Spotlight on Excellence
Alcorn Scientist Presents Paper at International Symposium
Recently
Dr. Girish Panicker, director for the Center for Conservation
Research at Alcorn State University presented a paper “Effect of
organic manures on fruit quality of Rabbiteye blueberries” at
the second International Symposium on Human Health Effects of
Fruits and Vegetables held in the Omni Houston Hotel, Texas. The
symposium was organized by the International Society for
Horticultural Science, Belgium, and hosted by the Texas A&M
University. The objective of this symposium was to provide a
forum for horticultural scientists, nutritionists, food
scientists, biomedical scientists, chemists, biochemists,
medical professionals, and social economists to exchange
information and bridge the communication gap between the
agricultural sciences, nutrition, and health sciences.
Scientists from 48 countries attended the symposium. The first
symposium was held in Canada in 2005 and the third will be held
in France in 2009.
Alcorn’s research on
blueberries with worm castings increases the anthocyanin content
of this fruit. Scientists all over the world are working to
improve the quality of fruit and vegetables by genetic
modifications and organic farming systems. “The outcome of this
last five years research on blueberries is a boon to American
blueberry growers and it will have great impact on human
health,” said Dr. Panicker. “The Center will continue developing
economically feasible conservation farming systems for fruit and
vegetable crops to improve the health of the inhabitants and the
soil,” he added. This research was done in collaboration with
Dr. James Spiers, research leader and director of the Thad
Cochran Southern Horticultural Laboratory at Poplarville,
Mississippi, Dr. Frank Matta, professor of horticulture, and Dr.
Juan Silva, professor of food technology at Mississippi State
University.
Blueberries are one of the
richest sources of antioxidant phytonutrients of the fresh
fruits. Compared to other fruits, blueberries have a high level
of anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are phenolic compounds that
possess antioxidant activities. Obesity is the number one public
health problem in the world today. Globally, there are more than
one billion overweight adults with at least 300 million of them
obese. Mississippi has the highest rate of adult obesity in the
nation for the third year in a row. Obesity is associated with
hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidermia, coronary heart
disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep
apnea, respiratory problems, and breast, endometrial, prostate,
and colon cancers. Research results show that obesity can be
prevented through diets rich in fruits and vegetables. Even
though more than 50% of the Americans are aware of the need to
eat more fruits and vegetables, research indicates that 96%
children, ages 2-12, fall short of the recommended daily amounts
of fruits and vegetables. Research results show that people who
consume good amount of fruits and vegetables as part of a
healthy diet are likely to have reduced risk of chronic
diseases. Schools report that children eating more fruits and
vegetables have improved cognition, longer attention spans, are
less hungry throughout the day, visit the nurse less and have
fewer behavioral problems.
