Barile Lab member, Yu-Ping Huang, wins award at IFT

Barile Lab graduate student Yu-Ping Huang won second place in the Food Chemistry Division graduate student oral competition at this year’s Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) annual conference—FIRST (Food Improved by Research, Science & Technology). Food scientists and technologists around the world gathered virtually in this annual event in July 19–21. Yu-Ping presented her work with the topic “Don’t Throw Away the Cooking Water: Aquafaba from Chickpeas (Cicer Arietinum) and Common Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris) Contain Potentially Bioactive Peptides and Oligosaccharides.”

Pulse processing generates massive amounts of the cooking water in the food industry. With the aim to increase the byproduct economic value and improve the sustainability of food systems, Yu-Ping tried to discover potential bioactive components from aquafaba using mass spectrometry techniques. By employing the optimized glycomics and peptidomics workflows, she found a significant number of oligosaccharides and peptides which possess potential prebiotic properties, anti-inflammatory and taste-enhancing activities. These findings will help divert biomolecules from low-cost food processing streams into value-added ingredients that improve human health.