Dragon fruit has high antioxidant properties, says Filipino scientist
Thursday, May 31, 2007

A Filipino scientist is promoting the use of dragon fruit as an
ingredient in functional foods, such as power drinks, because of its
high antioxidant properties.

Dr. Eufemio Barcelon, a Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
Balik Scientist Awardee (1996 to 1998) who is based in Australia,
said the dragon fruit can be used in functional foods, particularly
sports drinks, power drinks and pineapple mix.

Functional foods offer additional health benefits such as food
fortification, probiotics, antioxidant properties, vitamins, folates
as well as special performance in drinks.

Barcelon said the use of dragon fruit will also increase the income
of local farmers and harness the full potential of land planted to
dragon fruit in the provinces.

He said dragon fruit is high in fiber, rich in vitamin C, and
contains antioxidant properties.

Barcelon said a Malaysian company has discovered that dragon fruit
has bioactive components, particularly enzymes, in its flowers and
leaves, which could be used in producing perfumes as well as other
personal care products.

Barcelon, however, lamented that although dragon fruit is commonly
grown in Cavite, Bataan and Davao, among other places, farmers there
do not get to utilize its full potential as more than 40 tons of
rejected dragon fruits are shipped back to them annually due to
insect damage.

He said research and development on dragon fruit products would be a
big boost to the agriculture and industry sectors as the country
would not need to import the fruit.

Barcelon said research on postharvest pest and value-added
technologies is also being proposed by the Cavite State University
(CvSU).

"Innovation is the key to survive in the food sector," he said.

Barcelon is proposing to conduct research and product development on
innovative and functional foods, training, demonstration, and
product promotion.

Barcelon said a P100,000-grant from the DOST's Philippine Council
for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD) will
jumpstart R&D on dragon fruit to be conducted by the CvSU.

The project aims to create products and processes, which would turn
dragon fruit into jams, jellies, puree and flavored drinks. The
grant also includes packaging and labeling of the products.

Barcelon is a research scientist of Manildra Group, a food company
based in Melbourne, Australia.

His expertise includes food innovation, food packaging, design and
labeling, and non-destructive test of the fruit using X-ray computed
tomography.

Japan is the leading producer of functional foods, followed by
European countries. – Helen Flores