Development of high value natural products from tropical plants

• Main Author: Amid, Azura
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: SB Plant culture
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/93340/1/93340_Development%20of%20high%20value%20natural%20products.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/93340/; https://ic2b.bbrc.itb.ac.id/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

The tropics are regions of the Earth that lie roughly in the middle of the globe and receives warm and wet conditions throughout the whole year. Due to this condition, it is blessed with a treasure of high biodiversity of flora and fauna. The tropical plants and animals' grow well all year round, and foods are abundant. If the crop production management does not plan and is not done carefully, there will be excess food resources and wastage. Among the tropical fruits involved are papaya and pineapple. Both these tropical plants are known as sources for popular tropical fruits that consume globally. However, the price of each fruit is not on the high side, especially in the tropic’s region. Warm temperature in the tropic’s region reduces the papaya and pineapple fruits freshness. And reduce its quality, shelf life, and price. With the advent of biotechnology and bioprocess engineering, these resources are converted into high-quality products. This paper presents a case study of two high-value natural products produced from tropical plants. There are bromelain and papain enzymes. The fruit and stem of the pineapple produce bromelain enzyme and the latex of papaya yield papain enzyme. Both enzymes are expensive. Therefore, the production of a high value product, such as bromelain and papain enzymes are an advantage to the farmers. The pharmaceutical, food, feed, and cosmetics industries used bromelain and papain widely and created more market demands. In conclusion, the low-value tropical plant resources become a high-value product with the help of biotechnology and bioprocess engineering. More products from the tropic’s region are waiting to be explored in the future,