You had me at Aloe!
Two Virginia College students have set their sights on preserving the freshness of berries during a project they created for the BT Young Scientist Awards.
Their project titled ‘You had me at Aloe! An investigation into the antifungal efficacy of Aloe Vera in vitro and its use as a treatment to maintain post harvest table Berry quality’. researched the effect Aloe Vera would have on berries and whether it is a viable way of preserving them.
The study which was completed by Kayle Curran Doughty and Kate O’Sullivan "investigates Aloe Vera’s potential as a natural fungicide to prevent the post harvest of berry decay," explained the girls.
“We wanted to do this investigation because any time we got fresh fruit or berries in the shop, we found they grew mould or fungus really quickly, so we wanted to find a way to prevent that from happening.”
The group found the introduction of Aloe Vera to the berries prevented 100% of mould forming on berries while being refrigerated after 16 days.