The journey of a small boy, alone in the city, passionate about scientific research makes many people admire.
Fruit peels, tea leaves, carrot residue... are not useless.
Carrots (red radishes) are a popular food in Asian dishes and drinks, and their pulp also contains many important substances.
Master Vo Tan Phat, 28 years old, from Ben Tre, graduated from the Department of Food Engineering at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade. He graduated with a master's degree in food engineering at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and is currently doing research at the Biofuel and Biomass Laboratory, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology.
Recently, Master Phat has published many scientific articles in the Q1 and Q2 groups of the two Web of Science (SCIE) and Scopus systems. Notable among them are studies that find new methods and new techniques to recover substances with anti-aging, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties in food by-products such as fruit peels, green tea residue, carrot residue, etc.
Thanks to that, people can recover many antioxidants from seemingly discarded by-products, thereby helping to optimize the food industry and create more healthy foods for users.
Recovery and preservation of carotenoids from carrot residue using oleic acid
That is one of the outstanding scientific studies published by Master Phat recently.
Master Phat said that carrots (red radish) are a popular food in Asian dishes and drinks. Carrot pulp is a by-product of the juice production process and is usually discarded, however, carrot pulp also contains many antioxidant compounds such as carotenoids. These compounds help reduce the harmful effects of free radicals, which are formed by environmental impacts on the human body. Meanwhile, extraction is a process that uses solvents to dissolve substances in food. Carotenoids are often obtained by extraction using toxic organic solvents, which cannot be completely removed.
"In addition, in folk culture, people often use cooking oils to preserve chili. Therefore, my research uses oleic acid, an omega 9 fatty acid, to recover carotenoid compounds in carrots. The study investigated the effects of ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions such as temperature, ultrasound power, time, and the amount of oleic acid used on the recovery efficiency of carotenoid compounds. Then, carotenoids in oleic acid were preserved by microencapsulation. Microencapsulation is a method that uses proteins, emulsifiers, and polysaccharides to encapsulate bioactive substances," Master Phat analyzed.
Master Vo Tan Phat
In addition, the young scientist said that after being encapsulated with compounds, carotenoids will be easily absorbed and limited from oxidation by the environment. His research found suitable microencapsulation methods: microencapsulation with ultrasonic-assisted emulsifiers and microencapsulation with spontaneous emulsifiers. These two methods help create nano-sized particles of the carotenoid-oleic acid system (about 30nm).
Master Phat's research helps create an environmentally friendly method for recovering carotenoids and extending the shelf life of this compound. The research was published in the scientific journal ACS Omega of the American Chemical Society.
Overcoming difficulties
His parents were farmers and small traders in Ben Tre, so Vo Tan Phat was independent in his studies and career early on. In his mind, his hometown was full of coconuts and fruits, but farmers still had a hard time when agricultural products had good harvests but lost value, the food processing industry had not really developed, and many households had been making coconut oil by hand for many years and selling it to traders...
After graduating with a master's degree at the end of 2020, there was a time when he was uncertain about the path he was taking. He had worked in a quality control department at a company for a while, but he did not find joy in his work and stopped. By chance, he came to the Biofuel and Biomass Laboratory, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. Master Phat said, "Here I found my own path." That is to continue to find methods to recover antioxidants and anti-aging substances from food by-products.
Master Vo Tan Phat in the laboratory
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Quan, majoring in production processes and equipment, Head of the Biofuel and Biomass Laboratory, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University) assessed Vo Tan Phat as an example of determination to pursue a career in scientific research. "Phat is a young man with special qualities for science. He works very hard with clear goals in research. At the same time, he is very passionate, determined, and constantly learning. He spends a lot of time reading scientific documents and we always have hours together to passionately discuss about expertise and scientific issues in our fields," said Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Quan.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Quan, Phat is currently a research collaborator at the Biofuel and Biomass Laboratory, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. Although time is very limited, and income from scientific research is also very small, but with the encouragement and help of everyone, Phat has been attached to the laboratory for more than 2 years.
Associate Professor, Dr. Quan hopes that Master Phat will soon be officially recruited by the University, so that young scientists with capacity, enthusiasm, and true passion for science will be recognized and continue to contribute.
Other scientific articles published by Master Phat include: Optimizing the ultrasound-assisted extraction process to obtain total phenolic and flavonoid compounds from watermelon rind (scientific name: Citrullus lanatus); Ultrasound-assisted and enzyme-assisted extraction to recover tannins, flavonoids and terpenoids from used tea leaves using natural deep eutectic solvents; Optimizing the ultrasound- and microwave-assisted extraction process to recover phenolics and flavonoids from passion fruit rind... The above substances all have antioxidant, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory effects...
Not only that, Master Phat is also the owner of the scientific research method of making sponge cake from coconut jelly powder to increase fiber, which has been registered for Intellectual Property. Specifically, with this method, the maker needs to use a type of fiber with a very small fiber structure, called nano cellulose. The most familiar nano cellulose synthesized from bacteria is coconut jelly (the process of making coconut jelly is to ferment old coconut water). After crushing the coconut jelly, a fine powder (BCP powder) is formed. When mixing BCP with flour, eggs, milk and other ingredients to make cakes, BCP swells and creates a uniform structure with the cake's base powder.
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