Natural food preservation ingredients with antifungal properties
Discover natural antifungal ingredients derived from medicinal plants, offering a safer and cost-effective alternative to synthetic preservatives for combating molds and yeasts in food preservation.
Overview
This innovative solution leverages the antifungal properties of medicinal plants to create natural food preservation ingredients that combat molds and yeasts. These ingredients offer a safer and more economical alternative to synthetic preservatives, aiming to enhance food safety and extend shelf life without compromising health.
Technical specifications
This research involves the extraction of antifungal compounds from medicinal plants using aqueous and ethanolic methods. Key analyses include phytochemical screening, Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry (GC-MS), and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The antifungal efficacy is tested using agar well diffusion, streaking, and pour plate methods to determine Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Antifungal Concentration (MAC). The potential for synergistic effects in poly-herbal formulations is also explored.
Technology readiness level
The technology is at TRL 9, indicating that it has been proven in an operational environment and is ready for full-scale deployment, offering immediate application in food preservation industries.
About Federal University of Technology Akure
Established in 1981, FUTA is a sizeable public university of technology with a strongly applied, innovation-oriented character and a mandate centered on technological advancement. Its Technology Park and Incubation Centre provides a structured interface for sponsored research, industry-academia linkages, prototyping, testing, market validation and support for knowledge-based enterprises. The university also maintains postgraduate, continuing-education and professional-development channels that can extend access to technical talent and applied expertise. Research is supported by competitive national funding, particularly TETFund’s National Research Fund, alongside international awards. University-level research coordination and commercialization functions support movement from laboratory outputs toward enterprise adoption.
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