A research article by three Food Science and Technology (FST) alumni of UIC's DST, Liu Yongxiang (graduated in 2017), Cai Chunzhi (graduated in 2016) and Yao Yiliang (graduated in 2019) as the first authors, and Programme Director of FST Prof Xu Baojun as the corresponding author, was selected in the top 0.1% hot papers for Essential Science Indicators (ESI).

Their paper was titled: 'Alternation of phenolic profiles and antioxidant capacities of common buckwheat and tartary buckwheat produced in China upon thermal processing.'

The result was published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in September 2019 and has been cited by scholars domestically and internationally.

The research results show that, compared with ordinary buckwheat, tartary buckwheat has significantly higher polyphenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity. Steaming or cooking can significantly enhance the polyphenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity of tartary buckwheat. Compared to roasting and microwaving, steaming or boiling can effectively retain or increase some of the active ingredients, so it is recommended as a food industry processing mode or household consumption method.

During the summer in 2017, Liu Yongxiang stayed at the College's laboratory after graduation so that he could start the research. Once Cai Chunzhi had graduated from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology after earning his Master's Degree, he joined Liu Yongxiang in the project. In 2018, Yao Yiliang wrote the chromatographic analysis of the study to complete the thesis. The corresponding author Prof Xu Baojun, already has had four papers selected as ESI highly cited papers.

This research received funds from Zhuhai Key Laboratory of Agriculture Product Quality and Food Safety.

(From left) Yao Yiliang, Cai Chunzhi, Liu Yongxiang

Essential Science Indicators (ESI) is an analytical tool that identifies top-performing research in the Web of Science Core Collection. ESI surveys 12 million articles from over 12,000 journals from around the world and delivers the in-depth coverage to effectively analyse and benchmark research performance, identify significant trends, rank top performers, and evaluate potential employees and collaborators.

The Essential Science Indicators database reveals emerging science trends as well as influential individuals, institutions, papers, journals and countries in your field of research.

Based on a 10-year rolling file, Essential Science Indicators is updated every two months. ESI Highly Cited Papers reflect the top 1% of papers by field and publication year. ESI Hot Papers reflect the papers cited in the top 0.1% in a current bimonthly period. Papers are selected in each of 22 fields of science and must be published within the last two years.

Editors: Samuel Burgess, Covee Wang, Lauren Richardson
(from MPRO)