Yogurt from breadfruit? This Malaysian research student has done it

KUALA NERUS: A research student at Sultan Zainal Abidin University (UniSZA) has managed to produce yogurt and multi-purpose flour from breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis).

Siti Nuriah Mohd Noor, 24, is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree at the Faculty of Food Science and Technology, through her study titled “Kanji Rintang Sukun” (Breadfruit Resistant Starch).

“I focused on the fibre potential of breadfruit that I extracted into flour, and through the flour I produced  ‘kanji’ (starch) before I went on to produce yogurt.

“I see that this study has a high potential to be commercialised. Maybe people do not see that breadfruit has something that can be extracted from it, especially in terms of fibre.

“Perhaps a more detailed study can be carried out on the project in the future,” she said.

Siti Nuriah was awarded the gold medal for her discovery at the International Conference and Exposition on Inventions by Institutions of Higher Learning (Pecipta) 2017, recently.

On the benefits of breadfruit flour, Siti Nuriah said the flour could be stored for a long time and the fibre in the breadfruit is essential for healthy digestion.

“The nutritive value of breadfruit fibre which is rich in antioxidants enhances digestion and boosts immunity. I also produced resistant starch extracted from fibre of the breadfruit for the production of yogurt, which can help treat bowel-related diseases,” she said.

She said 2kg of flour can be produced from 10kg of breadfruit, and from the 2kg of flour, only 30 per cent pure starch can be produced.

Situ Nuriah intends to collaborate with Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) to carry out further research and development. – Bernama