Characterizing Nansei Islands Native Cankerberries and Promoting Their Advanced Utilization
Faculty of Agriculture Department of Food Science and Biotechnology Assistant
Food Chemistry and Biofunction
Food Function and Nutrigenomics
Assistant Professor
SAKAO Kozue
Professor
HOU De-Xing
Faculty of Agriculture
Department of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
Applied Plant Science
Fruit Science
Professor
YAMAMOTO Masashi
Background and objectives of activities
The native citrus of the Nansei Islands is a unique and valuable genetic resource that does not exist anywhere else in the world, and there are many aspects of its functionality and fruit characteristics that remain unexplained. However, in recent years, the number of native citrus varieties has continued to decline due to replanting with new varieties, and some of these varieties are in danger of extinction. This study aims to discover the added value unique to the native citrus of the Nansei Islands, particularly those native to Kagoshima Prefecture, from the perspective of fruit functionality and genetic resource characteristics, and to contribute to the promotion of their advanced utilization and the conservation of genetic resources. In addition, unripe fruits that have been discarded due to fruit picking will be included in the functional evaluation, and we will attempt to make effective use of unutilized citrus resources.
Summary of Activities
Research on the addition of functionality will use scientific analysis methods to evaluate the various functional properties of native citrus fruits in the Nansei Islands, such as antioxidant capacity, anti-obesity effects, and skin beautifying effects, and to discover their characteristics. In the study of genetic resource conservation, we will conduct a comprehensive field survey of native citrus cultivars and elucidate their basic fruit characteristics (size, color, sugar content, acidity, etc.) and genetic traits. From these results, we will elucidate their similarity and diversity, and obtain basic information on fruit utilization, which will be useful for the promotion of advanced utilization and conservation of genetic resources.
Expected Benefits
By attempting to develop native citrus into a sixth industry through the addition of functionality, the project will be able to show how to revitalize a disappearing valuable resource. This will promote the development of the crop cultivation and utilization industry, which is expected to bring about economic growth and contribute greatly to the conservation of valuable terrestrial resources.