gastrointestinal digestion.

Generally, many raw materials could be used as the sources to generate bioactive peptides. According to Dr Chai, raw materials that contain a higher level of protein in generating the bioactive peptides is healthier compared to other raw materials that contain more carbohydrate.  Raw materials that are able to produce bioactive peptides are body tissues, milk, blood and skin which can be obtained from animals, plants, bacteria, fungi and other food products.

He added, “Recently, more research studies were conducted to examine the application and potential of bioactive peptides as ingredients and materials for the production of animal foods, such as pets food and aquafeeds. Meanwhile, the data also showed a steady growth of trend on the research studies of bioactive peptides as an ingredient of chemicals or natural products.”

The last presenter was Prof Dr Bai Weibin from JNU Department of Food Science and Engineering. He presented on “Strategies for Maintaining Anthocyanin Colour”. Prof Bai is also the Vice-President of the College of Science & Engineering and the Vice-President of the Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jinan University. His research topic was about food nutrition intervention, specifically in the area of chemical structure and functional development of anthocyanin.

Prof Bai explained, “External factors that affect anthocyanins’ stability and lead to the disintegration of anthocyanin structure include light, pH, temperature, enzymes and processing methods. The acylation has been considered as the most mature and extensive method for anthocyanin stabilisation.”

In his talk, Prof Bai covered topics such as “Anthocyanins and Source”, “Colour control of anthocyanins”, “The Development and Utilisation of Anthocyanins”. At the end of his talk, he also gave a brief introduction about his research team.

The webinar was concluded with an extensive yet insightful Q&A session. UTAR and JNU hope to co-organise the next webinar or research collaboration in the near future.